Applied Alexander Technique Blog

"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

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Posted In: Just Because , Life Stories , Mindfulness

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Hello my friends!

Today was the day for all things green and growing. I wanted to plant the pineapple, but before taking that on, I decided to patch the big bare spot on the far end of the lawn.

I'm sure you know how one good thing leads to another.... While I was hunkered down patching the open spot, I started looking more closely at the rest of the lawn. I discovered that it's true; what you look for, you shall find. I looked and I found...more bare patches! In the end, I patched almost half the lawn. It was a beautiful day and I didn't mind, not really.

When I came inside I looked carefully at the pineapple. It was green and alive, but the roots seemed to have plateaued in their growth. It was time.

I planted it in a flower pot in regular potting mix and set it back in its spot on the kitchen counter.

I am sure it would prefer the iron rich, red dirt of Maui. The best I could do was black potting soil with those little bits of white, spongy fake rock mixed in it, in a dark red pot.

All it needs to do is root and grow and be alive a month from now and I'll be happy to feed it a cup of liquid fertilizer, per the instructions. I wonder what type it really needs....or does it matter, given that the true need, the warm Hawaiian sun, is absent?

Somehow my little crown of pineapple heaven keeps on going and growing. It is the Energizer Bunny of pineapple. I swear the leaves are greener this evening, just since planting it this afternoon. Whenever I see it, I smile.

We are far from Maui but it is growing where it is planted.

There's a lesson for me.

Aloha,

Dana

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Posted In: Just Because , Life Stories

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Aloha, my friends!

I promised to let you know how my pineapple crown does.

You may recall the instructions. They said to pull off the bottom inch or so of leaves from around the crown, let it dry on the counter for 2-3 days, and at long last, to put the crown in 1 1/2" of water.

Two days after being in water, I thought it was going to die. The remaining outer leaves started turning brown and soggy. A few fell off. I was worried about writing to you.

I kept adding a little water to the dish and kept it out of the sun but in a bright spot on the kitchen counter.

Several days later, I ventured to lift it out of the water and see what was going on.

Roots! But quelle surprise! It is growing roots, but not out the bottom!

Continue reading "Roots! Or, A Pineapple's Story" »

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Posted In: Alexander Technique , Just Because , Life Stories

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Aloha my friends!

The feeling of Hawaii is still within me and I'm doing my best to make it real.

I have a pineapple crown set in a dish of water on my kitchen counter. I don't know if it will grow but I am giving it lots of attention and a bit of fresh water every day.

I had a real education in pineapples recently.

I didn't just buy a pineapple at the Foodland in Maui. The local pineapple had a brochure attached, to teach me more.

It's called Maui Gold®. This is a special pineapple that has 3 times the vitamin C of other pineapples. It's also much sweeter than regular pineapple; these pineapples don't bite back.

Back home, my local Safeway gave me a happy surprise; Maui Gold® pineapples, picked ripe and flown in from Maui. I picked up a few as gifts, and of course I had to bring one home.

It had the same brochure on it.

One part told about growing pineapples from the crown. I had to try it.

Continue reading "Pineapples, Sweeter than Sunshine" »

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Hello Friends,

Continuing on a theme of amazing use of one's body, here's Fred Astaire swinging a golf club.

Look at his balance and poise! I am always stunned and enthralled by the natural alignment and grace in his spine.

One of the basic premises of the Alexander Technique is that "Use affects Function." In other words, the way we carry ourselves in activity affects how well we function, feel and perform.

Watch as Mr. Astaire dances his way through a whole sequence of perfect swings.

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Posted In: Alexander Technique , Applied Alexander® , Just Because , Videos

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Hello my friends!

I'm back after a little vacation from writing. I hope to see you here often and am glad you stopped by for a visit.

I have an idea to post some clips of amazing human movement. Let's explore the limits and beauty of balance in motion!

try this....and make sure to watch beyond the first 45 seconds or so...

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Hello my friends,

My friend, Amy Flynn, wrote a story with many meanings, about a little daffodil named Dinky. This story resonated with me and Amy kindly gave me permission to tell you about it here. I’ll give you a little peek into the story and why I liked it, with full credits to Amy Flynn © 2008.

Once upon a time there was a daffodil named Dinky. Dinky grew in the shade of an oak tree, quite apart from his daffodil friends. He felt lonely and unhappy and wished to be growing with them under the bright sun over in the meadow instead of alone under the shadow of a great, big tree.

The oak tree tried to help Dinky understand why he was in a better position than his daffodil friends. Dinky was just a young daffodil, though and it was very hard for him to see beyond his current situation. It was dark and it was cool under the oak tree.

All of the other daffodils bloomed in the sunshine, soaking up the rays.

Continue reading "Dinky the Daffodil" »

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Hello my friends,

Today I'm just sharing a poem. This came to me on my one and only visit to Esalen Institute. Four hours in the hot tub under the stars melted my edges and I felt one with the Universe. The stars agreed.

