Numerical ALEXANDER YANAI (AY)
Lessons Index
Alexander
Yanai Sample Lesson ATM
Lesson #36:The foot and its toes Source: Reel 3, Track 3, Lesson 3 Side B 1. Please sit and straighten
your left leg. Place your right foot somewhere on the left
leg so you could hold your right foot at the ankle
with the right hand. The left hand holds your right big
toe. Catch hold of your right big toe in a way that permits
you to pull it. Your left hand holds from the tip of your
big toe, pulls it, and turns the toe around itself like
a wine cork from a bottle. Don’t
make round conic movements. Simply pull the big toe and turn it
around itself lightly. Please pay attention. Pull your big toe
like a cork that you pull out of a bottle. Don’t make conic
movements. Pull your big toe around itself. Pull your big toe
and turn it around itself. Organize
yourself comfortably. Put your legs in a comfortable position
because you will need to sit like this for a long time. Where
do you need to put your hands so you can be comfortable? Pull
the big toe. Do not push it. That means you hold it from the tip.
The tip is further from the foot. Take your big toe and turn it
while you pull it. Do light movements which both pull and turn.
Try
to count each time. Make ten to fifteen tiny movements with each
toe. You are going to work with all the toes. 1a. Try to do the same thing with your second toe.
Pull it and turn it while you pull it. Turn
the toe around itself. The pull needs to be continuous, light
but continuous. Don’t make conic movements while pushing,
but turn it around itself and pull the toe. 1b. Now do the same thing with your third toe. Slowly,
slowly, pay attention to the moment when your foot starts turning
so you start seeing the sole of your foot. You organize yourself
in a way that your foot slowly turns with the sole of your foot
up and your right knee will lie on the floor. You can rest your
leg in the middle, between your legs if this is more comfortable.
Usually it is more comfortable if the foot rests on the leg. The
whole foot should turn toward your face until you see the sole
of your foot. You can turn your body so your right knee can move
away from your body without force. Then slowly, slowly, your foot
turns with the sole of the foot toward the face. Only then can
you pull your toes as you should. 1c. Now try your fourth toe. 1d. Now pull your little toe. Leave
it alone. Lie on your back and rest for a moment. Listen
from the first moment and feel if something is different in your
right leg as compared to your left. If you can, notice something
different in your right leg than in your left. 2. Return to sitting and organize yourself
in the most comfortable way to take your right leg as before.
Turn the sole of the foot toward your face. Place your right
foot on your leg or the floor. Place it so you will be comfortable
sitting like this. Hold the big toe in your left hand and
begin bending it toward the sole of your foot. Do this many
times. In
the beginning it might hurt a little bit. Do not go past the point
of pain. Bend your big toe and bend it toward the sole of your
foot. Don’t stretch, but bend it many times. You will bend
all the toes many times. After ten minutes, if you do this slowly,
you will suddenly feel a bending in the big joint that, in many,
doesn’t bend initially. That happens only if you don’t
use force. If you do this forcefully it is so painful that you
cannot do anything. Bend the big toe down, toward the sole of
your foot, until all of your joints bend. The
first moments are a surprise when you succeed. How come? Because
that is how it is. Pull so all your joints can bend. Pull and
bend, do both together. Make sure there is always a pull. You
can bend the joints without danger the moment they distance themselves
from one another. Do this many times until you feel all your joints
bending. Bend until the part of your big toe under the toenail
begins to touch, or comes closer to the sole of your foot. 2a. Now start doing the same thing with your
next toe. Take hold of the second toe and pull it. Pull
it and bend it completely down. It
will go down toward the sole of your foot in a surprising way
if you do this without power many times. Don’t do this forcefully
because many people, when standing, have toes that are bent up
to the point of horror. Of course, with these people it is necessary
to work very slowly until it is possible to bend the toes. You
need to make fifteen to twenty movements. Pull and bend down.
It needs to be exactly like the hand. The fleshy pads of the toes
need to touch the sole of the foot. You can achieve that if you
make fifteen to twenty-five movements slowly. Make sure you both
pull and bend. You
can help with the other hand, the right, by pushing from behind.
Do all this very gradually and without forcing. 2b. Now do the same thing with your third toe. Pull,
lengthen it, and bend it. 2c. Now do the same thing with your fourth toe. 2d. Now bend your little toe. Move this one more
than the others. Bend it and pull it. 2e. Bend all your toes down with the help of
both hands. Your right hand holds from above the foot. Bend
the toes so all of them, especially your little toe, can
touch the sole of the foot. At the same time, turn your
foot so the little toe turns towards your face. Then you
can see the fleshy pads on the back of the little toe clearly.
