Moshé Feldenkrais’s lesson transcripts and ChatGPT

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.