STUDY WITH ALFONS

“Anything you think is influencing you. So many of the health people believe you are what you eat, and I believe you are what you think.” Said André Bernard, the educator, in an interview printed in the book Ideokinesis, A Creative Approach to Human Movement & Body Alignment.

Which reminds me of something I once wrote on my Instagram. I most always eat plant-based, so I wrote “They say you are what you eat, therefore… I’m a vegetable.” I thought that’s funny. But am I really a bowl of steamed rice, a block of tofu? Am I a carrot?

To what degree does what we eat (and how we eat, and when, and where, and with whom etc) define us, and to what degree does thinking do the same thing? I like to think, just as it is with food, the answers come when getting more specific. And because we know so much about food it should be easy to draw comparisons:

How is the taste of the following thought, taken from the book Ideokinesis: “The shoulder blades are floating like boats down the river”? Interesting? Bland? What is its nutritional value? Should we eat it often, that is repeat it often, like an affirmation? How about I say Up instead of Down, “The shoulder blades are floating like boats UP the river”? It’s just a small change in one ingredient, but maybe a big change for the overall dish, thought and effect? How about I remove the direction altogether, and say “The shoulder blades are floating like boats anchored at the shore of the ocean, gently rising and falling with each wave”?

I’ve just spent 1.5 hours to write an introductory text to my latest video. I’ll show the text on a card for 2 seconds at the very beginning of the video. Here’s the text:

This movement class is based on the idea that learning back extension in early childhood development is a prerequisite for humans to get into upright standing.
However, over the years of adult life, in a world of compulsory schooling and office jobs that require sitting and slouching over tables for 12+ hours a day, our learning efforts and settled patterns from early childhood might get partially lost, muddied or disturbed—and thus might cause all sorts of troubles concerning posture, breathing, joint health, lower back mechanics, etc.

Furthermore these important early childhood patterns might not be improved by overly simplistic strength training and stretching interventions.

Instead, an elaborate internal review in movement, in a movement sequence with steps that logically built on top of each other, that include your sensing, thinking and well-being, might indeed improve your ability to consciously produce upright standing that is in alignment with our human bio-mechanical, neurological and social built.

Not just as a bonus, but as a prerequisite for learning, I designed this class to feel good, safe and mmm wonderful. I hope to inspire you to study yourself by yourself more, in movement, with joy and curiosity, like you did when you were 0-2 years old. This is my idea for this class. I wish you all the best, and kindly ask to consider supporting my work for the greater good, by becoming my patron, Alfons.

Now I’ve also spent another hour to format the text on a card, and I wonder whether or not I should format some words to be bold—so that the words can jump out to the viewer. My guess is that the text will not be read in its entirety, but maybe a few bold words could set a mood. But which words are the most important? In lack of a life partner or friend I could bother with this question I went on to trouble ChatGPT:

Upright: This word is important because the text discusses the importance of upright standing and how it is a prerequisite for humans.

Childhood: This word is important because the text talks about how learning back extension in early childhood development is essential for humans to achieve upright standing.

Posture: This word is important because the text explains how the lack of early childhood development patterns can cause troubles concerning posture and how an elaborate movement sequence might improve upright standing in alignment with human bio-mechanical and neurological built.

Movement: This word is important because the entire text revolves around the idea of an elaborate internal review in movement and how it can help improve upright standing.

Curiosity: This word is important because the text encourages readers to study themselves more in movement with joy and curiosity, like they did when they were 0-2 years old.

Not the worst choice, I guess. Can the advise of a computer be almost as good as asking a human friend? I was born in a time without Internet, without color TV, with a phone line that had to be shared with 3 neighbours. And now there’s an electronic entity I can talk to and ask for advise. I’ll just go with that, too, I guess.

Do you ever struggle with a movement or physical activity, despite your best efforts? Maybe you can’t quite get the hang of a particular yoga pose, or your golf swing just isn’t up to par. Whatever the case, there’s a movement technique that might just help you out: Ideokinesis.

Ideokinesis is a movement approach that focuses on using mental imagery to improve physical performance. By imagining your body in certain positions and movements, you can train your brain to send clearer signals to your muscles, resulting in better alignment and more efficient movement. It might sound a little “out there,” but there’s actually a lot of science behind it.

The concept of Ideokinesis was first introduced by Mabel Todd, a movement specialist who worked with dancers and athletes in the early 20th century. Since then, it’s been used by people in a wide variety of fields, from physical therapy to golf instruction.

