AY131 Twisting the pelvis and shoulders with a swing

Source

• Alexander Yanai Vol 3
• Reel 10, Track 1, Lesson 2

Synopsis

• Write a couple of sentences.

Lesson Outline (steps are mine and not Moshe’s)

1. Supine, arms by side. Stand R leg. Push with foot to raise R pelvis.– Listen to what this does in the spine, chest, and lower back.
   – Eyes and head can turn a tiny bit.
2. Other side.
3.  Lift R leg to ceiling. Let it drop to L. As you repeat, let foot come closer to the head.– Arch lower back and soften chest.
   – Open throat and let head tilt / slide back.
4. Other side.
5. Alternate. Track arc of head.
6. Prone. Make X, hands palm down. L hand for push-up.– Draw R hand toward L, over head.
   * Watch when turn palm up.
   * Push with L hand to lift L shoulder.
   * Pass arm under head, and . . .
   – Begin to roll onto R shoulder, behind.
   – Leave head behind; let it tilt / slide back to the R.
   – Let L knee bend and drag along floor upward.
7. Other side. Make X, hands palm down. R hand for push-up.– Draw L hand toward R, on floor over head.
   * Watch when turn palm up.
   * Pass arm under head, and . . .
   – Begin to roll onto L shoulder, behind.
   – Leave head behind; let it tilt / slide back to the L.
   – Let L knee bend and drag along floor upward.
8. Now similar thing, but no roll. Instead, keep arms in X. Arch the back strongly and lift the head and shoulder girdle as high as you can comfortably.– Draw R hand toward L, on floor over head.
   * Watch when turn palm up.
   * Pass arm under head.
   * Open R armpit as wide as you can, keep it up in the air, and . . .
   – Begin to roll onto R shoulder, behind.
   – R arm is in line w/ shoulder completely to L; L arm in line w/ shoulder completely to R.
   – Leave head behind; let it tilt / slide back to the R.
   – Let L knee bend and drag along floor upward.
9. As prior step. Arms in X. Arch the back strongly and lift the shoulder girdle. Pay attention to the chest allowing this. Belly forward, lower back arched.– Draw L hand toward R, on floor over head.
   * Watch when turn palm up.
   * Pass arm under head.
   * Open L armpit as wide as you can, keep it up in the air, and . . .
   – Begin to roll onto L shoulder, behind.
   – Leave head behind; let it tilt / slide back to the L.
   – Let R knee bend and drag along floor upward.
10. As two prior steps, but alternate.– Pay attention to head swinging in large arc, tilting back from side to side, behind the shoulders. Open the throat.– The shoulders turn in the air.
11. Supine. You will roll to L, leaving your legs behind. Your knees can bend.– Lift shoulders and head.
    – L arm tucks behind, R arm follows.
    – Couple reps; then . . .
    – Roll through back and do other side; alternate.
12. Supine. R leg stands. Bend L knee way out to the side and tuck L foot behind R heel.– Keep pelvis on ground and flip legs over. First R foot stands, then L foot.
    – Couple of reps like this. Track how hip tilts up on standing-foot side.
    – Lift pelvis in the air, depending on R foot.
    – Then change legs with a flip. This means one side of the pelvis will be high and the other low, and then reverse with changed side.
13. Initial reference movement of leg in air and then to side. ~~~Anita Schnee, 5.27.18

Focus of the teaching

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

Related ATMs

• Tag Twisting

Resources

• Add links to external resources that would be of interest to the reader

Share Your Insights (ideas, principles, strategies, experiences, …)

• Possible mistake at Moshe’s Step 10:This is where you start supine, with arms and legs in an X (arms overhead on ground, legs extended and spread). Moshe starts by wanting a twist to the left. (He says, “Try to roll to the left.”) He says to lift the shoulders and head and then “[t]he right arm [comes] behind . . . [goes backward]. From in front, [you] take the right arm backward, behind the head.”I think he must mean to start the movement by taking the left arm (shoulder) behind. Then, after starting like that, you may end up with the right arm to the right, and the face and left arm to the left, and so at this point in the movement the right arm is behind the head — but not to start the movement with the right arm going behind the head.I can start it by dragging the right arm (shoulder) behind my head, and then achieving the twist to the left by thrusting my chest forward – but it is a hellava difficult movement and it doesn’t really fit with the “swing” theme. It does call on an agile chest (a really agile chest), but use of the shoulder in the left iteration, to begin the twist to the left, seems more logical to me.
• Intermediate step, for public class, at Moshe’s Step 12: This is the one where, supine, the right leg is standing and the left is bent on its side on the floor, with the left foot behind the right heel. Then Moshe wants us to lift the pelvis and flip the legs, so the left is standing and the right is sideways. Doing it this way is fantastic because the pelvis swings through a huge arc, with a really big twist in the spine. (Moshe says “[t]he turn of the pelvis should be enormous.”) Feels great and is really fun. BUT. Kind of drastic, for non-prax.So, for my students, my thought is to insert an intermediate step before I ask students to do this with the pelvis elevated. The intermediate step is to keep the pelvis on the floor and just flip the legs. My suggestion to the students will be to notice how the hip on the same side as the standing leg tilts forward toward the ceiling, inducing a twist to the spine originating from the lower self just as we have been doing in the prior steps from the upper self. Then maybe, when we move to the elevated pelvis, they will be able to track their hips and the spine-twist with more attention (and be less distracted by the complexity of the legs).).Seems to me this would do two things. One, make a gentler introduction to the dramatic pelvis-in-air (which may not be do-able with my students, so at least they will have a gentler iteration). Two, it might alleviate the amazing amount of confusion I heard in the AY-a-day discussion. ~~~Anita Schnee, 5.27.18

Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. Nothing on Feldy Notebook should be construed as an attempt to offer medical advice or treatment.
All contributions to this website are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License. Do not add any copyrighted information to this website. Feldy Notebook is sponsored by Kinetic Inquiry.