SUMMIT 2021 GIVEAWAY

Here is the link for the following PLAYFUL lessons (10 lessons!) from Alan.
Remember, PLAYFUL has a lot to do with your attitude. If a lesson is challenging, smile, even
laugh. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
I hope you enjoy them all…J J J
It’s one zip file for all of the lessons.

https://aqmisc.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Summit+2021-Playful+ATMs.zip

From: Growing Young Fun and challenge with your

1 Lesson - ATM 6 hands and feet

Discovering, laughing, wondering, playing, giggling, novelty, joy, enjoyable challenges, having fun,
being silly, doing something ‘just because’...

How often do you find yourself in one of these experiences...as often as you used to...as often as
you would like? Thepleasure you enjoyed as a child, from just rolling around and playing, is
embedded in movement and is easier to re-discover than you might imagine.
Utilizing Feldenkrais®-Awareness through Movement® lessons you will explore all these facets of
your self and find greater access to discovery, novelty, wonder, playfulness, laughter, joy, fun,
silliness, enjoyable challenge, giggles, and doing something ‘just because’...
Guaranteed to be fun! Get Ready to enjoy!
From: Reversibility...ytilibisreveR Book on the foot #1, #2, #3 & #4
4 Lessons - ATMs 2, 4, 5 & 7

“If you know what you are doing, you can do what you want.“
M. Feldenkrais

So how do we come to “know what we are doing“?

Developing our awareness is the path to “knowing what we are doing“. Reversibility is the
keystone to “knowing what we are doing“. It is when our actions become REVERSIBLE that we
can truly say we have a choice in what we do and how we do it. Being able to more easily move
from where we are…to where we are going…while being able to effortlessly change directions
at any moment will be the focus of our inquiry.
Utilizing Feldenkrais®-Awareness Through Movement® lessons we will develop our capacity for
“reversibility“ and discover its impact on our actions, emotions and thinking.

From: What if? You knew how to adapt! Puzzle #1 & #2

2 Lessons - ATMs 3 & 7

What if you had a zillion dollars…what if you met the partner of your dreams…what if you could
do whatever you wanted to do?
What if were always words that were rich in my own fantasy life…until broke my leg skiing. I
quickly discovered a deeper meaning to Moshe Feldenkrais’ famous words: “Movement is life
and without movement life is unthinkable.”
What if you couldn’t do what you wanted…what if you were constrained in some unexpected
way…what if your movement choices were
diminished?
And…WHAT IF YOU KNEW HOW TO ADAPT!?!
In this workshop, utilizing Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement Lessons®, you will
discover how you can adapt, adjust and transform the difficult into the easy. You will come to
understand how a limitation can be the means to new action. You will realize that the cup that
seems half empty is actually half full of new possibilities.

WHAT IF YOU CAME TO THIS WORKSHOP… AND DISCOVERED ALL OF THAT… AND MORE!?!

“Movement is life. Life is a process. Improve the quality of the process and you improve the
quality of life itself.”
Moshe Feldenkrais

PURCHASE ANY OF THESE COMPLETE WORKSHOPS AND OTHERS AT:

https://www.uncommonsensing.com/shop/products-cd-sets.php
From: Creating Creativity© Exploring the Habitual…&
Embodying the Creative Process the Non- Habitual
1 Lesson - ATM 2

At times in our lives, being more creative is something many of us wish for. But how do we
access it? Feldenkrais®–Awareness Through Movement® lessons can help you explore, further
understand and realize your creative potential.
We will look at some of the foundational aspects of what it means to be creative and how we
can more fully embody the creative process, as you become more present you will gain insight
into your own process and appreciate how you can create your creativity.
If you are looking for a deeper understanding of yourself, an enhancement of your sensitivity
and a revitalization of your own uniqueness, this workshop can most definitely be the catalyst
to what you are looking for.

From: The Moment where we begin… Rolling from the opposite hip
An Exploration between Intention and Action
1 Lesson - ATM 7

When and how do our thoughts and intentions turn into actions?
How often do we unknowingly create unnecessary work for ourselves?
How can we become more like we imagine ourselves to be? The significance of understanding
these questions is key to accurately fulfilling our objectives in life.
Utilizing Feldenkrais®-Awareness Through Movement® lessons we will inquire into this moment
between intention and action. By discovering how we initiate the things we do, we can improve
our efficiency, reduce our discomfort and create a life more to our liking.

