My Journey Through the Feldenkrais Alexander Yanai Lessons

Article Summary

In January 2016, I began a two-year project to complete all 550 Alexander Yanai lessons taught by Moshe Feldenkrais. Working through the series in sequence transformed my movement, deepened my understanding of the Feldenkrais Method®, and changed how I approached Functional Integration®, teaching, and learning. This is the story of what I discovered—and why I encourage other practitioners to develop their own sustained relationship with these remarkable lessons.

Beginning the Journey

In January 2016, I committed to completing all 550 Alexander Yanai lessons in sequence, from beginning to end. The project took two years.

What began as an experiment became one of the most transformative periods of my life as a Feldenkrais practitioner. I had worked with Alexander Yanai lessons before, but I tended to choose them by title.

“That one sounds interesting.”

“I do not feel like doing that one.”

“I will save that difficult-looking lesson for another time.”

Eventually, I realized that choosing lessons by title meant choosing from the self I already knew. My preferences, expectations, and habits were deciding what I would explore. I suspected I was missing something.

Working through the lessons in sequence removed that filter. I encountered lessons I would never have selected and experiences I could not have predicted.

What Are the Alexander Yanai Lessons?

The Alexander Yanai lessons are a collection of 550 Awareness Through Movement® lessons taught by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in Tel Aviv from the 1950s through the 1970s.

They take their name from the location of Moshe’s studio on Alexander Yanai Street and are commonly abbreviated by Feldenkrais practitioners as the AY lessons.

The collection includes lessons that range from simple and accessible to complex, unusual, and sometimes profoundly challenging. Some lessons are easy to follow. Others are confusing.

Some seem almost ordinary at first and then become extraordinary. Others are immediately mind-blowing.

Together, they offer a remarkable window into Moshe’s thinking about movement, awareness, learning, self-image, and human potential.

Experiencing Moshe’s Teaching in Sequence

One of my deeper intentions was to experience what it might have been like to attend Moshe’s classes day after day without knowing what he would teach next.

I imagined entering his studio on Alexander Yanai Street, lying down among the other students, and allowing the sequence of lessons to reveal itself over time.

I wanted to experience the material as a student might have experienced it then—not as a collection of isolated lessons, but as an unfolding body of work.

So I decided to do them all. No browsing, skipping, or only selecting the ones that sounded appealing. I would simply begin with the first lesson and continue through the series.

My Morning Practice

My routine became simple. I would get up around five in the morning, get my dog Fred, make coffee, and begin the day with an Alexander Yanai lesson.

Fred, our Cardigan Welsh Corgi, became my faithful companion throughout the journey.

I did my best to complete one lesson every day. In practice, I averaged about 275 lessons each year, completing the full series in two years.

Some mornings I felt eager. Some mornings I felt confused. Some lessons felt pleasant and familiar.

Others demanded patience, persistence, and a willingness to remain uncertain. Over time, something shifted.

I began going to bed at night thinking:

I can’t wait to get up in the morning, get Fred, make coffee, and do another lesson. The practice became more than a project. It became a relationship.

Discovering Connections Between the Lessons

Working through the lessons in sequence allowed me to notice relationships I might otherwise have missed.

I began to recognize how one lesson prepared for another. I saw how certain themes returned in different positions and configurations.

I noticed how a seemingly unusual lesson could provide the groundwork for another lesson that later became familiar or “classic.”

I began to see recurring structures in Moshe’s teaching:

• A simple movement introduced in one position
• A related movement explored in another
• Variations that challenged habitual organization
• Contrasts that clarified sensation
• A final variation that integrated or generalized the learning

The lessons were not simply a list of exercises. They were expressions of a way of thinking.

Following them in sequence gave me a window into Moshe’s pedagogy, that is, how he created conditions for discovery rather than merely instructing people how to perform movements.

How the Lessons Changed My Functional Integration Practice

The Alexander Yanai lessons had a direct influence on my private practice. I often brought ideas from that morning’s lesson into the Functional Integration® sessions I gave later in the day.

Repeated exposure to Moshe’s variations expanded my own repertoire. I became less dependent on familiar techniques and more able to sense relationships, create variations, and follow my student’s organization in the moment.

When I encountered a limiting pattern, I could more easily imagine another way of approaching it. I might alter the position. Change the direction. Clarify a relationship between two body parts. Or introduce a variation that helped the student notice something previously outside awareness.

The lessons did not simply give me more movements to use. They changed how I thought. They made me more flexible, curious, and responsive as a practitioner.

Categorizing the Alexander Yanai Lessons

As I progressed through the series, I began organizing the lessons into categories.

Some categories were based on movement themes:

• Extension
• Flexion
• Twisting
• Side-bending
• Rolling
• Breathing
• Eyes and head movements
• Pelvic organization
• Feet and ankles
• Balance
• Developmental patterns

Other categories reflected positions or lesson structures:

• Standing lessons
• Chair lessons
• Side-lying lessons
• Lessons on the back
• Lessons on the stomach
• Lessons involving unusual configurations

Many lessons belonged to more than one category.

