Theme Vision

Ellen Solloway’s list

This is a list of AY lessons related to using the eyes, from Feldyforum:

• AY 2 Seeing the heels
• AY 7 Seeing the heels while lying on the stomach
• AY 10 Covering the eyes
• AY 15 Eyes I
• AY 25 On the Cheek
• AY 26 Pearls and Eyes
• AY 34 Foot on the head
• AY 54 Differentiation of the eyes, head, and back in twisting movements
• AY 165 The eyeball lesson
• AY 216 Lifting the head at the hands in a ?V?
• AY 217 On the side, the Sternum becoming flexible
• AY 266 Crossing the knees and coordinated eye movements
• AY 296 Relaxing the muscles of the throat
• AY 420 In sitting, twisting with the eyes
• AY 453 Eyes and line
• AY 525 Lifting the head and eyes

Eye lessons from other sources:

• Esalen Workshop (1972): “Reeducation of the Eyes” & “Eye Exercises”
• Berkeley (1973): “Eyes”
  …
• David Webber’s CD ‘Seeing Clearly’
• Jeff Haller recordings from 2013 conference “The Eyes Have It”

Kinds of “eye lessons” (Lynette Reid’s notes)

The “eye lessons” rarely fit into only one of these categories.

• Lessons that directly focus on the eyes as the main explicit topic: AY 10, 15, 26, 165, 453
• Lessons that make use of the eyes to organize action in flexion (e.g. Lifting the head and eyes), extension (e.g. Seeing the Heels, Relaxing the muscles of the throat) or smooth movement (e.g. Crossing the knees and coordinated eye movements), or both
• Lessons that address the eye/neck relationship (and the relationship of that to the tonus of the whole body and the function of shifting weight or turning in gravity), often exploring both undifferentiated and differentiated relationships of the eyes, head, and spine (often in “Dead bird” lessons, or in Coordinating Flexors & Extensors lessons, or hugging self lessons, where these involve the eyes).
  • AY 266 is a kind of differentiation–not the usual with/opposite, but keeping the eyes, which normally lead actively, passive through the whole lesson.
• Lessons that explore the activity of the eyes as an indicator of the state of excitement of the nervous system (e.g. Covering the Eyes, AY 10; Eyes I AY 15)
• Lessons that explore convergence/divergence or focus (e.g. Pearls and Eyes; AY 15) and/or smoothing the eyes (AY 15, AY 266)
  • Smoothing the eyes lessons are often but not always related to maintaining vision on the horizon, shifting weight; sometimes they focus more locally on quality of movement.
• Lessons that bring attention to the anatomy of the eye orbit, to the location of the blind spot/exit of the optic nerve; “eyes as periscope” lessons.