AIFTT3 Log May 2010 Larry Goldfarb Monday 3 May 2010 0601 10.00 hours AM1 Class (Talk + ATM) Intro to Segment 7 SHOULDERS BEHIND THE BACK, part 1 (AY 323) Supine, bend R leg and push with R foot to lift the R hip. Repeat same m/m for L side. Bridge L hand next to head and push L foot to roll on R side. L pelvis and L shoulder lift. Repeat same m/m on R side. Eventually slide back of head through gap of shoulder on L/R side. Differentiate between only pushing with foot or hand. Bend both knees, lift pelvis, R arm under lower back; also with L hand behind head. TM: Slide back of head through gap of R shoulder. Same m/m with L arm behind back and TM: slide back of head through gap of L shoulder. 11.20 hours. Coffee 0602 11.45 hours AM2 Class Revisit making someone more comfortable lying prone. Trio’s reviews FI techniques. Recursive approximations: practicing FI with increasing expertise each time. Review to get forward. Discovered: place of head/neck important; m/m of shoulder blade has influence on move ability of spine; this ATM could be useful for people with….; FI related with ATM; clarifying use of physical constraint giving FI.
Lunch at 13.30 hours 0603 15.00 hours PM1 Jiggling the spinous processes with toilet roller grip. Paula on belly, head to L, roller under feet (legs and pelvis more moveable), roller under shoulder, adapting support to the way people organise themselves, Larry sitting behind her head. 1) Oscillating legs and pelvis. 2) Base of spinous processes between two fingers at one side, thumb at other side. Sink in, down and bring thumb and fingers a bit together and, while maintaining pressure, oscillate from pelvis with arm straight; Do not cross belly button. For some persons, pad under breastbone helps to make position more comfortable. Lab, Duet doing the same. Demo with Rosemarie jiggling spinous processes. Sitting behind head of student, bringing leg on table, and with straight elbow moving toward person. It is not about moving the vertebrae you’re touching, but about the way the m/m is
going through! Where are muscles tight? How does it relate to jiggling of the pelvis? Next step is to support by taking over the work of muscles. Tea 16.20 hours 0604 PM2 SHOULDERS BEHIND THE BACK, part 2, (AY 323) TM: slide back of head through gap of R/L shoulder with both legs bent and also with both legs long. R arm bent beneath back, R leg bent, L leg long and lift R pelvis. Head goes with or against pelvis. Same m/m with L leg bent, R leg long. L arm behind back, L leg bent, R leg long and lift pelvis. Also with L leg long and R leg bent. Both knees bent, both hands bridged and head through the gap L/R. Same m/m with legs long. Prone, on forehead, R hand on L wrist on back of head. Bring R elbow to R chest and L elbow next to head and roll on L side. Vice versa for other side. Supine, legs bent, both hands bridged, lift pelvis and shoulders and come on top of head. Both legs bent, pelvis lifted, and both arms behind back and bring arms R/L. Pelvis up and down. Also lift head and pelvis together. Lift head and pelvis with legs long and also with arms next to you. (AY 323) Tuesday 4 may 2010 0605 AM1 Class: Strategies for freeing the shoulder girdle Twisting and bending has to happen in spine when prone. A twisted C-curve is occurring. When bringing a leg up at side head is facing, there is less twisting so it is less demanding. Arm behind the head along the body means untwisting the spine a bit. Twist not just in neck, but also in thoracic spine. 2/3 of joints in human body are in spine and ribcage. Very little twisting in lower back: only 5 to 8 degrees of rotation. How to get m/m to happen in ribcage, chest and spine? How to create a comfortable C-curve for people? Demo with Paula Freeing shoulder girdle 1) move upper arm as close as possible to shoulder joint and move shoulder in different directions. This is m/m of shoulder girdle in sternoclavicular joint. Upper arm is handle for whole shoulder girdle. Move from pelvis to move arms, shifting weight in direction you are going. 2) Move shoulder and hold spine at different places. 3) Move shoulder and spine together. 4) Move shoulder and wait for m/m in ribs and go with it with key grip. 5) Hold rib, keep from moving and move shoulder. Work with arm that is up, with shoulder that is more free. In trio: work at freeing the shoulder girdle. 11.35 hours Coffee 12.00 hours Demo with Liesbet, sitting at back of head. Avoid using your knees to support elbows while leaning forward as much as possible. Think of shifting weight from sitting to standing, like a tripod.. 1) Move upper arm. 2) Hold spine