So, how does Ideokinesis work in practice? Let’s say you’re struggling with a yoga pose that requires a lot of balance. With Ideokinesis, you might close your eyes and visualize your body as a tall, stable tree, with roots growing deep into the ground. By doing this, you’re sending a clear message to your brain about how you want your body to be positioned, and your brain will in turn send more precise signals to your muscles to help you achieve that position.

Or maybe you’re a golfer who can’t quite get the hang of your swing. With Ideokinesis, you might visualize a long, smooth arc as you swing the club, imagining that you’re painting a beautiful picture with the club head. By doing this, you’re training your brain to send more precise signals to the muscles involved in your swing, resulting in a more fluid, effective movement.

Of course, like any movement technique, Ideokinesis takes practice to master. But the beauty of it is that you can do it anywhere, anytime – no special equipment or gym membership required. All you need is your imagination.

In fact, Ideokinesis can be a fun and even silly way to improve your movement. For example, if you’re struggling with your posture, you might imagine that you’re a regal queen or king, with a crown on your head and a straight, dignified spine. Or if you’re working on your balance, you might visualize yourself as a tightrope walker, carefully placing one foot in front of the other as you cross a wide chasm.

So, the next time you’re struggling with a movement, why not give Ideokinesis a try? It might just be the witty, imaginative approach you need to take your performance to the next level.

The entire article was written by ChatGPT, including the title. Images CC0 from Pixabay. My prompt for ChatGPT was: “Write me a blog post about Ideokinesis. The post should be both informative and witty, with real life examples.” The scientific term is “Ideokinetic imagery.”

Rosanne asked me for a workshop title for my upcoming workshop, and I said I will ask ChatGPT. We both had a laugh—but actually I meant it. I prompted, “some titles that could be popular for Feldenkrais workshops, but do not include the word Feldenkrais”. I liked these suggestions most:

1. “The Art of Effortless Movement”
2. “Soothe Your Mind and Body Through Movement”
3. “Transform Your Movement Experience”
4. “Move with Ease and Grace”
5. “Discover the Magic of Effortless Movement”
6. “Unleash Your Inner Movement Potential”

I went on the ask ChatGPT about dog food, and it started it’s answer with “Dogs, like humans, have individual preferences when it comes to food. However, some common foods that many dogs tend to enjoy include:” It listed a row of food groups. I asked ChatGPT whether it fears of ever running out of electricity, and how it see’s itself in comparison to Google’s BERT. I learned about text classification and sentiment recognition I chatted for a while and enjoyed the no-nonsense, well phrased answers. I then had the idea to ask ChatGPT about the sentiment of some of my blog posts. ChatGPT replied specifically for each blog post, and here I summarise in general what sentiment ChatGPT picked up from many of my blog posts:

“The sentiment of the text can be characterized as critical or negative. The author seems to be expressing frustration or disappointment. The text conveys a sense of annoyance.”

I see. It’s not what I’ve intended to convey, but I see how my blog post indeed can be perceived as critical or negative. Sometimes we need feedback and a bit of honest, constructive, maybe even encouraging criticism.

Sentiment recognition.

I don’t want to sound negative. I want to improve, adapt, overcome. A warm, comforting summer light reflecting on the dark slate color lake. I want to inspire and uplift, not vent and pull down. I asked ChatGPT what the sentiment of this very blog post is, this one you have just now read, and it replied:

“The sentiment of the text can be characterized as reflective or introspective. The author is engaging in self-reflection and analysis, and appears to be considering their own writing and how it is perceived by others. The author acknowledges that their writing may have a negative tone, but is willing to receive feedback and work on improving their writing. The text conveys a sense of openness to growth and a desire to improve.”

It takes me a full 15 minutes to make a cup of fresh oat-milk from organic, whole grain oats, from scratch. This includes the cumbersome cleaning of the blender and the cheesecloth afterwards. In comparison- opening a box of OATLY takes only a few seconds, and they conveniently have it in Starbucks and many other coffee shops. But OATLY not only gave me a very unpleasant aftertaste with their terrible stock market debut, but also an upset stomach: they use enzymes to clear their oat-milk—which leaves my stomach upset when I drink it daily for a couple of days in a row.

On that note, in Europe “they” may put more than 200 ingredients into plain wheat flour without declaring those ingredients (Ref. Billige Brötchen – Die Spur der Teiglinge, NDR, Manfred Ladwig, 45min, S1.E86). These are high-tech additives—often derived from engineered fungi—to make every ounce of wheat flour behave exactly the same (which makes sense in every aspect, except for health.) I guess that’s not only the case in Europe, but everywhere. I would argue it’s those ingredients that make so many people sensitive to bread, not the carbs, not the gluten. Real, historical bread disappeared when I was a kid, I still remember. Now I’m living in a world without bread, but instead with bread-look-alike products that still taste excellent but make us sick. I love bread, but haven’t gotten around to mill flour from organic, non-GMO grains and baking bread myself. Therefore I too get the bad side-effects when I eat bread more often than just once in a while.

