Did you know that back pain is the most common kind of pain suffered here in America?

According to the American Pain Foundation, “Back pain is the leading cause of disability in Americans under 45 year old. More than 26 million Americans between the ages of 20-64 experience frequent back pain.”

My previous post brought a recent publication to your attention. On August 19, 2008, the British Medical Journal published research that showed long-term benefits of Alexander lessons for the
relief of back pain, that have been shown to be effective a year later.

Given how many people suffer from back pain, is it any wonder that articles referencing the study have sprouted like mushrooms, overnight? Google cited 88 articles in 48 hours since the study was released.

One of my colleagues, Debby Jay*, recently sent out highlights of a couple of these articles. Thanks very much, Debby, for sharing this:

From PULSE (a resource for MD's in England):

Alexander technique offers major back pain benefits

20 Aug 08
By Nigel Praities

Alexander technique provides significant benefit over usual care for
patients with chronic low back pain, say the authors of the first long-term UK trial ...

In a landmark trial likely to be considered in the National Institute of
Clinical Health Excellence (NICE) guidelines for back pain due for release next year, 24 sessions of Alexander technique resulted in a 86% reduction in days in pain and a 42% reduction in disability compared with usual care after one year ...

Professor Paul Little, lead author and professor of primary care research,
said his study showed Alexander technique was a low-cost alternative to
currently available care...

The British Medical Journal just published results from the first, large-scale trial of the Alexander Technique. This is a large-scale, randomized, controlled study of back pain and the Alexander Technique.

The British Medical Journal published the study results on 8/19/08. Results are very favorable! You can find it at the BMJ website or here is a direct link to the study.

Also, here are links to articles that already came out since the study was released. Wow, the press is quick on the draw!

BBC News: Back pain eased by good posture

Telegraph News: Alexander posture technique 'most effective at reducing back pain'

The Guardian: Health: Alexander technique 'does ease back pain'

The Daily Mail: An old cure for a modern malaise: Alexander Technique can beat chronic back pain

It is wonderful to share this news and just in time for International Alexander Awareness Week, October 4 - 12, 2008. Stay tuned.... :-)

Here’s a question for you. Have you had your eyes examined recently? I did, and learned that flashing eyes are not just a figment of fiction and fairy tales.

Dr. Michael Marmor, world-renowned retinal specialist and Professor of Ophthalmology, Stanford University, sat across from me. He wanted to measure the electricity that is emitted from my retina, as a measure of the health of my eye.

“Do you mean that our eyes really emit electricity?”

“Yes!”

I started to smile, “…so the idea of someone having flashing eyes is real?”

“We are electrical beings. The body works through electricity!”

I was fascinated. Pacemakers work on electricity. Brain neurons and in fact, the nervous system communicate electrically. Now I learn that our eyes not only have electricity, they emit it.

“Do people tell you a lot that you have great posture?”

“I want to have good posture like you.”

I hear things like this very often but am always caught offguard. Given that the work I do is helpful for being upright, my own surprise is surprising, so I took some time to think about it.

I suppose I do have what you’d call good posture. It’s the way I use myself; it’s how I move and stand. But that’s not really the point of this work, at least not the first point of it.

One of the principles of the Technique is that Use affects Functioning. I think that given the constraints of a condition, practicing the Alexander Technique is one way to have the best Use possible, and therefore, better functioning.

My teacher-trainer, Giora Pinkas, says that we have to “honor the structure.” It is not about forcing your bones into a shape they cannot go. It’s more about realizing that, given the limitations of anyone’s structure, how can we have some ease? How can we have the best functioning possible?

Along with that ease and better functioning, does good posture evolve as a result? Or is better posture part of finding more ease?

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!

How did you come to find this blog? How did you find out about the Alexander Technique?

A number of people have come to me for lessons recently. When I asked how they found out about the Alexander Technique, several people have said that they have been reading a book:

How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live: Learning the Alexander Technique to Explore Your Mind-Body Connection and Achieve Self-Mastery, by Missy Vineyard

People tell me they are enjoying the book. It has many case studies with interesting stories and also gives a great amount of detailed information about studying the technique, and also, teaching it.

I know of this book from Missy Vineyard, and have been reading it, myself. I find that it is not simple reading, however it has a great deal of information that’s both interesting and also, food for thought. I particularly enjoy her discussion of the mind-body connection and neuroscience.

If you are looking for a complete book, this may be a good place to start.

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.

I readily admit to thinking about it but not slowing down enough while 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.

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?

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?)

This is very useful information for anyone as it's a good article that outlines the history of F.M. Alexander as well as explaining why and how it works.

It also includes pictures and notes about the actor, William Hurt, who has been an advocate of the Technique.

Enjoy!

* Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

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.”

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.

Montel speaks about how he fights back and how exercise and an eating regimen play an important role, in an interview by the Seattle Times, January 23, 2008.

The MS Foundation is celebrating March as National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness and Education Month and the MS Society is celebrating MS Awareness Week, March 10-17, 2008. It’s all about education and assistance and empowering people with MS to live well.

Among the various types of exercise and movement awareness methods recommended for people with MS, the MS Foundation recommends the Alexander Technique. It can help improve balance and control, teach efficient movement and reduce fatigue, all of which are beneficial for Multiple Sclerosis.

Here is an article published in MS Focus about the Alexander Technique and Multiple Sclerosis, January 2006 issue. It’s called Come to Your Senses with the Alexander Technique. Posted here with permission. Download a copy of the article in PDF format.

In recognition of MS Awareness Month, I’m offering a special class focusing on MS and the Alexander Technique. It is free and suitable for all people, healthy or with MS. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you. You are welcome!