and move shoulder in different directions. 3) Back to first m/m of moving upper arm: test to find out what happened. 4) Move shoulder and spine together (undifferentiated). 5) Keep spine and bring shoulder back (differentiated). 6) Hold shoulder and move chest. Lunch at 13.15 hours 0606 PM1 14.55 hours Class: How did SHOULDERS BEHIND BACK relate to today’s FI? Trios: Ask question: This is a m/mm/m of a particular bone in which joint? Answer by making the m/m, putting hands on to figure it out. First m/m of ATM, lifting the pelvis with knee straight, is a m/m of the pelvis in both hip joints; twisting around sternoclavicular joint on that side of pelvis; moving chest around shoulder, moving leg around ankle. Lift of shoulder and chest means you’re twisting around other sternoclavicular joint (moving chest around collarbone). Arm behind back and rolling pelvis: moving everything around arm. This is opposite of what we do in FI: m/m of chest around sternoclavicular joint. ATM goes from bottom to shoulder while FI: goes from shoulder to bottom. Move chest forward from C7-T1. Lifting head and pelvis with arm behind: by contracting flexors and letting them go, more arching becomes possible. With arms behind the head, neck is disappearing and m/m is asked to happen elsewhere. Learn to respect constraints and get benefit from them. Tea at 16.20 hours 0607 16.40 hours ATM OPENING THE LEGS 1 On L side, L leg long, R foot standing in front of L thigh (perpendicular). L hand holds bottom of tibia and R hand holds top of it. Bring knee and head towards each other (head is sliding on floor). Lift R foot. Bring L hand under R foot (fingers and thumb together) and lift R foot with both hands/ only with L hand/or with L hand and R hand behind back. Supine, L ankle on R thigh (knee bent), get hold of L foot with R/L hand from below and lift foot to straighten/ also with lifting foot and head together. R ankle on bent L leg and straighten leg with L/R hand on top of L foot/L hand under L foot. Also lift head. L foot on R leg and with R/L hand over top of foot and lift foot/ both foot and head. Sitting, soles of feet together, L/R hand behind and with R/L hand over L foot and lift foot. With both hands on top of feet, lift alternately. Supine, hold both feet from inside and lift them. (Amherst 80, 7/28) Wednesday 5 May 2010 0608 10.10 hours ATM; Caro van Iersel
SEEING THE HEELS (AY 2) Prone, TM: Head turn to side. Lift head using arm facing – both sides. Bend facing knee, left head and facing arm, looking toward heel of bent knee – both sides. Bend both knees and lift head and arm to see each heel. L ear on L hand, head to the R, both knees bent and look for both heels (from the same eye). Forehead on both hands with both knees bent.. Alternate lifting knees, light and quick, not high. Opposite elbow pushes floor. Head turned to side, bend knee behind, hold ankle with same hand. Push ankle away to straighten L knee a little. Shoulder and head follow; look at heel. Help by leaning on hand on floor - both sides. TM: Lift head & arm to see knee (on each side). Supine, bend legs and lift head with hands. Bring knees and elbows together, rock keeping the distance constant. Prone, head to the side, both knees bent. Lift head and lift facing knee a bit while toward foot. Then lift opposite knee and look toward heel - both sides. Supine, interlace hands non-habitually behind head, lift head and bent knees to rock. Coffee 11.30 hours 0609 Class Moving the shoulder in relationship to the head & chest. Demo with Elisabetta. Evaluation: 1) Jiggling the spine 2) Moving ribs by having hands on forming to ribs (thumbs in groves) and turn a bit, not by shifting weight 3) Check move availability of neck placing knuckle on transverse process of vertebra. Demo: 1) Slide hand in front of back of head shoulder to move shoulder. Make circles around scapula. Be careful with lifting shoulder not to cause strain by shortening the neck. 2) Hold spine, while lifting the shoulder. In this way, no strain on neck! 3) Look for moving the leg: turning of pelvis and twisting of spine 4) Put front arm around head, lift head and arm together, to explore side bending and circling. Move in thoracic spine. Repeat evaluation. Duet: work at back shoulder. Lunch 13.00 hours 0610 14.45 hours Class About ATM practicum and teaching ATM About practicum: description of position, m/ms and constraints. Use SPIFFER categories. Ability to stay connected with a group important. During practicum, each gives self-evaluation first, then other students and then feedback of trainer.