From: Sitting Better!... How to use a chair… and more… Sit to stand with different
1 Lesson - ATM 8 placement of your feet

We sit…a lot! An article in Livescience cites studies that say sitting is killing us!
But we are all living longer…which means we are sitting even more…so what can we do?
Maybe we all sit too much, so as long as we are doing that…why not sit better! We live in a
world of chairs but how well do we get in and out of them, sit or stay comfortable on
them…and in any kind of chair? And what about the floor? When was the last time you were
comfortable there? Sitting is more than just sitting! Sitting is not just a resting place, it’s also a
transition point. From standing to sitting, from sitting to lying and all the way back up again.
Come and understand how sitting is much more than your bottom resting on a surface.
In this workshop you will discover what helps you use any chair…sit anywhere…in a dynamic
way…using more of yourself.

PURCHASE ANY OF THESE COMPLETE WORKSHOPS AND OTHERS AT:

https://www.uncommonsensing.com/shop/products-cd-sets.php
Get more comfortable sitting in chairs…sitting on the floor. Get better at coming in and out of a
chair, any chair, and get better at coming up and down from the floor. And all the things you do
while sitting can get easier…

CHECK OUT ALAN’S BOOK!

Go to: https://www.uncommonsensing.com/shop/products-books.php

CREATING CREATIVITY©
Embodying the Creative Process

By Alan S. Questel

PURCHASE ANY OF THESE COMPLETE WORKSHOPS AND OTHERS AT:

https://www.uncommonsensing.com/shop/products-cd-sets.php
 HUMOR…What’s funny and what isn’t

Alan S. Questel

[Published in The Feldenkrais Journal 2012

Specifically written for Feldenkrais Practitioners to understand humor in the context of their work ]

In the split second where you understand a joke, you experience a moment of
“enlightenment.” It is well known that this moment must come spontaneously, that it
cannot be achieved by “explaining” the joke, i.e. by intellectual analysis. Only with a
sudden intuitive insight into the nature of the joke do we experience the liberating
laughter the joke is meant to produce.
-Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics

Humor is a topic that is close to my heart, actually closer to my mouth—a little too close
sometimes. Humor has gotten me into (and out of) more trouble than any of the other crazy
things I have done in my past. I was the class clown, the joker, and the smart ass. To be honest,
humor was/is a compulsion . . . luckily one that I have learned to control and utilize. Out of
necessity, I have come to understand humor in its many contexts and applications.

What is humor?

More than just jokes or funny stories, humor is an essential quality that can help us form
connections with each other. It brings us delight and joy, and when used well, it is one of the best
things we experience.

Humor is a significant communication tool that can be used in a variety of ways: as a coping
mechanism, a learning device, a bonding tool to develop rapport, a controlling tactic to maintain
a situation, a reframing device to bring a new perspective, a way to reduce or disperse tension in
a difficult moment, a distancing mechanism, a commentary, a means of healing, and, of course, a
way of having fun, pleasure, and enjoyment. We all know that there is some truth behind every
joke. Through humor, its various uses and applications, we are afforded different ways of
looking at things.

Humor also makes learning easier. The more pleasure we experience while learning, the more
likely we are to retain things, and, maybe even more importantly, to return for another
experience of learning. Humor makes us smile and laugh, and through it we feel more connected
to others and to ourselves. Humor is a gift that makes us feel young and hopeful.
Where does it all begin?

You probably can’t recall the first thing that made you laugh. No doubt it was before you could
understand language. Something in us seems to be wired-in for this kind of experience and
expression. We love to see infants laugh. Something compels them to respond to certain things in
this way. At some point in children’s development, we can see the beginning of their sense of
humor with pee-pee and kaka jokes. I always find it adorable when a child tells me a joke that
makes no sense at all, yet they find it hysterical. It sounds something like this, “There was a cat .
. . and he went to the store . . . and then . . . and then . . . he ate all the ice cream!!!” And the child
is now laughing uncontrollably, and we are left to wonder what it is they find so funny.
Somewhere inside them they are learning to recognize what a joke is; they just haven’t learned
what funny is—or maybe they have.

I have looked at more developmental charts than I ever wanted to, and nowhere was I able to
find any reference to when a child’s sense of humor begins to develop or how this happens. Isn’t
it odd that something so fundamental to all human beings seems to have been missed in the
scope of trying to understand human development?

