Results tagged “health” from Hilary King's Blog

ICE (In Case of Emergency)

This is not about the Alexander Technique but is an idea that all of us would be wise to take note of and act upon.

The ambulance service is promoting the ICE ( In Case of Emergency ) campaign.

ICE was conceived by a paramedic, who realised that in an emergency he usually had access to a patient's mobile phone but had no idea which people in the phone's address book would be the ones he needed to contact.

The paramedic realised that it would be good if there was a nationally recognised scheme set up, which the emergency services could use to contact next of kin and other appropriate people quickly, so he created ICE (In Case of Emergency). 

He proposed that we should all list our important contact names under ICE in our mobiles. If there's more than one contact, just list them as ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc. 

It's a really simple idea to implement and could perhaps save lives and reduce distress, so find your mobile and enter your nearest and dearest under ICE, now.

For further info visit BBC NEWS ICE CAMPAIGN - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4746789.stm

With wintry frost and ice here, it's time to take care on pavements. If you are afraid of falling, it is tempting to tense up all over but remember, you will have more sense of your balance and more control over your movements if you refuse to tighten but walk in an alert and free manner - a good time to use all you have learned in your Alexander lessons.

It's also time to keep warm, in order to look after our health. Perhaps we can do our bit for the environment and start off by wearing an extra layer of clothing, rather than turn the heating up without thinking.

Wildlife needs even more help from us at this time of year. I was watching a blackbird trying to drink in the birdbath, which had frozen. He kept pecking at the ice but it was too solid. The blackbird watched as I went out and poured water into the birdbath and seconds later he was happily having a drink and a bath.  My pond has also frozen over, so it is necessary to gently create some openings in the ice, so the frogs that are hibernating there will be able to breathe.

'Skeletons - London's Buried Bones'

If you are interested in how your body works plus how your posture, the way you use yourself and live your life, can leave it's mark on the structure of your bones, you may want to visit the              'Skeletons: London's Buried Bones' Exhibition that has just opened at the Wellcome Collection.

The skeletons on display are from the Museum of London's collection of 17,000 skeletons that have come from people who lived and worked in the London area over the last 16 centuries.

This exhibition looks at the events and health hazards of the day, that affected people's lives and their skeletons. There will also be a day of activities for all ages and a public debate about why the dead are useful to study.

Perhaps seeing the wear and tear on all those bones, may encourage us to be more aware of our own body use, right now, so that we change some of our unhelpful and even damaging habits and learn to do as much as possible to look after our own skeletons!
 
Venue: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road

Date:   23 July - 28 September

Info:     http://www.wellcomecollection.org/exhibitionsandevents/exhibitions/skeletons/index.htm




  

F M Alexander was born on 20th January 1869 in Tasmania. He was a premature baby and had a struggle to survive. He later attributed his frequent bouts of illness as a child and young man to his poor use and once he taught himself to improve this, his health also began to improve.

His family had originally lived for many generations in the ancient village of Ramsbury in Wiltshire. Whilst exploring some of my own family history I have discovered that my mother's family also came from Ramsbury and one of them married a Mary Alexander in 1764, quite possibly part of F M's family, although I have not been able to verify this yet.

F M's paternal grandfather, Matthias Alexander was a hurdle maker and other family members were craftsmen. However they supported the impoverished agricultural labourers during the swing riots, in which they protested against the new threshing machines which were costing them their livelihoods. As a result of this support, Alexander's family was sent to Tasmania as convicts in 1831, something that F M never admitted to in public. If you are interested in discovering more about Alexander's background, his biography by Michael Bloch makes for interesting reading.

From these difficult beginnings, F M developed an interest in horses and in the theatre and in 1889 he moved to Melbourne, Australia and began to train for a career as a reciter. A few years later, after many bouts of illness which threatened his new career, F M began to develop his now famous Technique. This process is described in some detail his book 'The Use of the Self' and it is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in learning more about the Alexander Technique.

After his death, a group of teachers that Alexander had trained, formed the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, STAT, in order to maintain and develop high standard of Alexander Technique Teacher Training and Professional practice.

Sam Murphy of the Guardian has written another article about the Alexander Technique (17th Nov '07), this time comparing it to Tai Chi on a number of parameters. Again, the article makes for interesting reading and it is good that he is discussing the Technique.

Murphy compares various research studies into the two disciplines and it is true to say that there needs to be more research undertaken into the Alexander Technique, as scientific 'evidence' about its effectiveness is a little flimsy.

An important difference between the two, is that the Alexander Technique is not a set of exercises but becomes more of a way of life. An important aim of the Alexander Technique is to learn how to improve the use of our bodies, whatever we happen to be doing - so we can apply it to improve our Tai Chi practice, for instance.

One statement that Murphy makes, I would like to query.  He says that 'Good posture, at rest or in movement, is the raison d'etre of the Alexander Technique'. Certainly, our posture tends to improve as a result of learning the Technique but it is the means-whereby we bring about those changes, which is important. This is because we don't just 'sit up straight', but learn to let go of our habitual reactions, along with the associated mis-use that tends to distort our natural poise.  We then give ourselves directions that bring about changes in the way we use ourselves and in so doing, we allow our bodies to re-align. Good posture is usually an outcome of taking lessons, providing the pupil applies their learning of the Technique to their daily life, but is not the main aim of the work.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to quote Alexander himself, as reported by some of his pupils:

'There is no such thing as a right position, but there is such a thing as a right direction'

and

'You are not here to do exercises or to learn to do something right, but to get able to meet a stimulus that always puts you wrong and to learn to deal with it'.

F M Alexander - Aphorisms

'Aphorisms' is a small book, full of fascinating quotes from F M Alexander

There was an interesting article by Sam Murphy in the Guardian (Wed 6th November '07) called 'More Speed, Less Pain'.  Murphy writes about the experience of learning to run differently through having a running lesson with Malcolm Balk, who combines the Alexander Technique with running skills and has developed an approach to his teaching called 'The Art of Running'. This article can still be seen online at Guardian Unlimited and is well worth reading, whether you are interested in running to improve your health, or the Alexander Technique, or both, as it gives you a taste of the way in which you can train yourself to run using the Technique.

As Murphy puts it 'I've been running for 18 years and it's never felt this easy and, well, bouncy'. The article's title also indicates that it is possible to move faster when using the A/T, not that we all have to slow down, as some people fear they will have to do, in order to be aware of their use. When we let go of habits that interfere with our movements, it is possible to act freely and more speedily, if we choose to. This is quite another experience to that of rushing around, whilst end-gaining in a driven manner.

In his article, Murphy refers to several of F M Alexander's theories such as doing, non-doing and end-gaining - and for those of you have not come across these concepts as used in the Alexander Technique, you may like to refer to my Glossary Definitions of these terms.

Murphy also quotes Alexander as saying "Stop what you are doing wrong, and the right will take care of itself" - something we could all do well to remember. However some people may benefit from the help of an Alexander teacher, in order to understand how to do this during our activities.

Malcolm Balk has also written a book which many Alexander students have found interesting and helpful to use when thinking about how to apply the Alexander Technique to their running, so that can can run freely and with poise, whilst helping themselves to avoid injury.

Master the Art of Running by Malcolm Balk and Andrew Shields is available here for just £8.39 at the moment  - (usual price £12.99)