Applied Alexander Technique Blog

Hello friends,

Some of my friends’ children are having children of their own. I get the fringe benefit of being a distant “Auntie” and get to see many photographs that they share.

We were noticing how babies sit and how they have such naturally beautiful posture.

Don’t you love the way he's so upright? I could just sit here looking at this picture and be inspired by the human form.

My friends have been buying baby furniture and I thought back to the days before my son was born. I probably drove my family a bit nutty with my insistence on finding furniture that would support a baby’s naturally upright posture. I wouldn’t use one of the umbrella style strollers, except as necessary for travel. I wanted a flat bed for the carriage, not an umbrella cloth-backed stroller. I saw too many babies sleeping sitting up, hunched over with their heads falling forwards onto their chests.

I don’t know, but I suspect – that putting babies into unsupported furniture is not helpful, over time, in supporting their development. They are so naturally open in their bodies, and so malleable and tender. Look how they sleep; they don't need anything to be comfortable.

I haven't looked at baby strollers and carriages in recent years so I don't know what is out on the market, nor what specific brands or models to suggest to my friends for their grandchildren. But I do see that babies are still being born as wonderfully, naturally upright little people, so my thought is to look for equipment that supports that natural position.

We’re born with a natural uprightness. Here’s a reminder. Enjoy!

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Posted In: Applied Alexander

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Hello all my girlfriends out in the land of Shoes and High Heels!

Are high heels part of your life? Do you gaze at them wistfully, from afar? Or do you condemn them as bad horrible inventions designed by men?

How does anyone wear high heels? As an Alexander teacher, most of the time I am in stocking feet, happily letting my toes and heels move freely on the floor. Most of my (female) colleagues wear flats or a small heel; as we all know, it’s better for your back.

But where is your heart? What is your truth?
Are you like me, and do you love heels?

I just saw the new movie, Sex and the City. It was notable for the clothes but what I loved even more, were the shoes…..ahhhhhh…..the heels. How about The Devil Wears Prada? The clothes were amazing - but the symbol of the movie was those devilish, divine, delicious heels.

How then, is a girl to reconcile working barefoot and knowing about backs, and loving those shoes?

I remember trying on my first pair of heels when I was a teenager. I wobbled and nearly fell as I tried to walk; it was probably a very good imitation of a drunk. My mother was shopping with me and she tried very hard not to laugh out loud.
My balance was completely off and I could not figure out how to stand up straight and take a step.

So, how do I walk in heels today? How do I dance in them is more to the point; I have been ballroom dancing for nearly 16 years and I am ever so comfortable in my 3-inch heels.

Continue reading "High Heels and the Alexander Technique Teacher" »

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Hi there! So nice of you to drop by again. It’s spring and I was just walking my dogs.

Do you have dogs to walk? If not, how do you take little mental health breaks during your day?

Sometimes when we walk, I meet a neighbor. Other times, I just look at what comes to my eyes and think of Thich Nhat Hahn’s walking meditation.

Today, I looked at the yellow and pink snapdragons by my front door and noticed how relaxing it is just to pause and really examine the details of a flower. I remember feeling that way on a vacation at The Mauian, a hideaway in Maui, when a gecko walked up the glass walls of a phone booth as I was inside. You can lose your worries watching sticky little footpads inching up.

Of course, my eyes were open looking at the gecko and at the same time I had a feeling of relaxation.

Some people close their eyes when they try to relax. What do you do? Closing the eyes may be an unconscious association with a certain amount of tension in the body and eyes being open, and relaxation with closing the eyes for sleeping or meditating. I realized meditation is also possible with eyes open, as with looking closely at flowers.

Once in a while during my Alexander training, the Director would put a flower in the middle of the floor. We’d all sit in a circle and look at it. The instructions were to just notice the flower.

Continue reading "Walking the Dogs" »

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Posted In: Applied Alexander , Mindfulness

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Hi Friends,

Welcome back. Yesterday we were talking about being Creatures of Habit and I promised to tell you about me.

I remember being horrified to realize that I was contracting my neck severely, every time I moved, and then to discover that I could not control this behavior. Try it again; try not pulling your head back into your neck as you get up. (And try not to achieve this through the unfair and unproductive means of stiffening your neck like a block of wood. Try to simply not do something you usually do!)

F.M. Alexander noticed habits of his own that he determined were at the root cause of losing his voice and thereby, threatening to ruin his career as an actor. He discovered a pattern of compression along the spine and through his joints, all the way to gripping the floor with his feet. He was tightening his throat and neck and throwing his head back and his chest out.

Have you ever tried to change a habit and then noticed just how tenacious they can be? F.M. (as he was known) discovered this difficulty. He reasoned that these patterns of contraction and compression were connected with the difficulties he was having with his voice. He tried telling himself not to do them, but when he’d begin to actually speak, he discovered that he reverted right back to his old habits.

Sound familiar?

Continue reading "Creatures of Habit, Part Two" »

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We are creatures of habit, or so they say. But are we really? Are you willing to admit to it?

I do. I readily admit to being a creature of habit, and I propose that habits are good - as long as they’re the ones we want.

If you agree with me, then it’s also true that good habits are a matter of consciousness and choosing the habitual ways in which we live our lives.

My first (habitual) reaction to the idea of habits was to think of them as bad things: “He smokes like a chimney.” “She eats when she’s stressed.” “I’m always late to appointments.”

Then I thought further and came up with many good habits that we’re all supposed to cultivate, like flossing your teeth and exercising and getting enough sleep.