Humor is part of our biology, maybe biology in general. In Amherst, Moshe told this delightful
story about a dog’s sense of humor.1 The story is taken from Alfred Brehm’s An Introduction
into the Life of Animals. Moshe describes an evening when Brehm and his wife were sitting in a
room, Brehm reading while his wife was knitting, with their Great Dane lying near them. One of
the balls of wool rolled to the floor, and Brehm “saw the Dane lying in front of him, and looking
at him so intently, with such a brilliant kind of expression, that he [Brehm] became aware of it in
spite of reading the paper. He took a look at the dog—he couldn't understand [the expression]—
and then he heard his wife say, ‘Look, the wool disappeared. Where is the wool?’ . . . He didn't
know what to say. He looked at the dog, and then, when she turned away looking for the wool,
the dog who lay there, opened [his mouth] and showed him that he had the wool in his mouth,
closed it again. . . . The dog so intently called his attention, showing him the funny joke that he
had the wool. . . . A Dane is not an intelligent dog, but what would you think of a sense of humor
like that? Heh? And when you read Brehm . . . he describes the character of the Danish dog. He
does it with all sorts of animals, and it is a joy to read that book. . . . And there are thousands of
stories that I tell that I remember until today from that book.”

Why we feel better after we laugh

We all know that laughing makes us feel better, but do we have any idea why? Aside from
possibly relieving some nervous tension in a situation, what happens in us? Recent research
about humor and the brain can give us some ideas.

In a study written up in the article “Why Clowns Taste Funny: The Relationship between Humor
and Semantic Ambiguity,” researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to show that
reward areas of our brains, the limbic system, light up much more when we hear and process

1 Amherst Training Transcripts, Year 2, June 8, 1981.

jokes than when we hear ordinary speech. 2 The response increased relative to how funny the
participants found each joke.

In another article, “Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold,” it was found
that, “The results show that pain thresholds are significantly higher after laughter than in the
control condition. . . . We suggest that laughter, through an endorphin-mediated opiate effect,
may play a crucial role in social bonding.” 3

While we may not be really surprised with these kinds of discoveries, it is interesting to
understand some of the relationships that are developed in the brain when we laugh or get a joke.
Our understanding of how our self-image is made up of thinking, feeling, sensing, and moving
might be further understood, even expanded, through these kinds of discoveries in neuroscience.

I have another idea. As we know, our habits affect how we hold ourselves. Our diaphragm can be
part of these patterns of tension and holding. When we laugh, the diaphragm (often beginning
from a held place) moves up and down, eventually settling in a more neutral place. This new
place is a resting point where there is more freedom to move in each direction (sound familiar?),
different from where it was habitually held and resulting in a greater sense of ease in our
breathing and in our selves generally.

Timing, orientation and manipulation = humor

These words are familiar to us all in how they relate to and comprise a well-organized
movement. Of course, when Moshe spoke about timing, orientation, and manipulation, I don’t
think telling a joke was quite what he had in mind, but it’s interesting how these same ideas
relate to humor or telling a joke.

When something is off in someone’s timing, orientation, or manipulation in his or her

movement, it is often perceived as funny. Most slapstick or physical humor comes from the
disruption of one of these elements. But these elements can be seen in other kinds of humor too.

Of course we all know what the secret to telling a good joke is ........................... TIMING!!! No
differently than how a clumsy movement often has poor timing, a joke with poor timing just isn’t
funny.

2
Tristan A. Bekinschtein, Matthew H. Davis, Jennifer M. Rodd, and Adrian M. Owen, “Why Clowns Taste Funny:
The Relationship between Humor and Semantic Ambiguity,” The Journal of Neuroscience 31, no. 26, (2011): 9665-
9671.

3
R. I. M. Dunbar, Rebecca Baron, Anna Frangou, Eiluned Pearce, Edwin J. C. van Leeuwin, Julie Stow, Giselle
Partridge, Ian MacDonald, Vincent Barra, and Mark van Vugt, “Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain
threshold,” Proceedings of the Royal Society 279, no. 1731 (2012): 1161-1167.
The moment when we get a joke is a change in our orientation. We are heading in one direction,
when all of a sudden it’s shifted. It’s the surprise, the unexpected and new perspective that makes
us laugh.

The joke itself is like a manipulation—a set up, to bring you into a context which will lead to an
understanding that will help you “get” the punch line.

Humor is also sometimes not funny. Humor can be divisive and alienate us from each other, and
it can have implications that affect our mood, our physiology, and our self-image.

Humor, learning and…not funny…

As Feldenkrais practitioners, we function within the very specific context of learning. Although
ideally all learning milieus would invite qualities of experience like feeling safe and feeling the
willingness to make mistakes and ask silly questions, we all know this isn’t the case. The kind of
learning environment we strive to create has an even higher standard for these conditions for
learning, conditions for insight, and conditions for wonder, and it’s through this background that
we need to understand humor and how it can best be used.