Use
the right hand to bend all your toes down. You can help with both
hands. Start with your right hand and then use your left. Help
all your toes, especially the smaller ones, so they can bend and
touch up to the middle of the sole of your foot. Leave
it alone. Lie on your back and rest for a moment. Return
to observing if you feel a difference in sensation between the
right leg and left. Sense if your right leg is lying differently
or is starting to lengthen. 3. (Remain on your back.) Now bend at your knee
and put the left foot standing. Lift your right leg into
the air and place it on your left knee somewhere comfortable.
Hold the ankle of your right foot with your right hand.
Use the left hand to pull each toe. Start with your big
toe and pull as you did in the beginning. Pull it up, stretch
it, and turn it around itself. Make fifteen movements with
each toe and then proceed to the next toe. Do
not rush. Turn each toe more clearly than before. Turn your toe
around itself like you turn a cork when you want to get it out
of a wine bottle. 3a. Proceed to the second toe. 3b. Now continue and turn your third toe like
that. Pay attention that you use a continuous pull while
you turn. 3c. Of course, there are the fourth toe and the little
one. Leave
it alone. Lengthen your legs and rest a moment. 4. Sit and stand the right heel on the
floor so the toes of your foot are in the air. Bring your
right heel closer to your body and place both hands on either
side of the right knee. Grasp your right big toe with your
left hand and the remaining four toes with your right hand.
Separate your big toe from your remaining four toes. Do
this about fifteen times. Your
knee remains standing and the arms are on either side of your
right knee. Take your big toe to the left and the rest of your
four toes to the right. Gradually increase the size of the movement.
4a. Begin moving your toes down toward the sole
of the foot while you open them to the sides. That means
doing the two things simultaneously — distancing them
and bending them down. Anyone,
who finds it difficult to hold his knee between his arms, can
place this knee sideways. This is only for those people who find
it very difficult. Leave the knee between your arms if it is more
or less possible. Separate
your big toe and the remaining toes and bend them down after they
are separated. Without stretching, anatomically you can distance
your toes until the angle between them is a straight angle. That
means you could easily place between your toes a cube that fits
the angle exactly. On
the floor you can see that your second toe needs to go exactly
to the right when your big toe moves. When the internal side of
your big toe is exactly forward, toward the front of your mat,
the inside edge of your next toe needs to be at a right angle.
You can attain that easily. 4b. Now hold your first two toes in your left
hand and the remaining three in your right hand. Begin doing
the same thing. Distance your toes or separate them. Then,
begin bending them after a few movements. Bend them down
after they are far from each other. Pay
attention if you are bending completely through all your joints.
Everything, from the roots of your toes, needs to bend down. 4c. Now do a similar thing. Hold your first three
toes with your left hand and the remaining two with your
right. Make a few movements that only separate them. Then,
begin bending them down. 4d. Hold four toes in your left hand and the
remaining one in your right. Open them or move them apart
many times. Afterward continue by bending them down once
they are apart. Your
little toe can move an enormous amount to the side if you do it
slowly. Leave
it alone. Lie on your back and rest for a moment. 5. Place both legs standing on the floor.
Observe if there is a different sensation in the right leg
as compared to the left. Do you feel the floor differently
with your right leg as compared to the left? Place your
right foot on the left thigh in any comfortable position.
Slide your left hand underneath and place your fingers between
the toes of your right foot. Now, slowly pull the toes of
your foot. Try
to place a finger of your hand between every toe. Hold your right
foot with your left hand and pull each toe until they lie in an
even, graduated line. One should not be forward and another backward.
They should organize in a nice line like a fan. 5a.
From that situation, begin bending your
toes upward many times. Help with your hands. Use your
left hand to help bend your toes in the direction of your ankle.
That means the direction of your knee. 5b.
Pay
attention and begin bending your big toe more and afterwards bend
your little toe more. 5c.
Notice that you can place your hand in two different ways.
You can place the fingers of your left hand so the little toe
stays out or so the little finger remains out. Try to interlace
your fingers and toes so the little finger of your hand remains
out. Bend your toes up from this position. Bend them many times.
That
means your little toe will be between two fingers. Your little
toe will be between your little finger and the fourth finger of
your left hand. 5d.
Now begin bending the toes so your little toe and little
finger bend more. That
means your little toe and little finger will approach your knee
more than your big toe. You need to turn your foot, along with
your hand so your little toe can bend more. Your little toe will
move closer to your knee than your big toe. Leave
it alone. Lengthen your legs and rest. 6.
Please sit and rest your right foot on its side in any
comfortable position. From above, bring the fingers of your right
hand between the toes of your right foot. Slowly pull each toe
of the foot and each finger of the hand. Do this until the fingers
of your hand enters comfortably the space between the toes of
your right foot. 6a.