One way to think of habits is as a reaction to a stimulus that occurs without our thinking about it. Smokers may react to the stimulus of finishing dinner by wanting a cigarette. That’s their habit. Some people react to any bad news by becoming alarmed; other people are more sanguine and take it in stride. We have habits of mental and also physical reaction and they happen coincidentally. How do you react to the alarm clock in the morning? Can you say that it’s entirely mental, or do you also react physically? How about habits of fear, or anger? Do you know someone who reacts to a request defensively, with fear, or aggressively, with anger? How about people you like; do they react with a smile?

We can cultivate happy habits like growing beautiful roses, and we can pluck unwanted habits like dandelions in the lawn. They may come back, but if we keep removing them eventually the lawn will be clear and green.
(Ha! I can hear you laughing about the dandelions from here! Do they ever give up?)

Continue reading "Creatures of Habit" »

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It’s spring and allergies are in bloom right along with all the pretty flowers. Do you sneeze, or do your eyes get a little red?
Allergy season can be miserable for many of us, but for people with asthma, it can be a real nightmare.

Sloan Miller writes about how tension is part of her life as an asthmatic, and how the Alexander Technique has helped her release tension associated with asthma.

One aspect that may not be obvious to people who don’t have asthma is that panic is also a part of the cycle. Sloan found that her Alexander lesson was helpful to create “a completely relaxed and conscious state” for her.

Read Sloane’s article here.

Sloane found this benefit in her first lesson and decided to continue. As she said, "resting takes practice." It’s not uncommon for people to notice significant changes after one or two lessons. Getting those changes to last typically requires a series of lessons. It’s like learning anything; if you practice it for some time, it starts to “stick.”

Continue reading "Asthma and Alexander Technique" »

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Posted In: Applied Alexander , Diseases and Illnesses

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Will Rogers said, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

Maybe you’re wondering how on earth what the most popular and highest paid actor in Hollywood in the 1930’s said could possible coincide with helping your stiff neck or tight shoulders.

Well, pull up a chair and let’s explore the idea.

Mr. Rogers said to stop digging.
He didn’t say to start something else.
The first thing to do is to stop.

I’m always telling my students, “First, we stop,” and I mean that literally.

Whatever is going on, IS, but while it’s obvious that it’s not anything less, what’s not always obvious is that it isn’t anything more.

If your neck is stiff and you come in to see me, I may suggest that you let it be what it is. I’ll say, “Let’s not add to it. Just don’t make it worse.”

Try it. Are your shoulders hiked up around your ears?
Try leaving them there and just noticing them.
What happens when you do? Do they start to release on their own?

When you stop digging the hole, it’s still there. Now you can observe it and perhaps some creative idea will percolate up on how to turn it to advantage.

Continue reading "Will Rogers and a New Perspective." »

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A very dear friend recently brought my attention to an article about chronic pain, and a possible connection with the Alexander Technique.

Here’s the article:

Chronic Pain Harms Brain's Wiring Friday, Feb. 8, 2008 (HealthDay News)

The article discusses a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, February 6, 2008 issue. The idea is that being in chronic pain causes the neurons in your brain to fire continuously, and that in turn could cause permanent changes that are damaging to your brain. The researchers’ theory is that chronic pain causes changes in the brain. Those changes could be the connection between pain, depression and other difficulties.

Pain can be increased dramatically by our own response to it. The biological pain level can be multiplied by a factor of ten due to our own reaction, fear and tightening up. Most of us tighten up in response to pain, but that can make pain ten times worse. Therefore, by learning to loosen up we may reduce or eliminate the effect of the multiple.

If the study is basically correct and chronic pain harms the brain’s wiring, then techniques that interrupt the chronic pain cycle may help your brain as well as unhooking you from the pain cycle.

Continue reading "Chronic Pain: Breaking the Cycle" »

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Posted In: Applied Alexander , Pain Management

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When you are centered and grounded in your body you are centered and grounded in your Self.

Do you want to try and prove it to yourself?

Try slumping in your chair. Let your chin come rest on your chest, if your neck will stretch that far. Let your arms fall into your lap. Let your back collapse.

Now try and sing The Star Spangled Banner in a bright and sprightly voice. It doesn’t work very easily.

It is hard to be up when you’re down.

And it’s hard to be down when you’re up.

One of the things I tell all my students is, “Wherever you are, you’re Up!”
That’s because in Alexander terms, “Up” means up the spine and out the top of the head. Therefore, “Up” is a relative term to you, wherever you are. And given that, then truly wherever you are there is an Up and it is within you!

We literally cannot separate mind from body, and mood and mind and spirit are intertwined.

Think about someone who is happy. What do you see? Are they smiling? Are the corners of their mouth turning up? I bet they are not frowning and tears are not rolling down their face. It seems simplistic, but it’s very true. We read people by their expression and also by their body language, and we do it all the time.

Continue reading "Wherever You Are, You’re Up!" »

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Posted In: Alexander Technique , Applied Alexander

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Welcome to my blog! I am so glad you dropped in for a visit.

Please pull up a chair and get a cup of tea – or coffee - and let’s have a chat.

I hope you have already heard about the Alexander Technique. * This blog is for another purpose than providing information. I will probably still do some explaining, as many visitors may not have previous experience of the Technique, but what I really want to do is to talk about the Alexander Technique and Life. That means applying the principles of the Technique in other ways than we do in lessons. I like to call it, “Applied Alexander.”

In lessons I look at the way a person moves; how they walk, sit, stand, and use a computer or perhaps, a musical instrument. We look at waking up a body sense that has gone dormant, and training ourselves to think in the body.

And in another way, we can look at the way our minds move, at the way our emotions flow through us.

Continue reading "Welcome to Applied Alexander" »

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