This is where the use of humor can become a bit trickier, because humor has the potential to
disrupt someone’s sense of safety. Understanding how to use it effectively is essential.

We also really never know what someone else might find funny, or more importantly, what they
think is NOT funny. When using humor, and finding out about another’s sense of humor, we
inevitably encounter a boundary. Unfortunately, we only know we have encountered a boundary
once we have already crossed it. And often at that point, it’s too late.

There are a couple of ways we can deal with situations like this. One is to understand more
distinctions about humor; the other is to respond to such situations in ways that can help us dis-
alienate another person.

Distinctions in humor: At whose expense?

A joke is always at someone’s expense: yours, mine, theirs, or ours. This isn’t a bad thing, but
it's a distinction that can greatly enhance our understanding of why and when something is
funny.

When I make a joke at your expense, it may be very funny, but it also has the possibility of
making you feel called out or picked on. When a joke is made about one person, others present
may see the humor in it and even think that they are laughing along with that person. But that
person may take it in another way.
It’s also possible that another person may then wonder if he or she is the next in line to be the
brunt of a joke. There exists the potential to disrupt or diminish the sense of safety, both for an
individual and for the others present (especially in a learning situation).

I can make a joke at my expense, and again, it might be very funny. But if it is too self-
deprecating, it can make you feel uncomfortable, to the point where you start to feel like this guy
has a problem, and you might not want to learn from him.

Then there is the joke at their expense. You know, like a Polish, gay, Jewish, black, blonde or
whatever joke, which, if you in any way identify with that group, well, we all know how
insulting this can be. Of course it then compels me to ask . . . did you hear about the black,
Polish, gay, Jewish guy who dyed his hair blonde? Okay . . . I won’t go there. But maybe that
made you chuckle a little—if it did, how come?

That joke brought us all more onto the same page, because it included everyone. It may not be
the best example, but when a joke is about “us,” it always works. When it is at our expense, we
can all laugh and feel safe.

This is why people feel comfortable making fun of their own population: a Jew can tell a joke
about a Jew, a black about a black, a gay about a gay, and everyone is included (it doesn’t work
with blondes . . . oops . . . see, that’s what gets me in trouble). And now we can more clearly see
that when someone from outside the group makes the joke, it becomes about them or you—it is
no longer about us.

Jokes about everyone or us are the hardest ones to find. They fall into two categories that usually
imply a shared reference system. There are the jokes where the “us” is obvious, where even
someone who just arrived into the group would laugh. The other is a category that develops over
time. For example, in my trainings, as the safety (and the humor) develops, there is an unstated
but consensual agreement about what is deemed acceptable as humor. When someone new
arrives who has not grown into this agreement, however, it can appear unsafe and even be
disturbing to the newcomer. This is yet another chance to either acknowledge or shift one’s
humor.

Whenever I teach, I have gotten into the habit of beginning with this statement: “I use humor
when I teach . . . and sometimes it’s not funny. So if I say something that you don’t find funny,
please let me know or speak to someone else and ask them to let me know, because the last thing
I want is for your learning to be disrupted or viewed through this kind of lens.”

And you know what—it works! I know this because people give me feedback and tell me how a
comment I made or a joke I told them made them feel. This feedback informs me, I learn from it,
and I become more sensitive and more skilled in how I use my humor.
How do we dis-alienate someone?

Before we can dis-alienate, we have to recognize that we have alienated someone. We can’t
always know this, but usually the signs are there, and frequently we just ignore them. There are
many indications of when we have crossed someone’s boundary. Most often the expression is
momentary, which is why it so easy to just forget about it and move on. When we do that, we
have disrupted something in our relationship with that person and created a little more distance
between us.

Can you recall seeing a fleeting look of shock on someone’s face, or their expression freezes and
then uncomfortably shifts? Maybe they hold their breath briefly, or there is that passing hurt
look. Or maybe you have been on the receiving end and recognize it as having been your own
experience. We all have seen or felt this, and we have all ignored both giving it and getting it.
Once in a while someone will say, “Hey, that’s not funny,” but most often they just distance
themselves. The question is, when we are the one who made the joke, how often do we stop and
make it right again?