Observational abilities, techniques and understanding are necessary for artful teaching. 15.40 hours ATM OPENING THE LEGS 2 (Amherst 80, June 28) Supine, both legs bent, hands at inside on soles of feet and straighten legs. Legs bent, hands under pelvis and bring legs by straightening more towards head. L leg bent, R hand under, L hand over L foot and lift L leg and head. Same for R leg. Both legs bent, hands on it and straighten both legs and lift head. Stick chin out with legs long on floor/while holding feet. Stick chin out, while straightening legs. Put chin down (neck long), while straightening legs (with hands under/over feet). Roll L/R, while straightening L/R leg with(out) chin sticking out. Roll with hands under pelvis with legs straight to head. Lift head and legs and rock. Lift head and straighten legs with hands at inside/outside of feet, while sticking out the chin. After this ATM, meet in small groups to prepare for ATM. Thursday 6 May 2010 10.10 hours 0612 Class FI prone, moving arm & head to explore planes of action Demo Corine, prone head to R. Move front shoulder, move back shoulder, test preference of direction of head. Practitioner sits at head of client. One hand swoop-dee-whoop under head, on chin, other hand on ear, thumb on hand of client. Move a bit, explore plane of m/m: arching, bending and turning. Which direction easiest? Lab: Trios 11.45 hours Coffee 12.00 hours 0613 ATM Practicum: Henriette & Maria teach COORDINATING FLEXORS AND EXTENSORS (ATM Book, #5) 13.05 hours Discussion of Henriette & Maria’s practicum How to use different words for floor? About melody and volume of speech. Leave out L/R and describe the m/m. Create a chain of questions from general to specific. Leading people along rather than asking a question: As you do the m/m, what happens with…? Listen to what you are saying: Does it make sense?
13.40 hours Lunch 0614 Class FI prone, moving arm & head to explore planes of action, cont’d What to do to make the lifting of the head easier? Address spine and rib cage. Move leg and pelvis to reach the spine. Lab in trio: 1) Move head and arm. 2) Move leg and pelvis to reach the spine. 3) Back to head and arm again. Demo Fabrice 1) Move shoulder and head. 2) Leg, pelvis and spine. 3) Head and shoulder again. Friday 7 May 2010 0615 9.15 – 11.00 Practicum: Elisabetta & Eeva teach PERFECTING THE SELF IMAGE, (ATM Book #8) Discussion Elisabetta & Eeva practicum: Use of voice, walking around while teaching ATM, staying connected with group. Scan: too many items and no sequence. What is a reference m/m this ATM? What is this ATM good for? Don’t say “Feel sensations in your body” because that splits mind from body. Ask instead, “How do you sense yourself?” Giving correct directions is crucial. 0616A 11.15 - 11.35 Demo 11.35 break 12-13.30 Class Back scratcher and outlining the ribs Demo with Karin: 1) Find top of pelvis and bottom of spine: root of paraspinal muscles. When chronically contracted, these muscles interfere with bending and turning. Touch muscle with 2 or 3 fingertips and lean into them. Keeping that pressure, curl the fingers to hook into the belly of the muscle. Back of hand stays flat (back scratcher). As your curl into paraspinal muscles, round your back (ugly duckling story). Lengthen spine, becoming taller and introducing pull on muscles. This supports the shortened paraspinal muscles, allowing them to stop contracting. You can coordinate this with student’s inhaling. Continue until the curve of the spine changes (somewhere between the shoulders). 2) Sitting at the back of the head side and find the person’s bottom rib and trace along the ribs in the valley of the rib. Take one edge of the rib and circle. Rib becomes clearer. Outline ribcage on each side of the rib along edge. Move from bottom of ribs upwards. Lab, Duet: 1) Pick a test: Jiggle the spine/move the ribs/move the pelvis/move back of the neck (one of these) 2) Move paraspinal muscles with the backscratcher 3) Test 4) Circle the ribs. 5) Test again. Monday 10 May 2010 0617A Class