Starsong at Esalen

The stars are singing
There are so many
And they are so close
Because they want me
To hear them singing

"We are all connected
We are starlight and lovelight
We are all the same

"All of us are stars
Singing in the same sky
With our light and our love
Reaching between to connect us all

"Sometimes we forget we are stars
We forget to let our light shine

"We are here to remember
To learn to shine in this form
In this life"

They are singing tonight
Loudly enough to wake a human
Out of slumber
Into stardom.

©2009 all rights reserved by Dana Ben-Yehuda

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Hello friends,

My Tweeting friend, MaAnna Stephenson, sent this note. “Aristotle stated all things fell to Earth because all was made of earthly substances and were attracted to their natural home.”

It made me wonder; does this mean that what we call death is really just that our spirit is attracted to its natural home and falls up?

I wonder; where does this thought lead you?

Love to hear from you....

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From my friend, Eleanor, comes a link to this video and a message: "It would be great if everybody can pass this around. Open your eyes and open your heart and listen carefully what she has got to say."

From the mouth of a child....truth.

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Hello my friends,

One of my friends asked me how I got my dogs to let me brush their teeth.

This may not appear to have anything to do with Alexander Technique, and of course, in a direct sense, it doesn't. But I would never have had the patience to do this without the skill of patience that I acquired through my Alexander training. It helped me get my dogs trained in such a friendly way that they leap into their bed eagerly awaiting a good tooth-brushing.

A friend of mine gave me pointers. They involved not end-gaining and lots of patience.

First, I let my puppy sniff the doggy toothpaste from my finger. I bought poultry flavored dog toothpaste; that helped a lot.

He sniffed once or twice and then licked it off my finger.

That was that! I put everything away while he looked around for more.

Continue reading "How to Get Dogs to Let You Brush their Teeth." »

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Posted In: Applied Alexander® , Just Because , Life Stories

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And does it make your mouth water just thinking about it?

I love smoked salmon...the good stuff; Nova. Belly lox. Put that on a freshly backed (boiled - not steamed) bagel with some good Philly and I'm in heaven. Just the thought of it makes my mouth water.

Don't get me started on the steamed, baked donuts they call bagels today. I want the real thing, dropped into a vat of boiling water, then set to rise, and baked. Hard, dense, chewy, and delicious.

But I digress.

The point is, a simple thought can cause a reaction in the body. Just mention freshly brewed coffee and I'm ready to hop over to Starbucks.

Let's talk about this some more....how about tomorrow? We'll chat over a cup o' Joe.

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Hello friends,

It is a cool, gray and rainy day. It is getting lighter since we passed the solstice and I'm enjoying the lengthening days. One day I would love to visit Stonehenge and celebrate the end of darkening days and the beginning of the return of the sun. Have you ever been? I would love to hear from you.

Along those lines, here are a few sites with cheerful themes:

San Jose Heritage Rose Garden...here is their "Wall of Roses" page. Take a look and breathe in the beauty of these roses for a few moments. See if you don't feel better, no matter the weather!

And always, the ocean....remember, it is sunny and warm somewhere.....my favorite is Hawai'i.

Here is a list of blogs that offer information supporting wellness. Applied Alexander® is among them....browse through and see what else you may find!

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Hello friends,

I wanted to share a little story with you.

It was almost Christmas Eve. I was down like the day; gray, cold and without a single ray of sunshine.

To my surprise a box with flowers stood upside-down at my front door. I was sad and the box was light. How strange that in a dark hour of feeling empty, a flowerpot arrived that was also bare.

It was filled flatly with gray-green moss; there was nothing to see.

I read the card. My dear friend, Stacy, sent me a flower - only it is yet to grow. She sent just a bare pot – or so it seems – with gray-green moss on top and no weight to the plant.

Continue reading "A Return to Happiness" »

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Posted In: Just Because , Life Stories , Mindfulness

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Hi Friends,

Just because....we can all use a good laugh. It's the best medicine!

Here's Robin Williams to give you a real burst of joy. To paraphrase the first rule of cat*, I say, "When in doubt.....laugh!"

* "When in doubt.....wash!"

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Hello my friends,

Thanks for stopping by to say hi. I feel the need to take a break from news about back pain and tell you about a baby giraffe that was recently born at the world-famous San Diego Zoo.

You might think that this story is about Giraffes because I'm an Alexander teacher. After all, we deal with the poise of heads on top of necks. They are graceful and they have amazingly long necks that have only 7 vertebrae - just like us. Did you know that?

The truth is, I've always liked animals and Giraffe have always fascinated me. I went to high school in San Diego and visited the Zoo frequently.

Giraffes are so big and so shy. They are gentle creatures with huge eyes, the longest eyelashes imaginable, and incredibly powerful, fast legs. Here are fascinating facts about Giraffes.

On a recent visit to San Diego, I went to the Zoo with a friend and we saw the Giraffes. I don't know if it was Debbie the Giraffe who gave birth shortly thereafter, or another one, but it is an amazing process to witness.

Here's a video. I can't believe the baby falls six feet as it's born, and survives.

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Posted In: Just Because , Life Stories , Videos

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