To do so demands going out of our way to respond to something when it’s usually much easier to
ignore it. We have to practice acknowledging that we have made someone uncomfortable, and
then we have to make ourselves uncomfortable by responding in that very moment. Doing this
often requires a huge shift in our self-image. Instead of barreling ahead as if nothing happened,
we have to learn to be reversible, interrupt the moment, and do something about it. In fact, the
only choices available are to ignore what we said and how they responded, freezing in an uneasy
silence until something shifts, or back up (be reversible) and make amends.

How we respond in this situation could sound something like this:

“I’m sorry . . . I think I just upset you.”
“You know, I meant that to be funny, but I think maybe it wasn’t . . . I’m sorry.”
“Did I just hurt your feelings? It really wasn’t my intention . . . I’m sorry.”
“Did I say something wrong? If I did . . . I’m sorry.”

Saying these kinds of things, or some variation of them, feels awkward. And often the response
is, “No, not at all . . . I’m fine.” This is because it feels awkward for the other person as well.

I have practiced going out of my way to acknowledge a poor joke. Even when I get what seems
like a neutral response, I continue the conversation and say, “Well, you may be fine, but I still
feel bad that I said it.”

And that makes all the difference in the world—a simple response that lets the other person know
that you “saw them” and don’t want to let that moment go by!

The question is, are you willing to feel a little uneasy in order to further your rapport, or will you
let that moment be the beginning of the estrangement of your relationship?

Whoever said changing your self-image would be comfortable?

When is humor appropriate or inappropriate?

Since we are looking at humor within the context of learning, we might look at the bigger
question of when humor is appropriate or inappropriate. One thing that has a huge influence on
whether or not something is funny is the setting in which it’s presented. We have all heard jokes
that are really funny, but when told in a different situation, well, there’s that moment of awkward
silence followed by forced laughter (maybe). Almost any joke is appropriate in the right
circumstances, and most jokes will be deemed inappropriate in particular situations.

I have found only three settings where a joke seems to be inappropriate almost always:

1. If we are all in a room and someone rushes in and says that Jane/Jack/John (a person we all
know) has died. A joke at that moment just does not work. In fact in the immediacy of any
disaster, it is unlikely that a joke can work.
2. When someone farts loudly during an Awareness Through Movement (ATM) class! We all
know this one; someone is side-sitting, turning, and all of a sudden brrraappp . . . and what
happens? Nothing. They keep moving like nothing happened, like it wasn’t them! And we
never say anything. We can’t, because if we do, we end up “pointing them out” and
potentially disrupting their sense of safety in learning.
3. When someone is under anesthesia. In the book, Mind-Body Therapy – Methods of
Ideodynamic Healing in Hypnosis, Ernest Rossi and David Cheek explain about how things
are heard under anesthesia. 4 They say, “The patient in surgical plane anesthesia is able to
hear meaningful sounds in the operating room. The deep unconscious mind is devoid of
humor [my italics]. It records and associates communications in a most literal way.”

In an ATM lesson one enters into a state that is very literal and concrete. For example, if I ask,
“What would it be like to roll onto your back now?” The answer might be, “it would be nice,” or
“okay,” or “fine.” It’s often not heard as an instruction to lie on one’s back.

A joke during ATM is often taken in this way, concretely, and hence often not understood.
Because of this, we need to be more attentive when using humor in our lessons. And even when
a joke is understood, what is the response? I jokingly say that a good response to a joke during an
ATM is if you see their breathing change.

Now, is it possible to make a joke when someone farts in a class? Of course it is, but it definitely
needs a very particular context. I can’t imagine a joke about this working in the first ATM of a
workshop or a series of classes. Bill Cosby says a fart is the prelude to intimacy. Our classes are
intimate. People are getting more intimate with themselves, and we don’t want to disrupt that.
But if the person who farts makes a joke about it, or if the group has been together for long
enough and knows each other very well, yes, then it might work.

Remember, all these ideas, while they may seem a bit dry, are there to help you use humor more
often. Making people smile and laugh makes them happier!

4
Ernest Rossi, Ph.D. and David Cheek, M.D., Mind-Body Therapy: Methods of Ideodynamic Healing in Hypnosis
(New York: Norton, 1988), 119.
I can’t remember, much less tell jokes

Very often I meet people who say they can’t remember or tell jokes. Here are two simple
exercises that might help if you fall into either of these categories.

To remember a joke you need to tell it to three people, right away. It really does help. There is a
much better chance of retaining it by practicing it. The more often you tell it, the more likely you
will remember it.

To be able to tell a joke well is a bit harder. One of the mistakes people make is wanting and
expecting a certain response. They think the joke is hysterical and get so excited telling it that
they botch it up or spend too much energy and attention looking for and anticipating the same
hysterical response from others.

