AY546 Inverting hands in clapping

Source

Alexander Yanai Vol 11 (501-550)
Reel 36, Track 1, Lesson 3
Duration of the recording: 35 minutes

Synopsis

The hands are together as if for clapping throughout the whole lesson.
The first half of the lesson explores movement of hands + arms along the front of the body and in the frontal plane around it (in sitting and supine).
The second half is circling around the head and along and around the back (in sitting and prone)

Lesson Outline

A – Sitting. Eastern fashion. R leg in front of L. (Step 1)

Hands on one another as in clapping. Direct hands forward.
Down between legs + back up. … D+U, D+U. Fingers pointing downwards.
“To go up – the elbows go wide to the sides.”

B – Supine #1 (Step 2-2b)

Hands on one another as in clapping.
Direct hands with fingers in direction of head + return. Back and forth
Touch floor above head with tips of fingers. Continue turning fingers like this…
“Until it will go without effort”
Touch head/ face/ chest/along sternum/ along throat.
Touch chest. Direct fingers down …
“Wherever they will go without hurting shoulders/ head/ arms”
“Tips of fingers before wrists/ always forwards in direction they are going.”
Direct tips of fingers … over the head/ face/ along face/ along chest
“Down to wherever they will go.”

C – Sitting. Eastern fashion. L leg in front of R. (Step 2c)

Hand on one another. Direct hands down. Observe to where they are going.
“For fingers to go down shoulders/ elbows need to come closer to one another”
“Chest/ back/ clavicles and back from behind have to know how to be round”
“Efforts will not help. You must pay attention.”
Direct hands in direction of floor. In front. Tips of fingers along body/ stomach
“to wherever they touch”
“It would touch if shoulders were rounded/ elbows in front/ the simplest way.
Head would be able to go down/ shoulders forward. Chest/ upper spine from behind would be flexible”
“Do not work hard. It will not help to work hard. You have worked hard your whole life and it did not work well. It is not effective to work hard.”

D – Supine #2 (Step 3-3e)

Hands on one another as in clapping. Fingers in the direction of the feet.
Place back of R hand on stomach – wherever you are able to.
Direct hand from stomach to floor. Touch tips of fingers to floor + return
R side, touch floor with tips of fingers, back of hand, turn, describe arc on floor in direction of head.
Direct hands above head. Tips of fingers to outside. Lower R hand on floor and return down in arc. Come back up in arc.
Next time you come up over head turn hands over + touch the floor with the back of the L hand.
Then go to L. Make a full circle on the back of both hands. All the way around.
“Go in both direction – until it becomes comfortable.”

E – Sitting. Eastern fashion. R leg in front of L. (Step 4-4c)

Touch palms of hands as in clapping. Direct tips of fingers everywhere they are able to go in front. Fingers go once up, once down.
Hands over head in clapping. Turn fingers + direct tips to make circle in front. Touch forehead + behind the back.
“To turn fingers more – Differentiate movements of head + arms. As long as they go together, they will not turn. Head must go opposite direction of the arms – always.”
Hands behind head. Fingers toward floor. Slowly lie back of R hand between shoulder blades. Alternate with back of L hand. Slowly, R hand more to R, L hand more to L. Direct the arms to the front until it will make a full circle from shoulder to shoulder and return behind.
“Main part is fingers going from one shoulderblade to other shoulder blade. Pay attention to the effect of the movement on the head/ neck/ vertebrae … where for many people this is the stiffest part of the body … almost as if these vertebra are joined together, especially the last vertebra of the neck, the 7^th and the next vertebrae of the back”.

F – Prone #1 (Step 5-5d)

Place both hands on back. With fingers towards feet as if for clapping.
With easy movements lower fingers down + lift them higher up. Lower them along the back. If possible, turn them over.
Place back of R and back of L hand … once on R/ L thigh … once on R/L hip.
Try with lifting head/ turning shoulders.
Turn fingers in the direction of the head – lift arms/ elbows.
Is it possible to pass tips of fingers along the back to turn them upwards?
Turn fingers in the direction of the head/ direction of floor/ direction of feet.
Does lifting of head/ legs/ both together help?

G – Sitting. Eastern fashion. L leg in front of R. (Step 6-8)

Place both hands behind with fingers down, touching as if for clapping.
Slowly, direct fingers along the back as much as possible. Turn them if possible. Direct them up + down
“If the shoulders were flexible enough behind + the spine above flexible enough so as to allow the head to fall backward, it would be possible to touch the hair behind with the tips of the fingers.” / “Do it slowly.”
Leave it + rest in sitting. Return. Place hands behind but turn them over.
“To turn them over, the body must be taken forward. Make a large arch in the back + take the head backward.”
Take tips of fingers R + L towards shoulder blades.
“It is necessary that the head goes opposite to the arms. Head to L when arms go R, head goes to R when arms go to L. Turn the body, one shoulder forward + one elbow forward. When you go to the L look at R elbow, when you go to the R look at L elbow. Head + Shoulder direct the arms.”
“Without power, otherwise it hurts … if you stop before this you can do it a million times,, slowly improving. Slowly … it is more certain.”
Rest a moment in sitting. Place hands behind.
Now when you direct the hands to the R, look at the R elbow. When you direct the hands to the L look at the L elbow.
“If you are able to look at the elbow from behind, this causes a movement between the vertebrae of the back, the vertebrae at the root of the neck, the upper ones on the back – there must be movement. Otherwise, it is impossible to do.”

H – Prone #2 (Step 9-9c)

Lie on the stomach. Place hands behind. Fingers in the direction of the head.
Lift + lower head.
With hands as if for clapping. Touch R elbow to the floor/ then L elbow.
Remain with R elbow on R side on the floor. With the head, look once at the R elbow/ once at the L elbow
Go over to the L side + do the same. Look at R/ L elbow … from behind, over the shoulder.
“Use the floor to help touch the palms of the hands together, not just the tips of the fingers. Do not press powerfully … just lying will do this.”

I – Sitting. Comfortably (Step 10-10c)

Sit in a comfortable position. Place bothe hands as if for clapping. Direct them forward with the tips of the fingers. To wherever you are able to go.
“Has it become better?”
Direct them behind the head. Observe there. Turn fingers.
Direct tips of fingers in circles in front + behind. Touch the back of the neck/face/ head … touch everywhere with the tips of the fingers.
“Is it possible to touch behind the head/ between the shoulder blades with the tips of the fingers?”
Lower hands behind the back as for clapping. Direct fingers + see if it is possible to turn them over.
“That means to take shoulders backwards making a large arch in the back + take head backward.
To lower the hands down you need to bow the head and round the back.
To go up it’s necessary to lift the head + tilt it backward. Protrude the chest + lift it. Take air in. Taking air in lifts chest/ clavicles/ breastbone to the throat.”

Come to standing.
Feel shoulders. Lift arms + feel whether they are heavy? How are they?

End of lesson.

Focus of the teaching

In addition to the movements, what theme or ideas did the teacher focus on

Related ATMs

Theme Shoulders
Tag Clavicle

Namaste behind the back:

Resources

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