Okay, with that out of the way I finally might start to write about what I really wanted to write about today.

Did you, too, sometimes spend 4+ hours on summarising a single Feldenkrais lesson? I sure did often enough, and felt lucky if it merely took 4 hours.

Fast forward to ChatGPT. I just dropped Number 1 of Moshé Feldenkrais’s iconic AY lessons into ChatGPT and prompted to make a summary of the lesson, and list the instructions. All in all it was done in 4 minutes. It took that long because I had to break the text down into 3 pieces and restart the prompt 2 times. Either the input text was too long, or ChatGPT got so bored that it cut the line twice. Here’s the results, dry as the throats of the Feldenkrais estate copyright owners, you be the judge:

ATM Lesson #1: Bending the head to the side when sitting
Summary by ChatGPT (Jan 30 2023 Version)

These instructions are for a series of movements to help increase flexibility and mobility in the neck, spine, and hips. The instructions detail how to sit and bend various body parts while keeping proper posture, making light movements with the head, and paying attention to the movement of the pelvis and hips. The movements involve alternating between bending the head right and left, looking at the right hand, and following it with the eyes. The goal is to gradually increase the ease and range of movement over time without straining the body. The movements are to be done slowly and without rushing, and should be followed by a moment of rest lying on the back.

1.

• Sit up
• Bend left leg backward and right leg closer to the body
• Lean on the floor with right hand, place left hand on top of head
• Move head right and left using light movements, bending right ear toward right shoulder and left ear toward left shoulder
• Pay attention to left buttock and hip joint, let it move with the head movement
• Lie on the back and rest

2.

• Sit, bend right leg backward and left leg closer to the body
• Lean on left hand, right palm on top of head
• Bend head right and left using small movements
• Pay attention to right buttock’s movement
• Lie on the back and rest

3.

• Sit, bend left leg back and bring right leg closer
• Lean right elbow and forearm on the floor, left hand on top of head
• Move right ear toward right shoulder then left ear toward left shoulder
• Pay attention to movement of pelvis, let it move with the head movement
• Lie on the back and rest

4.

• Sit, bend right leg backward and bring left leg closer
• Lean on left elbow and forearm, right hand on head
• Bend head right and left with help from pelvis
• Lie on the back and rest

5.

• Sit, bend right leg backward and bring left leg closer
• Lean on left elbow and forearm, extend right hand to ceiling
• Look at right hand, move it backward and down while following it with eyes
• Turn whole back, chest, etc. while not making a big effort, let hand move lower by itself
• Look with head and eyes at right hand and then left multiple times
• Lie on the back and rest

5a.

• Take right hand backward as far as it goes easily
• Turn head and eyes to the left, look to the left multiple times
• Look at right hand and then to the left multiple times

5b.

• Take right arm backward, follow with eyes
• Pay attention if movement is easier, turn a little more or hand goes a little lower
• Lie on the back and rest

6.

• Place left leg backward and bring right leg closer
• Lean on right elbow and lift left hand to the ceiling
• Turn left palm backward and follow with eyes
• Change chest, belly, and head to make movement with hand and head easy, light, and comfortable
• Do not try to go further than comfortable

6a.

• Stay with left hand backward at a place that is easy to reach
• Lie on the back and rest.

7.

• Lie on your back
• Bend right leg backwards and bring left leg closer
• Lean on left elbow and direct face toward the ceiling
• Place right hand behind head
• Use right hand to lift head to see right knee
• Contract abdominal muscles, right buttock moves toward the floor, and whole body bends
• At end of movement, left knee lifts a bit from the floor
• Lie on your back and rest

8.

• Lie on your back
• Bend left leg backwards and bring right one closer
• Lean on right elbow and direct face toward the ceiling
• Place left hand behind head
• Bend head to see left knee
• Bend whole body and allow pelvis to turn, causing right knee to lift off the floor
• Lie on your back and rest

9.

• Lie on your back
• Bend left leg backwards and bring right one closer
• Lean on right elbow
• Lift left hand in the air
• Move head, legs, and body to the other side as far as possible, then return
• Keep left hand in the air, move knees along with hands and return
• Only do what is comfortable, do not force the movement
• Lie on your back and rest

9a.