Here is a possible continuum of responses to something funny:

Falling down peeing in your pants – uncontrollable laughing – belly laughing – laughing –
giggling – chuckling – amusement – pleasure – smiling – interest – still listening . . .

Imagine you heard a joke that made you laugh uncontrollably. If you tell that joke expecting that
kind of response, it might work, but too often it amps up how you tell the joke, looking too much
for the same outcome. Think of telling the joke, but instead of expecting uncontrollable laughter,
only expect giggling. If your expectation of how someone responds is taken two or three notches
down on the continuum, it can help change how you tell the joke.

Conclusion (for the moment)

While the ideas here are interesting to consider, in reality they will neither help us tell a joke any
better nor develop a sense of humor. They might give us some insights into understanding
someone else’s sense of humor, or even your own. Whether you use humor or just work in that
field, I hope that what I have presented here will give you more information about when it’s
working and when it isn’t, what to do and what not to do, how to be reversible in it, and how to
enjoy it more and more and more.

Whether you were the funniest person in fifth grade or you laughed at the funniest kid in fifth
grade, humor is an acquired skill that gets better with practice.

Understanding your relationship with humor takes time (it took/is taking me a long time). Take
your time, smile as often as you can, laugh as much as you can, and share that joy with everyone
you know!

And…

As you can see, writing about humor is not so funny. I have done my best to interject a little bit
of it here and there. In lieu of humor in this article, Katrin Smithback, the Journal editor, has
peppered this issue with some of her and my favorite Feldenkrais jokes. I hope you find at least
some of them funny.
 SOME OF MY FAVORITE FELDENKRAIS JOKES

By Alan S. Questel

While writing my somewhat dry article “Humor…What’s funny and what isn’t”, it felt so ‘not
funny’ I had to take a break from it and write this other piece that are just jokes!
Some of them were published along with the original article in the 2012 FGNA Journal.
If you already read it then this is a little bonus and if you haven’t read it maybe this is an
encouragement to go back to the journal and read it.

You can figure out ‘at who’s expense’ they are at. And trust me, they are much funnier when
told in the right context.

(And…of course…apologize in advance if you don’t think they are funny…)

72. The cup half empty…

A 3-year-old child is playing on the beach when a gigantic wave comes sweeping in and hurls
the child out to sea. The mother rushes down to the shore and starts screaming, ‘Dear God!
Give me back my child! He’s a baby, an innocent! PLEASE! GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!!!
Another huge wave comes sweeping in and drops the child and leaves him playing like nothing
happened. The mother looks at the child and then up to the heavens and pointing at the child she
says, ‘He had a hat…!!!’

38. The Rolfer and the Feldenkrais Practitioner

There’s a Rolfer and a Feldenkrais Practitioner in the men’s room urinating…the Feldenkrais
Practitioner finishes and starts to walk out of the bathroom. The Rolfer says, ‘Hey, Ida Rolf
taught us to wash our hands after we urinate…the Feldenkrais Practitioner looks back and says,
‘Moshe Feldenkrais taught us how not to pee on our hands!’

104. Choice
Feldenkrais and Milton Erikson were talking about the human capacity for choice. Moshe said,
‘For example, most people don’t know there are 70 different positions for a man and woman to
make love in’. Erikson said, ‘That’s right…most people only think the man on top and the
woman on the bottom’. Moshe slapped his forehead and said, ’71!!!

27. Reversibility and Moshe’s famous quote

Moshe on reversibility…making the impossible possible, the possible easy and the easy
elegant…and…the impossible difficult, the difficult treacherous and the treacherous deadly…

29. Certification
There is a new certification policy that consists of three questions. They asked these questions to
a new graduate.
‘How many days of the week start with the letter T?’ The practitioner replied, ‘Two’. ‘That’s
right they said, which ones?’ He said, ‘today and tomorrow’.
Then they asked him ‘How many seconds are there in a year?’ ‘12’ he replied. ’12?’ they said.
‘Yeah, the second of January, the second of February, the second of March…’
Last they asked him ‘How many D’s are there in the song, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?’
The practitioner thought for a while and answered ‘352’
‘How is that they asked?’
And the practitioner sings, ‘Well listen…DD DD D DD...DDDDD D D…DD DD D D
D………..’