Helping a student be more comfortable prone First thing to do: don’t change a person, but recognize what s/he is already doing. In this way they can sense themselves differently. How do you touch somebody in such a way they can begin to feel what they are already doing, but didn’t notice? Classifying lessons in terms of Foundation: 1) Resting 2) Orbiting (move around in a position, i.e. sitting) 3) Launching and landing (changing position). Lab/Trio: 1) Ask a person to lift and turn head 2) Partner senses what is going on 3) Hands on and feel what they are doing and sense what they cannot stop doing = uninvited guest. A watches, B hands on (with blindfold), C is lying down. Continue LAB in trios. Work more methodically, use SPIFFER dimensions as a check list to create a richer description. When it is hard to feel the sequence, feel where m/m starts (initiation). Discussion after LAB in trios: Working with blindfold; seeing with your hands, feeling with your eyes. Feeling, seeing, and the connection between the two are important to develop. Recommendation: “Home, neighborhood, and town.” To go with and support what person is doing, you need to find out what the person is already doing! That is the purpose of this exercise. You are a m/m detective, using your hands and eyes to investigate the person’s m/m. 13.15 hours lunch 14.45 hours 0618A Practicum: Mark, Fabrice, & Corine teach WALKING THE WALL (Not Recorded)
Discussion of Mark, Fabrice, & Corine’s practicum: Congruency in language: the words and tone you use must match. Example: it is not congruent to command “relax your arms.” When you describe m/m, the description can be vague, leaving open what the student may experience, or it can be more specific. In this case you need to be accurate. For instance: when you ask people to feel the m/m in one hip and actually they need to move in both hips to do the m/m, that can be confusing, making people doubting their own experience or credibility.
0619A Return to the student being prone to see if turning the head is easier. We differentiate ourselves in the way that we limit ourselves. Look at what has to happen, so the head gets freer. After the ATM everyone went back to the
trio’s of the morning LAB to see if the m/m (lifting head and turning it to the other side) had changed after doing the ATM.
Tuesday 11 May 2010 0620A Discussion on being assertive “The Potent Self” is the most controversial of Moshe’s books. Being assertive means telling what you want. Being congruent means the way you deliver a message needs fit the message. Being neurotic: presenting something else than what you feel = non-congruent.a) Cross-motivation: having more than one intention, when the path is not aligned. b) The Red Thread of an ATM: What is the ATM about? In ATM WALKING THE WALL: spiral from leg to pelvis up to sternoclavicular joint. Connecting leg to spine, prone. Hands-on practice Lifting pelvis at head side: untwisting and at other side: more twisting. Lift lower leg and turn, flex heel, move pelvis and leg together and differentiated (hold pelvis and move leg or hold leg and move pelvis). Coffee 0621A Class Practicum: Liesbet, Rosemarie and Meer teach BASIC FLEXION (Back into Action) Discussion of Liesbet, Rosemarie and Meer’s practicum About use of voice, pacing. Listen to yourself, delivering the words. Record yourself. Avoid the use of ‘we’. Give directions in relation to the student. Instructions are really different, if you have a kinesthetic sense of the lesson. Instructions have a visual component (looking at the class), a kinesthetic component (sensing the m/ms in your own body) and an auditory component (hearing yourself speak). When lost, just stop, back up a few steps, and start over. 13.45 hours lunch 15.20 hours 0622A Continuation connecting leg to spine, prone How to approach twisting and bending the spine from the leg. 16.15 hours tea
