Bending at the base of the neck

John kept Duke for a week while I was in Florida, and so my first ride, he came out and gave me a lesson on bending.  First, he wanted to know what bridle Jane rode him in (a flash) and why I changed it.  I had a "dunno" answer, and he suggested I go back to a flash because Duke likes to evade by opening his mouth, at which point I looked down at Duke's gaping mouth and agreed.  John said that the flash doesn't have to be tight, but if I limit a little bit how much he can open his mouth, it's going to help.
We worked on trot and canter circles where I bent him to the inside by widening my inside hand and then pulling back.  To get this bend, I had to push my outside hand forward (like the old pushing a wheelbarrow), at which point, Duke would feel comfortable enough to bend.  John had me sometimes use some leg to either push his shoulders in (he likes to pop them out), or push him in or out of the circle, crossing his leg.  Duke also likes to speed up instead of balancing, so John said to just keep my posting slow and steady.
Sometimes, if Duke was being resistant, John would have me bend him to the outside, and then bend him back to the inside.
He said always keep one rein with contact, so don't throw them both away at the same time.  We also did a bit of squeezing the outside hand (like a sponge) just to remind him it was there.
John said that Duke doesn't know how to move into the outside rein - that I'm asking for the aid correctly - but Duke doesn't trust he can connect to it, so the bending in and out teaches him he can connect and stay balanced.
It was one of those lessons from the last couple years, where John would tell me step by step what to do - then eureka - I'd feel Charlie balance up underneath me - but it was so many steps and so much coordination and so much feel that I had no chance of doing it on my own.  I'd like to say that eventually I did figure out how to do it on my own, but I'm not sure that John doesn't give me too much credit, and I'm just lucky enough to ride horses who try to figure out wtf I'm asking for and do it.
When Duke did bend and was balanced on both sides, he felt great.  He was sweet and flexible and responsive, and even though it was hot, I was so glad to be riding again.