Feldenkrais(R) Training….the morning after and the lost weekend….

The morning after the first week of my Feldenkrais training I woke up with a sense of relief. “Ahhhh,” I thought to myself, “There’s no school today!” We had been advised to get a lot of rest over the weekend, but I was certain that didn’t apply to me. I was going to go to ballet class. After all, I hadn’t taken a class all week, and that was simply unacceptable.

However, I did feel a bit odd in the morning. Two of my Italian Greyhounds jumped on top of me to greet me, but when I reached out to touch them, I suddenly stopped. Why had I never noticed how clear, deep and expressive their eyes were? I began to pet them and was startled by how soft and rich their coats felt to my touch. It was as if I had never touched them before. I could not keep my hands off of them until they tap danced their way across my bladder and off of the bed. That got me moving.

I had some breakfast and got dressed for class. I pulled my favorite tights over my bare legs. Oooooo, they felt so soft! And so warm! As a matter of fact, it was such a delightful somatosensory experience, I pulled them off and tried it again. Yep, they felt just as good going on a second time. Interesting. I did it again. Tights on, tights off, tights on, tights off. I never realized how satisfying the experience of getting dressed could be; I’d have to pay attention more often.

All of my neurons were firing when I got to class and took my place at the barre. I felt every tendue and every plie like I never had before. And the music! I didn’t just hear the music, I experienced it. My coordination was amazing, my balance was terrific, my timing was great, and my placement was fantastic. Until I hit the wall, figuratively and literally.

My hyper attentive nervous system crashed. I couldn’t stand on one leg. I couldn’t even stand on both legs. There was no way I could pirouette. I couldn’t remember any of the combinations. I was running into other dancers. Dancers don’t like that. I was overwhelmed with the desire to lie down and sense my contact with the floor. At that point I decided to go home and sense my contact with the couch.

Once I got home,  I changed into comfy clothes. Oooo, my tights still felt just as delightful against my legs as I took them off. I made my way to the couch, and my two Italian Greyhounds jumped on top of me again. Their eyes were still as mesmerizing, and their coats still as irresistibly soft and smooth. I spent the rest of the day and most of the next on the couch, marveling at my dogs, my legs, my clothes, and my couch.

I wasn’t sure what was happening to me, and I wasn’t sure I would survive another week of training, let alone another fifteen segments. However, I was quite sure that I loved the sensation of my tights against my legs as well as the look and feel of my Italian Greyhounds. But, I wondered why I had never noticed any of this before. Strange, isn’t it?