Over time, I created approximately 40 groupings, along with separate lists of lessons I loved and lessons I found especially difficult or confusing.

This process helped me see the series not only as a sequence but also as an interconnected network of themes.

Returning to the Lessons I Loved

After completing the full series in late 2017, I began revisiting the categories I had created. I started with the lessons I had marked as favorites. Some were just as wonderful as I remembered.

Others produced a different response: “That was a good lesson, but why did I love it so much the first time?”

The lesson had not changed. My experience of it had. The contrast revealed that learning is not fixed. A lesson interacts with who we are at the moment we encounter it.

What feels profound at one time may feel simple later. What feels confusing today may become clear after months or years of other experiences.

Returning to the Difficult Lessons

Next, I revisited the lessons I had labeled difficult. This was one of the most revealing parts of the entire journey.

Most of them were no longer especially difficult. In fact, many seemed quite straightforward.

The instructions had not changed. The movements had not changed.

The lessons had not changed. I changed!

My self-image, coordination, attention, and ability to understand Moshe’s language had reorganized.

What had once felt inaccessible had become available.

This was not the result of forcing myself to master those particular lessons. It emerged from the accumulated experience of hundreds of other lessons.

Learning had taken place indirectly, gradually, and across the entire system.

How My Note-Taking Evolved

I made notes about every lesson. When I look back at my early records, they are remarkably brief.

For example, my notes for AY 28, Legs Crossed and Expanding the Chest and Abdomen, read: “Position—on the back, legs crossed. Tilting legs, expanding chest and abdomen, triangle arms, lifting head.”

Just two or three lines — a position and a few movements. That was about all I could perceive and articulate at the time.

Later, my notes became paragraphs. They did not simply become longer. They became more relational.

I began noticing:

• How one variation prepared for another
• How effort was distributed through the self
• How breathing changed
• How Moshe used position and constraint
• How attention altered the movement
• How a lesson affected the self-image
• How the final variations integrated earlier discoveries

The evolution of my notes reflected the evolution of my perception.

You can see examples of this deeper reflection in my articles on Alexander Yanai Lesson 303 and Alexander Yanai Lesson 305.

What the Journey Taught Me About Learning

Completing the full series taught me much more than a collection of movements.

It taught me that consistency changes perception. It taught me that confusion is not failure. Confusion may simply mean that the necessary distinctions are not yet available. It taught me that sequence matters.

A lesson that seems unrelated to another may quietly prepare the nervous system for something that comes weeks or months later.

It taught me that repetition does not produce the same experience. We return as different people.

It taught me that difficulty is relational, not fixed. Something is difficult for the organization we have today. It may not remain difficult after our understanding, coordination, and self-image have changed.

It taught me that sustained practice develops more than movement skill. It develops curiosity, patience, adaptability, and trust in the learning process.

A Few Lessons From the Journey

Several principles became clear:

• Choosing only what is familiar reinforces the self we already know.
• Unchosen experiences reveal possibilities we might otherwise avoid.
• A difficult lesson may become understandable without directly “working on” it.
• Consistency creates depth that isolated experiences cannot.
• Taking notes clarifies perception and reveals development over time.
• Revisiting material is not repetition in the ordinary sense because the learner has changed.
• Moshe’s lessons are not merely exercises; they are investigations into learning itself.

Advice for Feldenkrais Practitioners and Trainees

I strongly encourage practitioners and trainees to develop their own sustained relationship with the Alexander Yanai series. You do not necessarily need to complete all 550 lessons in two years. What matters is consistency.

Do the lessons. Repeat them. Take notes. Notice relationships. Allow yourself to be confused. And return later.

Teach what you have learned. Let your understanding evolve.

Start where you are, stay curious, and keep going.

The Journey Continues

Although I completed the full sequence, I did not finish the journey.

I continued working through the categories I had created, revisiting lessons, comparing themes, teaching the material, and deepening my understanding.

The project influenced how I teach, how I practice Functional Integration®, how I study movement, and how I understand Moshe’s thinking.

Years later, I am still finding new relationships, I am still changing, and I am still getting up in the morning, getting my dog, Fred, making my coffee, getting on the floor, and beginning another lesson.

Continue Your Alexander Yanai Journey

My years of studying, teaching, organizing, and recording the Alexander Yanai lessons eventually led to the creation of the Alexander Yanai Collection.

These guided audio lessons make Moshe’s remarkable material more accessible while preserving the curiosity, challenge, and depth of the original series.

Whether you are a Feldenkrais practitioner, trainee, movement teacher, or experienced student, the collection offers a way to develop a deeper and more consistent relationship with the AY lessons.

Explore the Alexander Yanai Collection