Sitting Backward, Moving Forward

An updated version of a classic Feldenkrais lesson You don’t need to lie on a mat to discover your innate capacity for genuine ease, efficiency, and pleasure. All it takes is a chair. Turn around, face the back, and straddle the seat with your feet grounded. With this single, simple pivot, you begin an unconventional adventure in unraveling the unconscious, ingrained patterns, chronic tensions, and long-held postural habits that have been holding you back. Physically reversing how you relate to the chair immediately interrupts the autopilot that rules your posture, perspective, and attitude. You simply have to start noticing what has been there all along, what is happening now but remained out of reach and impossible to alter because it was below the threshold of ordinary awareness. By paying attention differently while sidestepping disappointment and dread, denial and drama, resignation and wishful thinking, you develop your capacity to sense what you do over and over without noticing. Through small, mindful, uncommonly easy, and surprisingly playful movements, you discover that transformation doesn’t come from strenuous effort or require self-control. Instead, moving minimally and gently interrupting persistent patterns awakens your awareness and gives you access to innate capacities for improved coordination, breathing, and poise. By the end of this class, you will have:

A reliable, repeatable practice:

Guided through an intentional sequence of movements, variations, and reflective questions, you will reshape how you sense yourself, move through space, and appreciate what you are truly capable of. Because we review the steps and the learning logic that ties them together, you will be able to remember, revisit, and practice the process on your own anytime you like.

Somatic tools for improving everyday life:

You will learn practical Feldenkrais tactics for breaking through the fog of habit in the real world. Whether exercising, rehearsing, doing chores, playing, or working, you will have a new approach to improve how you move and feel. Please note:

• I am also teaching the same Awareness Through Movement class on Saturday, 3 October 2026, at 5:00 PM.
• No previous experience is required. These programs are educational; they are not offered as therapy or any kind of cure. If you’re unsure whether this program is appropriate, please consult your medical practitioner and obtain clearance before signing up.
• You will need a chair you can sit on backward, with both feet comfortably on the floor. The top of the chair’s back should be flat and allow you to rest your crossed forearms on it easily. Please wear clothing that allows you to move freely.
• You will also need a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer with a microphone and internet access. You don’t need a camera, but it helps, especially if you want feedback.
• Enrollment is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Participation is limited to 100 people per class. Once the course is full, you will not be able to log in.
• Each lesson is offered for free. There is no cost to enroll.
• These classes are live events; recordings are not included, nor will they be provided as part of your registration.