Oprah Magazine recommends Alexander Technique for back pain. "When Ibuprofen Won't Cut It" ....use Alexander Technique!
The recommendation is based on a large-scale study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in August, 2008.
In April, 2009, O Magazine published a more complete article, reporting on the back pain study.
See the original study on the BMJ site
Go, Oprah! :-)
Hello friends!
Today in the Wall St. Journal, "What's Your Workout? Sharpening Mind and Body with Martial Arts," by Jen Murphy, tells the story of one man's quest to cure his back pain.
Mr. Mark Fromm practiced martial arts and boxing in his teens and early 20's. He was forced to stop and suffered from back pain for years after a car crash in his college years, and tried many things to cure his pain.
What worked for him: the Alexander Technique, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and yiquan .
Mr. Fromm emphasizes need for mindfulness in all activities. Yes! Whether you're trying to solve a software problem or a body problem the first step is awareness. All of his practices bring one into the present moment.
Here’s the video of Mr. Fromm and his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Peace,
Dana
Hello friends,
I’ve recently enjoying a return to creative cooking. It started with a recent trip abroad, and a reminder of how good it is to eat freshly cooked, unprocessed food that has real flavor. I was keenly aware of how much better the food tasted for all the additives that were not in it. We bought small quantities of real, fresh food that didn’t have expiration dates a month out. We shopped often and lightly, and ate well.
Not surprisingly, all my teaching metaphors lately have been food-related. For instance, I work with a number of musicians; many of them are in pain from too much muscular tension in their minds and bodies as they play.
It suddenly came to me that making music is a lot like cooking soup. There’s a certain amount of muscular effort necessary to play, and a certain amount of salt necessary for good taste. I prefer adding salt to the soup till it's right, rather than using too much and throwing in potatoes to soak up the excess.
Continue reading "A Recipe for Pain-Free Practice" »
Hello Friends,
I just have a simple thought to share today.
Perfect posture eludes most of us. But what is perfection, anyway?
Is it a perfectly balanced mannikin in the storefront window? If that defines perfect, would you even want it?
Maybe perfection is more of a state of flow rather than position....
Maybe ease and balance and lightness of being are what we really want...
Freedom from pain, poise and grace. Those are the hallmarks of the Alexander Technique. When we have those qualities, posture....happens....
I will go dancing soon and think about flow, and line...and ease.
Wishing you grace to light your day,
Dana
Hello Friends,
Thanks for stopping by again. I'm inspired by my colleagues - surely a nice thing! It's wonderful to learn so much from them. My friend, Sandra Riddell, in Edinburgh, wrote a lovely letter about a quote from Viktor Frankl. We had a lovely exchange that I'd like to share. With her permission, here 'tis:
Viktor Frankl was a survivor of the concentration camps. He went on to develop a system of psychotherapy based on his experiences there, and the philosophy he outlined in his book, Man's Search for Meaning.
"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. The last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Dr. Viktor Frankl
Continue reading "Viktor Frankl: the Freedom to Choose" »
April 15, 2010
Hello Friends,
Are you on Twitter? Do you have fun with it or do you use it with a sense of purpose and seriousness, for marketing a business?
One of my colleagues in Holland, Maaike Aarts, wondered about making her tweets about the Alexander Technique more lighthearted and funny.
I think she’s right on target. I have more fun reading Tweets that have humor, are inspirational, or both. Whatever the subject matter, I tend to remember the Tweet and seek out the Tweeter.
I think the same holds true for learning something; we tend to remember the times we have fun without any effort. Doesn't it make sense to be easy and light in our words as well as our bodies?
Happy Tweeting!
Dana
Hello my friends!
It is almost spring and sunny and I am watching an amazing video that shows Roger Federer's footwork. Take a look!
What I notice is his amazing alignment and what in the Alexander world, is called "Use."
The narration describes his footwork and shows the direction of his movement in slo-mo.
You can also look at his alignment. See the perfect relationship between his head, neck and back. He is poised, aligned, and centered in all his moves.
Alexander used the word, "Use," to refer to the way we carry ourselves in every activity of life. He postulated that the basic way our head is set up on our neck, and the head and neck in relation to the back, is what he called the Primary Control for the entire, psycho-physical being.