Now pull the little toe of the foot and then the little
finger of the hand. Continue like this, finger after finger and
toe after toe, until everything becomes organized in a nice fanned-out
line. 6b.
Bend your toes upward after your fingers are between your
toes and everything is evenly spread. At the same time turn your
foot so you will be able to see your little toe in front of your
face. That means the fleshy pad on the bottom of your little toe
moves toward your face. Do that many times. Also bend them down
toward the sole of your foot. Now turn your foot so you see the
base of your little toe. It
is the ball of your little toe, the base of the toe, that is toward
your face. 6c.
Hold the right foot as you have been doing and try to lie
on your back. Lie on your back and place your left foot standing
on the floor. Begin doing the same thing while lying. Turn your
little toe toward your face and bend your toes downward. Leave
it alone and rest. 7.
Return to having both feet standing on the floor. Lift
the right leg in the air and extend your right foot toward the
ceiling. Now try to bend your toes downward. Bend
the foot so your toes move closer to the sole of your right foot.
You will see that most people have toes that don’t bend.
There are two or three people who can do it. Help with your hand.
Bring your foot closer and soften your knee. Bend all the toes
down with your hand, especially your little toe. 7a.
Continue with the muscles of your leg after that. Hold
your leg in a bent position and bend all your toes. Help with
your hands. 7b.
Continue holding your bent right foot like this. Make a
powerful effort in your toes so they stay in the same position
as when you helped with your hands. Improve this a little using
your hands. Bend your toes and improve this. From above, your
foot needs to look very round. 7c.
Leave it alone and try again. See if you can succeed in
bending your toes only with the effort of your muscles. Can you
bend your toes as well as when your hands help? Try again. Each
time help with your hands until you can bend your toes as well
as when you have the help of your hands. Help
with your hands until it clearly is done well. There should not
be a difference if you help with your hands or not. 7d.
Extend the index finger of your right hand and bend the
rest of your fingers. Extend it as if you are pointing with the
finger. From that position, insert your right index finger between
your right big toe and the other toes. Without bending the index
finger,. begin bending your toes downward, powerfully, like before.
Now bend your toes as powerfully as before and discover if you
can remove the index finger. Leave
the finger of your hand straight. Bend your toes powerfully. Find
out that you can’t take your index finger out if you bend
the toes downward powerfully. The holding power of the foot is
sufficient to make the removal of your index finger difficult.
7e.
Please
try again. Sit and bring your straight right index finger between
your second toe and third toes. Do it so the holding power will
be in your foot. You are not bending your index finger. Insert
it straight between your second and third toes. Help your toes
bend down with your other hand. Contract the muscles of your foot
after your toes are bent powerfully down in order to hold your
toes down. 7f.
(Continue the position of #7e.) Try to lift your leg with the
help of your hand. Your foot should hold your index finger powerfully.
Correct
it again and again using your other hand until the power in your
foot is sufficient to hold your toes downward. Leave
it alone. Lie for a moment and rest. Listen
again. Do you feel your right leg is
different from your
left one? Do
you feel your leg differently from before? Can you clearly notice
that something happened in this leg that did not happen in the
other? 8.
Please try to remember everything you did until now. How
did the lesson start? You
started by turning every toe separately and pulling it. You turned
each toe around itself. Afterward you pulled your toes toward
the sole of your right foot. Then you did the same thing lying
on your back. Later you bent your toes downward with the help
of your hands. Your toes went downward, toward the sole of your
foot, and then you separated them. Next you did the same thing
while lying on your back, and so on and so forth. Each
person should think, in his imagination, about all these
movements and do each one twice. Close your eyes and think,
sense, and feel how you held your big toe with your hand and
turned your big toe. It was the big toe of your right foot. Imagine
what you already did. Imagine you hold the toe in your hand and do it. Try to
sense in your hand the toe of your foot. Sense, with
the big toe of your right foot, your hand. In other words, try
to remember through your sensation and feeling how it was. Imagine
two repetitions of each movement. You
need more than the lesson itself if you are really going to do
it. You will see that remembering in feeling and sensation what
was done takes longer than actually doing it. It is impossible
to do like this. You can only skim the surface of your memory
and do something similar to what actually must be done. Slowly
stand up and walk around. Pay attention to what is different in
your head, leg and foot. The floor is different for your right
foot compared to your left foot. Walk and see. One
shoe will feel different from the other when you put them on.
Right now, please notice your right shoulder. Now listen to your
left shoulder. Which one of your shoulders knows how to be better?
How is your right shoulder and how is your left one? Listen
to your face. Sense if the right side of your face feels different
from your left side. Your whole right side is different, not just
your right foot. Now
have mercy on your other leg. Start doing with it what you did
with your right. Otherwise one leg and foot will cry.
(End of lesson)
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