0623A ATM PECKING IN SITTING 1 Gaby Yaron Ref. m/m: pulling socks off and on. Sit on a chair with the arms on the back of the chair (with L arm below and R arm above and vice versa). Bring head closer to forearms/ drop the head. Make pecking m/m, forward, bringing head over fore arms. Spine follows. Do pecking with toes lifted, on balls of feet, on whole feet. Do pecking with shoulders together and apart. Also with one shoulder (L/R). Do pecking rolling lower back backwards. Put head on forearms and move to L/R elbow with head. Do pecking with belly pushing out. Go back and forth with pelvis with head in hands on the back of the chair. Do pecking with arching/rounding and vice versa. Ref. m/m again; pulling socks out and on. Wednesday 12 May 2010 0624A ATM Practicum Paula, Josie and Nicoline teach CAT AND CAMEL Discussion of Paula, Josie and Nicoline’s practicum Avoid using: ‘try’. Better: “When you do this, can you sense what happens?” Walking along the spine is a nice image. How does your back feel now? Nice connection from scan to position on all fours. In scan, choose one metaphor 360 degrees awareness OR sensing the front/back of the spine, otherwise it’s too much. Don’t tell people what to do, but let them discover. First, guiding people stepby-step; then, more globally. Don’t pamper people before, since this ATM is a challenging position. How do you make it comfortable? Make it enticing = inviting. “Do you notice if you are already arching or rounding? Use connecting words and phrases: “While/As/During you are doing this, what do you feel?” Shifting the Weight during ATM and Respiration? 12.00 hours Coffee Continuation of 0624A How long should the scan be? Scan/preview for ATM: changing of attention from external visual/auditory to internal and kinesthetic. 0625A Discussion Maintaining rapport with a group How does a teacher “contain” the group? Being aware of yourself as the teacher requires self-reflection and ongoing modification. Three styles of teaching ATM: 1) Express train: the lesson continues whether or not you keep up, The students have got to take care of themselves! 2) Local train: make stops every so often, when needed. 3) Shepherd: take the whole flock to the lost sheep. Not always
teach in the same style, but most often the shepherd. Most people come to a class, because they want to interact with other people/the teacher. Social part of learning has historically been missing, yet it’s very important for many students. 13.15 hours Lunch 14.50 hours 0626A Talk Assignment for next segment - contextualizing a lesson Next practicum: Which lesson? Which group? How to fit the lesson to the group? Send questions for Larry and then group will conference call with him. Forum is on the website to make group conversations possible. . 0627A Class: Review of prone FI techniques and PECKING IN SITTING 2 Gaby Yaron Review of FI in prone of this segment in trio. ATM Pecking 2 (refined) Do pecking with the head and arch/round back (Ccurve/S-curve of spine). Duet 1 in between: 1) A does ‘ancient five hand technique’ on spine while B does pecking m/m 2) A is holding head around chin and at back at skull and is following pecking m/m 3) A is guiding B in pecking m/m. Duet 2: A has one hand at chin, other at the skull; B does pecking m/m. A walks down with hands along spinous processes touching out each of B’s cervical vertebrae, without pushing. Demo with Rosemarie (prone, head to R) pushing at vertebrae of neck, turning and arching neck and rounding the back. Go for arching the back from head and neck and from the legs. Eventually turn the head. Thursday 13 may 2010 0628A 10.10 hours ATM Practicum: Karin and Vida teach COORDINATING FLEXORS AND EXTENSORS. Discussion of Karin and Vida’s practicum. About quality of voice, imagery and pacing having influence on quality of m/m. Metaphor of pelvis like a boat, use it, if you like it or if you have a better one, tell afterwards. Thumb with fingers under armpit necessary for m/m. Ask questions instead of giving directions: “Can you make yourself more comfortable?” “Do you notice how it changed?” “How does the point of contact of the pelvis roll on the floor?” “Do you need to slow down in order to feel it?” Nice story about sun and wind in competition together. Double description: give directions using more than one SPIFFER dimension.