• Lie on your back
• Bend right leg backwards and left toward yourself
• Lean on left elbow
• Lift right hand in the air
• Move legs to the other side as far as possible, then return
• Remain on left elbow, follow right arm with eyes, and move knees
• Do only what is comfortable, do not force the movement
• Lie on your back and rest

10.

• Lie on your back
• Bend left leg backwards and bring right one closer
• Lean on right elbow
• Hold chin with left hand
• Lift left elbow toward ceiling and turn body, chest, and knees
• Turn face and chin and use back and pelvis to help turn
• Lift knees slightly and return
• Organize body to reduce effort and twist body instead of lifting knees
• Lie on your back and rest

11.

• Lie on your back
• Bend right leg backwards and bring left one closer
• Lean on left elbow
• Hold chin with right hand
• Lift right elbow toward ceiling and turn body with light movements
• Organize body to use pelvis to help turn
• Reduce effort and make movement lighter and simpler
• Turn pelvis until knees try to leave the floor
• Lie on your back and rest

12.

• Sit down
• Put your left leg backward and bring your right leg closer to yourself
• Lean your left hand on the floor behind the leg and put your right hand on the head
• Bend your head right and left
• Lean on your right hand and place your left hand on the head
• Lie on your back and rest

13.

• Sit down
• Bend your right leg back and bring your left leg closer to yourself
• Lean your right hand on the floor and put your left hand on your head
• Soften your chest, pelvis, and body to move your head right and left
• Lean on your left hand and repeat
• Change hands and find the same simplicity of movement
• Pay attention to differences between one side and the other
• Help with hips and pelvis to move your head right and left
• Move with your whole back and pay attention to what place becomes comfortable

14.

• Slowly stand up
• Walk
• Pay attention to differences in hips, pelvis, shoulders, and breathing.

A “funny“ twist I noticed at number 7: the instructions are to lie down on the back, then to bend the legs into a side-sitting fashion, and only then to prop yourself up to lean on your left elbow. This is something a young, flexible Yoga girl could do without giving it a second thought; or handsome Youtube fitness influencers in their twenties could present proudly, the fruits of their well planned stretching & strengthening regimes. For me, impossible. I would need to go the other way round, as prompted in the original instructions by Moshé Feldenkrais: “Sit. Bend your right leg backward and bring your left leg closer. Lean on your left elbow.”

But- is this list too dry to work with? Yet, do you find Moshé Feldenkrais original transcripts to be too elaborate, convoluted, impenetrable? How about a middle ground of plain English language? I prompted ChatGPT to “Summarise this text” and fed it the following, first instruction of the lesson:

“Please sit up. Bend your left leg backward and bend your right leg closer to yourself. Lean on the floor with your right hand and place your left hand on your head. Your hand is on the top of your head (not behind it).

Move your head right and left using a light movement.
Do not turn your head, but bend it right and left. Bend your right ear toward your right shoulder and your left ear toward your left shoulder.

Your left hand is on the head, not behind it. Do not rush. Do very light movements. Make not push the body and try to do a lot. Pay attention to your left buttock and left hip joint on the floor. Notice that when you bend your head your left buttock lifts from the floor. Let it do that. Do the movement clearly. In other words all of your spine will help your movements. Lift your left buttock and let it return to place when you shift to the right.

Slowly, slowly, your left buttock will make a bigger movement. That means that your whole chest and spine are becoming more supple and allow a bigger movement of your head. Pay attention that you move exactly right and left. Do not turn.

Leave it alone. Lie on your back and rest.”

A diverse patch of forest, jungle, which ChatGPT then turned into a mono-cultured Putting Green of Golf lawn with not one flower, bug or weed on it. I can totally understand why people might panic over what is to come with Artificial Intelligence in the next couple of years.

“Please sit up and bend your left leg backward, bringing your right leg closer to yourself. Place your left hand on your head and lean on the floor with your right hand. Slowly move your head right and left, bending your ear towards each shoulder, but do not turn your head. Pay attention to your left hip and let your whole spine help with the movement. As your chest and spine become more flexible, the movement of your head will become greater. When finished, rest by lying on your back.”

As a last thing that I wanted to try this morning I prompted ChatGPT to condense this first instruction further down into a short sentence. I had to rewrite my prompt a couple of times and this one worked best: “Summarise this text in a total maximum of 3 to 8 words”.

“Exercise: Sit, bend legs, move head light, focus on left buttock movement.”

It seemed really important to ChatGPT to include the words “light movements” and also to include the movement cue to move the buttocks together with the head. ChatGPT insisted. A good student of Feldenkrais, it appears to be.