Liberating Your Neck and Jaw - 1 - First Feet

Michelle Yeoh in Wing Chun (1994)

Michelle Yeoh in Wing Chun (1994)

Liberating Your Neck and Jaw - 1 - First Feet

Grounding Your Head

“Liberating Your Neck and Jaw” is composed by Feldenkrais Trainer and practitioner David Zemach-Berson. He studied directly with Moshe Feldenkrais and graduated from the first US Feldenkrais Professional Training Program in 1977 and has been practicing and refining the work ever since.

What I like about this series is the systematic exploration of the connections of the neck and jaw with the whole body.

“If you grind your teeth, clench your jaw, have headaches or neck pain, jut your chin to read screens (formally called “text neck”), this is for you. If your asanas seem to get stuck in the neck (and hips…), if you prefer to sit comfortably tall at the computer, if you would like your walk to be regal, this session is for you.”

This first lesson begins at the base of all things - the feet. In this spare lesson of a few basic moves, David guides us to the fundamental connections between the feet, the pelvis and the head. Here’s a hint: the nose, toes and the pubic bone move together. Exhale, roll the pelvis towards the head (draw up the pelvic floor if you know how) and the nose lifts to the ceiling. The spine stabilizes to support the head to move. Inhale, soften the belly, let the back relax and the chin roll towards the chest.

If that sounds complicated - this is a great lesson for you. By the end, you’ll have it. If this already makes sense, this lesson will spotlight blocks, blind spots and unnecessary locks between the head and feet.

Check the shape of the spine, the shape of the neck. source: tensor.com

Check the shape of the spine, the shape of the neck. source: tensor.com

This lesson begins with an optionally standing scan. The rest of the lesson is on your back, with legs long and bent.

For this lesson’s science nerd candy, we will review some of the videos from the pelvic floor series.

  • How Your Abdominals Work - we focused on the abdominal muscles when we viewed this for the pelvic floor series. This time, watch the spine, pelvis and head. Their motion is the core of this lesson.

  • Why Do My Joints Crack? - (Vertias Health) - the source revealed!

The Series Includes:

  • From Foot to Head

  • All about the Tongue (the tip of the spine)

  • Connecting the Jaw

  • Connecting the Spine

  • Freeing the Jaw

  • Soft Face

  • BONUS: Primal Tongue

How you might feel after this lesson: Relaxed, taller, softer neck and jaw, feet connected to whole and whole connected to feet, deeper breath, new information about bocks and kinks between feet and head, curious about the next lesson.

New Student Registration for the series. Continuing students use ongoing login. $60 for series. $15/individual class. PayPal or Venmo: jackisue@aol.com. Or Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574

Jacki Katzman