The point, as one student of mine said, is "...making the most of the facility that one still has."
This related NY Times article on Mr. Federer states that "The argument for Federer as the greatest player in men’s tennis history starts from the ground up."
I suggest that it also starts from the head, down. Look at his head and eyes, turning and focused on the ball and also, on where he's about to go. Can you see the alignment? The head leads and the body follows.
Be well! Stop a moment during your day to say Hello! to awareness and being present in your body.
The first step is awareness....
It is a sunny day and I'm heading out to enjoy it.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Little moments of awareness add up....let's do this again soon.
Good morning friends,
It's January and many people are trying to improve their bodies and their health.
Depending on what your problem is, you may choose from a host of offerings. To lose weight, go to the gym and diet. To stop smoking, some people use patches. To cure back pain, what do you do?
The British publication, Pulse, just published a report on a study on self-care for back pain in the current issue of Family Practice. Doctors prescribed either exercise or the Alexander Technique. In the early phases, about 40% of people liked either one. As the study went on, the balance shifted to 66% of patients liking the Alexander Technique, while those who preferred exercise stayed about the same.
I suppose that leaves some people who didn't like either one, but maybe that's to be expected.
I think that having a 2/3 chance that you'll like something that's non-invasive, gentle, and empowers you to care for yourself to cure back pain, is worth checking out.
Give me a call! If you're in my area, maybe I can help. If not, I'll help you find a teacher near you.
Did you know?
A study on back pain was published in the British Medical Journal in August, 2008. It showed that people went from 21 days of pain per month to 3 days of pain, using 24 lessons in the Alexander Technique alone.
"Ua ola loko i ke aloha," means Love Gives Life Within, in Hawaiian.
One of my Twitter friends posted this today. I am practicing the phrase until it flows with my breath.
A Hawaiian friend explained "aloha" to me once. It refers to love and also, to breath as spirit. I think of this as love being the breath that is within us - which is life itself - so love brings life and breath within us and it flows outward to all.
Isn't language loveliest when it IS what it means? Wouldn't that be nice if saying Chocolate would create the experience of eating it? That's what the word, Aloha, does. The breath itself - the love that is breath that is also the word - is the gift you are giving and receiving when you say, "Aloha."
I'm sure my Hawaiian friends could add much greater depth of meaning. Please give me a call and fill me in!
Ua ola loko i ke aloha, my friends. 
Aloha,
Dana
Here are some links to resources online.*
altMD.com is a search engine that makes it easy for you to learn more about alternative medicine and find the best local health and wellness specialists.
A great resource for self-improvement on the Internet.
The Reiki Alliance Information about the Usui sytem of Reiki healing
Empowerment Quest International NLP & Life Coach Training Institute Kevin Cole is committed to your long term success as an NLP Practitioner, Life Coach, and Hypnotist and Kevin will reveal everything you need to know about these tools in a warm, inviting and fun environment.
*These links are provided as a convenience. No guarantee of quality of services is offered.
Hey friends!
Victoria Beckham decided that rather than give up her 5 inch heels to improve her posture, she could take lessons in the Alexander Technique.
It's all over the news. Marie Claire in the U.K. wrote about it today.
The Daily Mail got the word out the day before.
Walking in stilettos is all about balance, and the Alexander Technique is a great way to get there. I love my heels and will be teaching workshops on walking in stilettos, coming soon.
Stay tuned for more info!
Hello good friends,
It's so nice when you stop by and visit. Perhaps we can chat about nothing again. Isn't that how Seinfeld got started? It's a show about nothing....
Sometimes when you take a lesson, the best thing to do is just go along with whatever is happening. It's better not to think too much and let yourself experience a different way of moving. Have you ever gotten intense from trying too hard? If we play with the word, we have "in" and "tense." Put them together and maybe it's tension going inward, or inner tension. Either way, that's too much work.
I like to call my studio, the "no work, no pain school."
Sometimes it is Just Fine and in fact, preferable to lay on the table and go into the Zone. The body has a wisdom of its own. So many times what we really need is to renew the experience of letting it happen.
Sometimes, a mind is a terrible thing to use.
Dana Ben-Yehuda