We are in danger of losing this critical part of Feldenkrais' repertoire. These days, rollers seem to be used more in physical rehabilitation and exercise settings than in Feldenkrais lessons or classes. All too often, we use them only to provide support and comfort. While this is valuable, if that's the only way we use them, we will lose their potential as transformative teaching tools.
When Dr. Feldenkrais first started using rollers in Functional Integration® lessons, they were made of wood. Later, when plastics were developed, he started to use rollers made of a more user-friendly material. He decided to use rollers made of the material we now use, Ethafoam, which is a closed-cell form of polyethylene, because it is lightweight, strong, and resilient. Unlike wooden rollers, ones made of this foam provide some give, and unlike Styrofoam, they regain and keep their shape over time.
Over the years, Feldenkrais invented and taught many lessons using rollers. In some, he would ask a student to lie lengthwise, from head to pelvis, upon a roller. In other lessons, the student sat in a chair with the roller upright between the spine and the back of the chair. He would give lessons with a roller crosswise behind the student's neck, upper back, pelvis, or feet. There are lessons where he would ask a student to sit on a roller, to step onto a roller from standing, or even to go from sitting to standing on one or two rollers. Finally, there's a lesson where the student is floating on "a sea of rollers."
Adding one or more rollers to a Functional Integration® lesson fundamentally alters students' availability for learning and changing. At first, lying or sitting on a roller rather than the flat surface of a table interferes with the student’s potential for movement and makes comfort a challenge. Then, the roller transforms what was a static situation into one that is mobile, actively engaging the student.
I’ve asked Larry to teach two of these remarkable, transformative lessons in Paris this summer. One of them is rarely, if ever, taught in teacher training programs, and the other is in danger of being lost from the known repertoire of FIs:
- Sitting at a Column, where a roller is placed between the student's back and the chair.
With a large roller behind the student’s back, the teacher explores the movement of the head, arms, and legs, supports compulsive contraction, and helps the student find the skeletal support needed for effortless sitting. This lesson provides a much-needed bridge between what a student has been learning in other lessons lying on the table and what happens in being upright. In addition, it is also perfect for a student who can't lie down or isn't that comfortable sitting. - The Neck Pillow, where a roller is behind the neck of a student who is lying supine.
Throughout this FI, although the teacher touches only the roller and the student’s head, neck, and shoulders, the lesson affects the overall tonus and changes their global organization. The lesson unfolds as the teacher carefully follows and clarifies the transmission of force from the student’s head and neck through the spine and chest all the way to the pelvis. Exploring the precise connections of the cervical spine and head to the trunk reveals and relieves habitual patterns of contraction, uncovering markedly improved ways of moving and breathing.
As with all of Larry’s postgraduate programs, you can count on his clarity, thoroughness, kindness, and patience. His way of teaching makes it possible to learn how and why the lesson works, refine your hands-on sensitivity and skill, and make significant improvements in your self-use. You will become familiar with the entire composition of each lesson, from how to begin by engaging your students to how to create the conditions for their lasting learning.