A feeling in your bones

After I finished teaching Unlocking the Spinal Engine in Paris, several of my Feldenkrais colleagues in the course took me up on my invitation to visit the Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy. Established in 1898, the museum features one of the most comprehensive collections of over 1,000 reconstructed skeletons, ranging from tiny mice to gigantic whales and dinosaurs, filling two giant halls. 

We took the metro across town to spend the better parts of the afternoon wandering around the museum, gazing at the shapes, sizes, and structures of our vertebrate family and discussing what we observed. 

It was fascinating to see our common heritage across the span of millennia. For instance, though the proportions and bulk varied, every skeleton shared the same design for the topmost vertebra, which is known as the atlas (because it supports the globe of the skull). The structure of the upper spine was remarkably similar: Almost every relative — even the giraffe — has only seven neck vertebrae. 

We also investigated the differences, like those in the architecture of the lower limb and the framework of the feet (of those creatures who had legs) and how not every animal has a collar bone. We couldn’t help but notice the wide variances in the form of the pelvis.