In the branch of biology called zoology, the midline is defined as the median plane of a body, the imaginary divider that separates the right and left sides. In terms of being in your skin, midline is so much more. When the architecture of anatomy, functioning nervous system, and immediacy of lived experience merge, midline materializes as your sturdy yet supple built-in axis. The basis of support, agility, and resilience, midline is the core of your living infrastructure. This gently curving mainstay defines being vertical, bolsters your internal bearings, and situates you — establishing where and who you are — as you navigate through the world. A little reed,bending to the force of the wind,when the storm has passed oversoon stood upright again.– Aesop The body’s response to shock, stress, illness, or injury disrupts or destroys your once seemingly innate sense of uprightness, of being supported and centered. No matter what type of trauma strikes, you make instantaneous, unconscious, and automatic accommodations to protect yourself. These neuromuscular responses, including limping, guarding, favoring, and other forms of chronic contraction, persist long past their initial causes and lead to what philosopher Thomas Hanna termed “somatic amnesia.” This process of disconnecting from parts of yourself and forgetting primal patterns of motion, then forgetting that you forgot them, distorts the brain’s map of the body and muddles the midline. When your inner guide is no longer reliable or right, how do you know where you stand? How do you find verticality again, especially if you don’t know you lost it? Forgetting parts of yourself and primal patterns of motion, then forgetting that you forgot them, distorts the brain’s map of the body and muddles the midline. When your inner guide is no longer reliable or right, how do you know where you stand? How do you find verticality again, especially if you don’t know you lost it? Finding Midline (FM) presents a series of Awareness Through Movement® (ATM®) classes that offer an antidote to this infamous amnesia. Done standing against and lying on the firm foam cylinder as well as lying on the floor, these lessons are engineered to evoke, refine, and re-establish your internal sense of support. The roller serves as a kind of “reality check,” allowing you to become aware of and then decrease or dismiss the habitual contractions that have been pulling you off center and warping your perception. Table of Contents ROLLER ON THE WALL 37:53 SPINE LIKE A CHAIN WITH LOWER BACK BRIDGE 59:53 LYING ON A ROLLER LENGTHWISE 54:31 BETTER BALANCING ON A ROLLER 1:02:18 EMBRACE YOUR ROLLER 58:44 MIDLINE Discussion 10:02 MIDLINE Discussion - Local Recording 9:16 ON A ROLLER – CONNECTING FROM THE FOOT 52:18 LYING LENGTHWISE ON A ROLLER - Bonus 40:21 BALANCING ON A ROLLER - Bonus 53:17 LYING OVER A ROLLER - Bonus 51:21 Edited live workshop audio-only recordings6 Feldenkrais Method® ATM® lessonsMP3 files you can download or stream Please note that to do these lessons, you need three things: A firm, resilient [Ethafoam] roller that is six inches/15 centimeters wide and three feet/just under a meter long. A mat or blanket to lie on. Unencumbered wall space that is at least the width of your arm span. If you don’t already own an Ethafoam roller, you can purchase one from any of the following:http://www.profisystem.feldenkrais.pl/https://www.feldebiz.com.au/https://www.feldenkraisresources.com/https://www.feldenkraiszentrum.de/