43. Change
During an ATM class some change rolled out of a student’s pocket clinking onto the floor. The
practitioner paused and said ‘you can keep it…I resist change…’

17.,18., 19. & 20. Metatarsal Jokes

I never met-a-tarsal I didn’t like…
Two metatarsals walked into a bar…the bartender asked ‘Where are the rest of you guys?’ ‘Just
a foot behind’ they replied.
Two metatarsals walked into a bar and the bartender said, ‘Hey, who's that heel behind you?’
What do metatarsals eat? Toe jam and toe cheese…but the healthy ones eat tofu.
What kind of car does a metatarsal drive? A tow truck….

64. Challenged but looking good

A man is getting married and having his suit custom made. But it’s not ready and not ready and
not ready and finally on the day of his wedding he goes to pick it up. But when he puts on the
pants, one leg is much longer than the other one. He says to the tailor, ‘What do I do with this?’
The tailor says, ‘Look, just hold the pant leg up with your hand’. Then the man puts on the
jacket and discovers that one sleeve is much longer than the other! ‘And what do I do about
this!?!’ he says to the tailor. The tailor says, ‘Look just pull it up and hold it by the shoulder
with your chin’. The man is furious and refuses to pay for the suit but has to get to his wedding.
He hobbles out of the shop, his chin stuck to his shoulder to hold the sleeve, limping, holding the
pant leg from the ground. Down the block are two old guys sitting on a bench. They see the
groom shuffling down the street and one says, ‘Gee, look at the poor guy…he is so crippled…’
And the other says, ‘Yeah, but look at the suit…what a fit!’

115. Perspective
A man is completely overwhelmed with how crowded his house has become so he visits the
rabbi for advice. ‘Rabbi’ he says, ‘I can’t stand it! My house is too small and so crowded…I
have my children and my parents and my wife’s parents and her grandparents and my aunt…it’s
all just to much! The rabbi thinks for a while and asks him, ‘Do you have any chickens?’ ‘Of
course’ the man replies. ‘Bring all the chickens into the house to live with you’ says the rabbi.
‘Are you serious?’ says the man. The rabbi firmly says yes and sends him on his way. A week
later the man returns even more disturbed, again complaining about the children and parents and
his wife’s parents and her grandparents and his aunt and now the chickens! ‘It’s really too
much’ he says. The rabbi asks him, ‘Do you have any goats?’ “Yes, I have three’ replies the
man. ‘Bring the goats into the house to live with you as well’ the rabbi tells him. The man can’t
believe it and although dismayed he does what the rabbi says. Another week passes and the man
shows up at the rabbi’s house really distraught. “How can I live like this?’ says the man ‘My life
is completely miserable’. ‘Do you have a cow?’ asks the rabbi. ‘One’ replies the man. ‘Bring
the cow into the house to live with you as well’. The man can’t believe his ears and starts
shouting at the rabbi. The rabbi firmly cuts him off and says, ‘I am the rabbi, just do as I say’.
Beaten, the man leaves and follows the rabbi’s order. And again a week later the man returns to
the rabbi, having not slept, unable to work or concentrate, really at his wits end. He pleads with
the rabbi, ‘You have to help me, I can’t stand how crowded my house is any more’. The rabbi
tells him, ‘Take the cow and the goats and the chickens out of your house!’ A week later the
man runs into the rabbi on the street and says, ‘Rabbi…who would have thought how spacious
my house is!’

189. Martial arts

There is a big Karate tournament with the oldest living 8th, 9th and 10th Dan black belts. The 8th
Dan is 88 years old and he comes onto the tatami mat with the help of a cane. He stands there
and they let out a fly. The fly is buzzing around when suddenly the 8th Dan yells and his hand
hits the fly and cuts the fly into half. The huge crown goes wild. Then the 95-year old, 9th Dan
makes it onto the mat with his walker. Again they let out a fly…the 9th Dan quickly slices the air
with one hand and then the other and the fly lands, cut into 4 parts. The crowd goes mad! And
finally they bring out the only living 10th Dan. He is 102 year’s old and he has to be carried onto
the tatami mat. His students carefully balance him there. A fly is let out as he stands there
tottering back and forth and his hand suddenly reaches out to the fly but the fly continues to fly.
There is a great hush in the hall. The announcer comes out and says to the 10th Dan, ‘Oh great
sensei, what a terrible misfortune, you did not kill the fly.’ The 10th Dan master turns to him and
says, ‘No, but he’ll never have children again’.

