Monthly Archives: January 2012

Shivery Weather

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Free Up Your Movements in the Cold

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The recent cold spell that we have been having looks very beautiful in the bright morning sun but it has brought some rather cold, tense and shivery pupils into their Alexander lessons!
It is hard not to tighten our muscles up when the temperature dips but it is so much more helpful to us, our bank balance and to the environment, if we put on another layer of clothing to keep us warm, rather than getting tense and turning the heaters up without thinking.
With wintry frost and ice around, with snow possibly on its way, it’s time to take care on pavements. If you are afraid of falling, it is tempting to tense up all over and in particular around your hips and thighs. When they tighten up, this also impacts on our lower backs and tension there may well result in back pain building up.
It may help you to remember that you’ll have more sense of your balance and more control over your movements, if you refuse to tighten but walk in an alert, poised and free manner. Now is a very good time to apply all you have learned in your Alexander lessons and to think about your body use in your daily activities, in order to avoid problems such as back pain  from developing.

The Alexander Technique challenges our habits

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Have you made some New Year Resolutions?


It can be very hard sticking to our New Year’s resolutions as most of them challenge an aspect of our behaviour – and we just want to go straight back into our usual habits. 

Many resolutions are promises to ourselves to modify our behaviour and to let go of old habits that we want to change and we can help ourselves by using the Alexander Technique – yes, the AT, which is about far more than just looking after our backs or improving our posture!
When we learn the Alexander Technique we develop our self-awareness and learn to say ‘no’ to habits that do not serve us, so that we can have the chance to consciously choose how we want to move and act. This is directly applied in AT lessons to activities such as choosing to let go of habits of tension that interfere with the way we stand up or sit down for instance. Once we have stopped our old habit, we can then choose to stand up in a new way that allows us to move more freely and in a more coordinated manner. This often leads to improvements in our posture and a reduction in aches and pains but these are the outcomes of changing our habits. 
If we hold onto our habits, we can’t change.
The same process can be used when we see some mince pies and want to have yet another one. We know that we ‘shouldn’t’ have one but often do it anyway without much thought. However, if we stop and say ‘no’ to reacting to that urge by immediately picking the pie up, we give ourselves a chance to reflect and make a conscious choice about whether or not to eat it. 
This makes it much easier to continue to say ‘no’ to habits such as over-eating and can help us to keep to our resolutions and to let go of old habits.
The Alexander Technique challenges our habits. 
‘We can throw away the habits of a lifetime in a few minutes, if we use our brains’ 
F M Alexander
Start the New Year afresh – Try it out for yourself! 


 Further info Phone Hilary:  020 7254 9206
Introductory AT lessons are available on a regular basis.

Is the Alexander Technique about posture?

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The Alexander Technique’s about posture isn’t it? 

Well, not really! 

It’s true that changes in posture do come about as a result of using the Technique and this photo of fellow Alexander teacher Refia Sacks, out and about in South Africa, illustrates that a nice easy poise is one of the benefits of learning to use use our bodies more freely and effectively in our everyday activities. However, the aim of Alexander Technique lessons is not about improving posture.

 
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Refia Sacks – sitting with casual poise

In AT lessons, we learn how to move around and use our bodies in a coordinated way without tension and it is the quality of our body-use that is all important. As we allow our bodies to work the way they are designed to, our posture does tend to improve. But that is an outcome, not the aim.

Some people manage to retain their good body use into adulthood, without ever having an Alexander Technique lesson. However, most adults lose the free and often graceful movements that we had as children and often end up rather ‘crumpled’, with a variety of aches and pains. One of the joys of having Alexander lessons is that we can often regain – or find – some of the co-ordination and freedom of movement that is more natural to our bodies.

Natural, easy poise whilst working

I watched this woman in Mexico as she sat quietly working away at her knitting and she demonstrates that adults can indeed sit and work in a relaxed manner, with a lengthened spine and good posture. As she sits in the café, she has a lovely strong back and quiet poise, which allows her arms to move freely as she concentrates and works on her task. Too many people drop their neck and head forwards to do knitting, computing and similar tasks, The result is that they get neck and back pain from their mis-use and from the weight of the head dragging down towards their hands. Such poor posture and body-use can contribute to developing RSI, particularly if there is lots of habitual muscle tension.

I doubt this woman has had AT lessons and there is no knowing how much attention she has paid to thinking about how she uses her body.  This woman appears to be comfortable in her body. How many people do you see sitting at desks, pianos and computers, who have a similar free and easy poise and balance in their body as they work?

If you want to re-find your natural poise and freedom of movement and would like to prevent having pain whilst you work, come and try some 1:1 Alexander Technique lessons.