Side-sitting to lying to side-sitting
Channel: Infinite Movement
Date: 2020-05-07

This video is about transitioning from side-sitting to lying supine, and back to side-sitting. A very basic, simple, common transition, yet, we rarely have time to break it down and explore, play with, and improve it. This lesson attempts to help us do just that.

First, transition from lying supine with knees bent and feet standing, rolling to the side and continue to transition to side-sitting. This reference movement is literally the final and complete function in this lesson. Now you have a test, a reference movement you can relate to.

Then, side-sit with knees to right and feet to left. Lean on your right hand. Can you find what's comfortable? Are you sitting on your sitz-bones or are you leaning on your femur bone? Where should your right hand be? Can you begin exploring how to lift a knee? The smallest, gentlest lift. Which knee? Both? How much lifting is easy? can you even lift the knees towards the other side?

Can you explore the floor in the area in front of yourself? And how could moving your torso and head help? Where is it easy to lean towards? is it helpful? Reach out with your hands, exploring the floor around your front knee. Can you allow your head to rest with gravity? Can you lean on your forearm? On both?

What is it like to explore all these movements to the other side?

Lying supine, bend both knees, stand both feet, rest the right ankle on the left knee. Tilt both legs in this organization towards the right and back to center. Super slow and gentle and safe. Gradually and incrementally further towards the floor.

Lying supine, the exact same legs position, but this time, please keep the left foot flat, the lower left leg vertical, and the knee where it is in space. No tilting of the left knee right and left. That's a classic Feldenkrais constraint. The movement is MUCH smaller. much more challenging. The right knee lowers and the left hip joint lifts simultaneously. It's a see-saw movement. There are movements in both hip joints. Please be careful. Notice the work in the lower back and lower ribs.  

Come back to sit, and explore turning (twisting) in side-sitting. With feet to left, rest the left hand with a relaxed wrist and hand a few inches in front of your face. Create an imaginary connection between your nose and your hand. Look at it too. And now begin turning head and arm and hand all together to the right and back to the center. there's very little if any rotation in the neck, but much more rotation is demanded from the lumbar and lower thoracic.

Explore turning and reaching from side-sitting towards the back with hands lengthening on the floor. Can you slow it down and find a way to play with reversibility until you really know how to do this without falling?  can you reverse? Can you go from side to side both in supine as well as in side-sitting?

How different are the two sides now? What are the changes you are experiencing in yourself after doing this lesson?

Enjoy!