Amphibian lessons: Head through the gate

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Introduction

Ultimately, you learn how to bend the spine to power the limbs. But it’s not the end that’s interesting, it’s what you learn along the way.

You will discover the places where you get stuck and try to “uumph” your way through. The best solution is to get out of your own way. Don’t try to think your way through, either. Let the movement “move you,” so to speak.

Amphibian lessons retrain the multiple ways we can bend the spine, but they are especially good for:

• swimming

• surfing

• ice skating

• playing music

• running

• rock climbing

• anyone with a scoliosis

TIPS:

1. All of these start on the front with a lot of rolling side to side. Read about lying on your stomach in How do I get set up?

2. These are best done on a surface that’s easy to slide on. Check out the moving blankets I use here.

This lesson looks at sliding the right shoulder relative to the pelvis in a very detailed way. It also asks you to listen to the slightest shift in the tone of the arm so that you get better and better at detecting effort vs. ease.

After clarifying the relationships, you invite a bigger movement throughout your whole self, to integrate the use of the arm.

(All amphibian lessons are from the San Francisco training, year 2; they were also taught in Berkeley in 1973.)

In this lesson you roll side to side and clarify how the pelvis relates to the legs and vice-versa. The spine starts to swivel. Note that the movement asks your neck to lengthen, but notice what is happening to your whole spine as you move. Do you give yourself permission to swing the ribs and the pelvis? What stops you?

With a lot of rocking the pelvis while fixing the head and neck, this lesson can free the upper back.

To clarify this pattern, see 318 Head through the gap.

Here you start to orient the face to the knee and arrange the hand to slide. Just starting to reorient the face to the knee will invite the spine to change shape. Think of using your whole self in every movement.

For more like this, see: 44 How to twist the back and use the shoulders.

Here you start to slide the head under the gap created by the arm. This asks a big question of the shoulders and the ribs. As with all lessons, the movements increase in tiny increments. Only do what you can do and don’t force, just feel where you can move.

This asks your spine and hips to create more differentiation as you roll the foot up toward the head. Your upper back will be very flexible after this!

For a very similar lesson and to help clarify this pattern, see 79 Bendy hips and spine

This lesson has some puzzle questions in it about how you are going to roll the head onto the arm in various positions. The invitation is to reorganize the neck and upper back relative to the shoulders and ribs in very novel ways. This lesson unwinds all kinds of kinks in the spine. Plus, it’s satisfying to feel you have solved the little puzzle, and created more easy movement in your upper back.

This lesson helps your pelvis, spine, and legs integrate in many ways. The use of continuous rolling helps the spine soften as you find power in the back.

For a similar lesson, see 397 Threading legs.