122. Ethics
Dr. Dave is terribly upset, as he has had an affair with one of his patients. He is sitting there and
beating himself up over having broken his ethics, transgressed his boundaries and done the
wrong thing. After a while a voice comes into his head and says, ‘Dave, Dave, lighten up,
you’re not the first Dr. to have an affair and she was beautiful and you both had a good time and
no one got hurt…let it go…’ He starts to relax and breath more easily when another voice comes
into his head, ‘You’re a vet….you’re a vet!’

7. Intelligence
There is a plane flying over the Pacific Ocean with the president of the United States, the
smartest man in the world a hippie and a priest. The pilot comes on the intercom to announce
that one of their engines has stopped but it not a problem; they’ll just arrive 45 minutes late. A
little while later the pilot comes on the intercom again this time announcing that another engine
has stopped but everything is still okay, they’ll just be delayed further but they’ll get there. And
an hour later the pilot comes rushing back to the passenger compartment screaming that the other
engines have failed and they are going down and they need to grab a parachute to save
themselves…NOW! And he grabs a parachute, opens the door and jumps. The four look at each
other and realize there are only three parachutes left. The president of the United States says, ‘I
am the president of my country, I need to be saved my country needs me’, and he grabs a
parachute and jumps. Then the smartest man in the world grabs a chute and says, ‘I am the
smartest man in the world, the world needs me, I have to be saved and he jumps. The hippie and
the priest are left and the priest looks at the hippie and then looks towards the heavens and says
to the hippie, ‘My son, take the last parachute and save yourself, I’ll be with my maker, I’ll be
with God’. The hippie smiles and says, ‘Wow man, that’s really cool, your maker and God, but
you know man, like we can both still be saved’. “How is that?’ replies the priest. The hippie tells
him, ‘You know that dude, the smartest man in the world…he just grabbed my knapsack!’

103. Not knowing

In old, old Russia, early on a Saturday morning, a rabbi is walking down the street when a
Cossack on horse stops him and asks, ‘Rabbi, where are you going!?!’ The rabbi thinks for a bit
and says, ‘Hmmmm…you know…I don’t know…’ This infuriates the Cossack who says, ‘What!
You are lying to me! You are going to synagogue! And for lying to me I am going to throw you
in jail!’ He drags the rabbi off to jail and puts in a cell and as he is locking the door the rabbi
says, ‘You see….I told you I didn’t know…’

113. Knowing nothing

A Feldenkrais trainer is in a training, on a break, when suddenly he has a moment of realization
of how little he really knows and understands. He sits there mumbling to himself, “I know
nothing…I know nothing…I know nothing….” An assistant trainer comes along and
experiences the same insight and he sits there muttering, “I know nothing…I know nothing…I
know nothing…” A trainee wanders by and he too recognizes the same thing and sits there
intoning, “I know nothing…I know nothing…I know nothing…” The trainer while pointing to
the trainee, turns to the assistant trainer and says,”Hmmph! Look who thinks he knows
nothing!”

126, 127, 128 & 129. And I found these on line…5

Have you heard the one about the hippocampus and the amygdala?
What kind of fish performs brain operations?
A neurosturgeon!

What street does the hippocampus live on? Memory Lane!

What did the Hollywood film director say after he finished making a movie about myelin?
That's a wrap!

221. Numbered jokes

A man has just been put into his cell on his first day in prison. He is lying on the top bunk when
someone down the cellblock yells out, “79!” The whole cell block starts laughing. Some time
passes and he hears someone else yell out, “42” and again everyone laughs. An hour later yet
another inmate yells, “61” again followed by uproarious laughter. The guy can’t figure it out
and ask his cellmate, “Why is everyone laughing when they yell out those numbers?” His
cellmate says, “I forgot, you are new here. You see in the library here we only have one joke

5
"Neuroscience for Kids." By Dr. Eric H, Chudler-http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
book and all the jokes are numbered and we’ve all read it many times so we just call out the
numbers.” The new inmate thinks about it and after a while he yells out “25!” And he hears
nothing. He yells out “41.” Again, silence. He yells “15” and again no response. He finally
turns to his cell mate and says, “What’s wrong? How come no one is laughing?” The cellmate
says back, “you don’t know how to tell a joke!”

222. More numbered jokes

There is a special club where only comedians go and every night a different comedian is on stage
doing his material. Nut since they have heard it all before, instead of telling the whole joke, they
just yell out the number of the joke. This guy is on stage and he yells out, “339!” And this other
comedian in the front row completely cracks up and says, “hahaha….that’s great…hahahaha…I
never heard that one before.”

(Now you know why all the other jokes have numbers….)

And you may not believe it but there are many more…but without the context of some time
together, trust me, they would be way too inappropriate.
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