Month: September 2019

AT

Letting..Go!

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I read an article recently, suggesting ‘letting go’ as one of the steps of Alexander Technique work. So much internal weight we carry associated with this expression. ‘Let go’ when our child frustrates us to infinity, ‘Let go’ when someone just hurt our feelings and we want to fight back. Would letting go really mean ‘Give in’? ‘Give up’? ‘You’re powerless against an obstacle’?

So I thought, what if –

Lets Let..Go! Imagine yourself leap up instead of shutting off your system in submission. Take a second to pause and decide where is up and which part of you should go in that direction. Then decide which part of you will go in the opposite direction, down. Are these two directions going to happen in a particular order or all at once? Then thrust up mentally with full intent and don’t second guess yourself. Fall up, go!

The inner workings of an Alexander Technique lesson

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Every lesson begins by transitioning into the simple state of observation and experimentation. We leave behind the belief that if we work very hard we will be rewarded by some form of success. Furthermore, we go on shedding as many beliefs as possible, while observing the resulting freedom in our breathing and in our body. What will happen if we stop trying to be ‘right’? Stop clenching our neck, arms, feet in order to be in control of our posture and movement? Is there a different way of control? This is what Alexander Technique boils down to: Noticing restrictive patterns of thought and their physical representations. Giving up on these restrictions mentally while actively guiding our body in a way that encourages lengthening of the spine and realizing the full range of possibilities in the joints. And the reward? A sense of connectedness and clarity in the mind and body with the ability to perform and adapt to any task at hand, while not losing ourselves on the way.

‘Student’ or ‘patient’?

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Often, people new to Alexander Technique are confused: When they are seeing an Alexander Technique practitioner, do they become a ‘student’ or a ‘patient’? A student, because an Alexander Technique session immerses the student in new way of feeling and thinking, and even though there is no ‘homework’, there is a natural learning and exploration that happens after the lesson. Studies show that this knowledge has long term retention even after just 6 lessons https://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a884

A definition of a ‘patient’ is: A person who is seeking medical care.

As an Alexander Technique teacher, I don’t presume to give any medical advice. If a student suffers from pain, quite often there will be a dramatic improvement when the tension distribution changes and the movement becomes more efficient and better oriented. This is a gradual learning process. When I turned to Alexander Technique due to a very unfortunate knee surgery, it took me five lessons to realize that if my back is working properly, my knee can function without pain. It took me another year to reach some level of consistency in this new way of being.

I think we all want to learn how to be, how to deal with our own body’s tricks and with what the external world throws at us. F.M Alexander technique can really take us out of ourselves and into a kinder life.