Coffee 11.30 hours 0629A Talk and Lab Turning the head in prone. How does someone solve the problem of turning the head? Help them becoming aware of what they are doing. Consider: 1) Technique: where to put the hands? 2) Self-use: how do your move yourself? 3) Pedagogical strategy: what are you asking or saying with your hands? What is your intention? Discussion on Feldenkrais for pregnant women: ATM/FI to help them to better support themselves.
Lunch 13.15 hours 0630A 15.00-15.45 hours FI Maria’s lesson & discussion on working with pregnancy FI pretty classic: clarifying central line of spine by first supporting everything that is interfering. TM: pushing through sitting bones and through shoulders. Follow the pattern of shortening of extensors and of flexors. “Being irresistible” means going with the pattern. Helped Maria find a feeling of being movable, within her pattern. 0631A 16.15-16.45 hours ATM PECKING IN SITTING 3 Gaby Yaron TM: sitting at front of chair and slouch and peck. On back of chair with lower arms on back and do pecking with(out) moving the pelvis. Do pecking from different vertebrae. Go back and forth with head while moving the spine. Imagine a clock: 12 = going forward (pecking) and 6 = going backward with the head. Go pecking from 12 to 12.01, 12.02, 12.03, 12.04 and 12.05. Also explore pecking from back from 12 to 11.55. Repeat TM. Slouch and peck sitting at back of chair. Also slouch while ribs don’t move or head stays. Do pecking with chin forward and pelvis forward/back. Sit at front of chair: get longer from chin, from chest, and from pelvis. Friday 14 May 2010 0632A 9.20-10.30 hours Summing up after the practicum Reflection on what you learned from the practicum. Intonation, rhythm, tone and voice affect the ATM lesson. Language is crucial. Don’t put too much in one lesson. Constraints and giving directions is 70% of ATM. Making them interested: 30% of ATM. Being responsible for the group=containing the group, otherwise, students don’t feel safe. Give break from the voice of the teacher.
When being given feedback as a teacher: say thank you or I need to think about it. When people don’t get the lesson 1) give instructions in other SPIFFER categories 2) Back up a few steps 3) Stop, look at me! 4) Show different people doing it 5) Demonstrate what not to do 6) All can do it wrong and now we do something different. Give students a chance to learn. Remember it’s not you or about being entertaining, it is about the students! “A Soprano on Her Head” is book by Eloise Ristad about how to cope with the internal critic and how to achieve excellence. Elisabetta had difficulties with the feedback given to her on her practicum. A discussion follows about how to give feedback. Also ideas are presented how to guide people through imagination. Coffee
0633A 11.05-12.15 hours Lab Pecking in sitting duet. Duet: Discuss connection between ATM “Cat and CameL” and “Pecking in Sitting.” Variations on a chair approach same m/ms of arching and rounding the spine and explore moving C7-T1. Lab, Duet B is sitting with arms on back of a chair. A touches both sides of B’s spine with the key grip and B pushes back. A goes up and down from that place, differentiating the spine in folding. B arches at places that don’t move that much and comes back, while A follows the m/m of B. Use a TM (Pecking) and the ‘Ancient five hand technique’ before and after the Lab. Lunch 12.15 hours 0634A 12.40-13.30 hours ATM Tjitske’s Lesson TM: On hands and knees and arch and round. On L forearm, R hand and both knees, move back and forth. On both forearms, move to buttocks. On all fours and move L/both elbows to knees. Rock up and down on fore arms next to knees with head and pelvis R/L. Circle (counter) clockwise with pelvis/head. On all fours, slide L/R knee away and back to elbow and arch and round. On all fours slide L/R elbow to outside and go back and forth with head. On hands, elbows, knees and feet and bring L/R knee/both knees to outside and back. Also bring L/R foot to outside and bring head back and forth. On hands, elbows, knees and feet and stretch L/R knee out to the side and push back and turn to side where leg is bent/weight on bent leg.