Results tagged “posture” from Hilary King's Blog
Poise and Posture
When we are children, most people have a beautiful easy poise, as is illustrated in this photo of a little girl sitting on a giant snow seat. Despite the obvious cold, the child is sitting easily and in a relaxed manner, whilst many adults would be bent over and tensed up against the chill!
There are many influences in our lives that get us interfering with our natural poise. Our attitudes and emotional experiences are reflected in the way we use our bodies and our minds gradually tend to become rather set so that our view of the world - and our physical responses to it - become rather fixed and habitual. Stress, peer group pressures, accidents and illnesses all play their part in moulding our habitual body use and many of us end up crumpling our bodies down into ourselves - whilst others over-extend and arch their backs in an attempt to 'stand up straight' - both of which pull us off our balance and poise.
Fortunately, F M Alexander realised that we are able to reduce some of these effects if we are willing to let go of habits of thought and behaviour that interfere with our natural use. During Alexander Technique lessons, we can learn how to do this and in so doing, regain much of the fluid, free and poised way of being and moving that we had as children and feeling more comfortable in ourselves.
You may read more about Alexander Technique classes here.
When we are children, most people have a beautiful easy poise, as is illustrated in this photo of a little girl sitting on a giant snow seat. Despite the obvious cold, the child is sitting easily and in a relaxed manner, whilst many adults would be bent over and tensed up against the chill!
There are many influences in our lives that get us interfering with our natural poise. Our attitudes and emotional experiences are reflected in the way we use our bodies and our minds gradually tend to become rather set so that our view of the world - and our physical responses to it - become rather fixed and habitual. Stress, peer group pressures, accidents and illnesses all play their part in moulding our habitual body use and many of us end up crumpling our bodies down into ourselves - whilst others over-extend and arch their backs in an attempt to 'stand up straight' - both of which pull us off our balance and poise.
Fortunately, F M Alexander realised that we are able to reduce some of these effects if we are willing to let go of habits of thought and behaviour that interfere with our natural use. During Alexander Technique lessons, we can learn how to do this and in so doing, regain much of the fluid, free and poised way of being and moving that we had as children and feeling more comfortable in ourselves.
You may read more about Alexander Technique classes here.
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.
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 cafe, she has a lovely strong back and quiet poise, which allows her arms to move freely as she concentrates and works on her task. So many people drop their neck and head forwards to do knitting computing and similar tasks, with the result that they get neck and back pain from their mis-use and the weight of the head dragging down towards their hands.
I doubt the woman has had AT lessons and there is no knowing how much attention she has paid to thinking about how she uses her body all the time but she is using herself in a way that, unfortunately, is rarely seen amongst office workers for instance. This woman appears to be comfortable in her body. How many people do you see sitting at desks 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 or test the ground in my upcoming Small Group Introductory Course starting Monday 11 January 2010.
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 cafe, she has a lovely strong back and quiet poise, which allows her arms to move freely as she concentrates and works on her task. So many people drop their neck and head forwards to do knitting computing and similar tasks, with the result that they get neck and back pain from their mis-use and the weight of the head dragging down towards their hands.
I doubt the woman has had AT lessons and there is no knowing how much attention she has paid to thinking about how she uses her body all the time but she is using herself in a way that, unfortunately, is rarely seen amongst office workers for instance. This woman appears to be comfortable in her body. How many people do you see sitting at desks 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 or test the ground in my upcoming Small Group Introductory Course starting Monday 11 January 2010.
'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
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
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
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
This
small child is alert and poised, with her back freely lengthening,
quite naturally. Her head is balanced on her neck in such a way that
all her muscles are able to work freely and in co-ordination, so that
the heavy weight of her head is transferred evenly right through her
body, onto her sitting bones.If the child is able to maintain this free and easy poise as she grows up, she will be fortunate. Most of us started out life with a similar, natural but unconscious, postural alignment but most of us lose it over time. Many people start Alexander lessons in order to improve their posture and reduce back pain.
In Alexander Technique lessons we can begin to reclaim this birthright, by learning to maintain our poise and increase our freedom of movement, through making conscious choices about the way we use ourselves during all our activities. Sometimes, we even feel younger again.
Hilary King - BA (Hons) PGDip Psychol. Dip Couns. MSTAT - Tel: 020 7254 9206
Copyright © 2004 - 2010 Hilary King, All rights reserved.