Results tagged “injury” 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

Do you enjoy running and would like to think more about your use whilst doing so? It is certainly possible to do this in your regular Alexander lessons, to great effect. Also, there are a couple of Workshops coming up in London with Malcolm Balk, author of Master the Art of Running, that will look in depth at how to improve your running technique.

The Workshops are designed to incorporate the Alexander Technique into your running, so that you can hone your skills, run more freely and avoid injury.

Dates: April 27th; May 4th

Contact: Brita ~ britafor@alextech.freeserve.co.uk

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)