…… by learning the Alexander Technique – new courses starting in March. For details see the Events page

……. a short recording of a guided lying down, helping you to relax, giving your body and mind a ‘constructive rest’. If you would like to experience the benefits of the Alexander Technique thinking,  please Contact me, and I will send you the recording.

Out walking with my son, and discussing the benefits of vertebrate beings, I gave him some tips that made him feel ‘lighter’ and ‘more springy’. Here they are:

1.  feet parallel
2.  knees pointed towards toes
3.  notice the change in weight distribution through your feet as your arches lift – this leads to more effective contact with the earth, and allows the anti-gravity reflex* to work to your advantage

Why not try it for yourself?

* more on that next time!

After an Alexander Technique introductory course, or a few 1 to 1 lessons, the question is how to keep what you have learned alive? and enjoy the benefits – maybe freedom from pain, walking more gracefully, speaking with more ease.

The exercise of doing a simple movement and then attempting to do it in a different way (like crossing your arms) makes plain how difficult it is change the habits of a lifetime. Even though that habit may be causing you tension, physical or mental, doing something in a different way invariably feels ‘wrong’.

Fortunately learning the Alexander Technique can help you change, and you can build on what you have learned so far by doing any, or all! , of the following:

• making time to lie down in semi-supine
• having a 1 to 1 session with a teacher
• taking part in a follow-up course
• reading these blogs that will give you useful tips and reminders

My lovely retriever demonstrating ‘semi supine’ for International Alexander Awareness Week. Need I say more!

Walking the dog, and eating blackberries from the hedgerow, I realise that I know intuitively which fruits are ready to eat, and which not. I don’t have to think about it, I just know. How? Experience and observation – the ripe ones are shiny and plump as though they have absorbed the sun. The blackberries that are not quite ready, or never will be, are dull and compact.

And it strikes me that this level of observation has a parallel in the skills you can learn through the Alexander Technique: observing yourself in a mirror for example and seeing the way in which you hold yourself – can you see something radiant and free, or lacking in energy and tense? Noticing is the first step towards change, towards letting go of the tension that can cause pain and discomfort, towards a freedom of movement and being.

I can’t teach anything that I haven’t done myself. I may not always do it, you know we don’t always do what we should (life would be very dull if we did). But I know when I want to have more freedom, I know what I can do and what I must do, then I make the choice of whether or not to do it.
– Marjorie Barstow Alexander Technique Teacher

What a wonderful way of putting it – discovered on http://www.alexandertechnique.com