Re-learning Movement

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The human body is built for movement and activity, not to sit still for hours. Not to speak of sitting still for hours, all cramped up.

But we have lost touch with our innate facility for grace and ease so completely that even when our lifestyles involve action, we tend to do it badly, and damage ourselves in the process. We don't know how to use ourselves well and do all the things we need to do and want to do. It seems we need to go back to educating ourselves in a very fundamental way, in things which we did instinctively and easily when we were very little children. Things that we did in innocence, we now have to relearn to do with skill and conscious control, so that we can use it in our lives, to tackle more and more challenging actions if we so choose.

This is especially relevant in professions such as sport and performance where we need to be constantly honing our skills; if we didn't, we'd stagnate and our skills would die.

The actor, the singer, the athlete - their work demands that they constantly push themselves to go further, raise the bar. Anything that helps them to do that is a valuable tool. But -

What we forget is that we don't all have to be athletes or performers to raise the bar for ourselves. We can do that in our daily lives, without changing them in any dramatic way. Start with little challenges, without worrying about the big ones, and who knows where they may lead us? Life then becomes the endless opportunity for exploration and learning that it was when we were really little, and everything was new and exciting.

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The Power of Posture

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This is an interesting account of a study which was carried out on the effect of posture on the sense of power that people felt in themselves. While it would be simplistic to conclude that posture by itself can solve all problems, it would equally foolish to go completely the other way, and insist that it has nothing to do with feelings of confidence or authority. The relationship between your feelings about yourself, your response to the things happening to you and around you, and the way you hold yourself, isn't a one way street. Each feeds into the other, creating a continuous cycle of stimulus and response; it may be a cycle that reinforces your feelings of inferiority and lack of control, or of power and the sense of being on top of things.

The study seems to suggest that the effect of posture trumps even that of being given a title of power such as manager, or of (relative) powerlessness such as subordinate. Regardless of the title they were given, people who had assumed postures of power responded with the power affirming options in situations that were suggested to them. Thus, given a choice of speaking up first or staying silent, those who had taken postures or power tended to choose to speak first, regardless of whether they had the title of manager or subordinate.

As the article suggests, parents, teachers and sergeant majors have always been nagging their charges to 'Stand up straight! Shoulders back! Stomach in!' and so on. The study seems to prove that they may have been right.

But of course, I have to have my Alexander take on this.

The people who have impressed me most are usually the ones who had the easy posture of power and kept it without seeming to try. Not push, not bluster, not an in-your-face aggression - but a comfortable easy sense of themselves. And they weren't all in positions of power, either.

Those who tried never seemed to pull it off, and more often than not, had to resort to bluster and shows of power to get things done. They may have got things done, but they didn't convince.

I've also met several people who were in positions of power, but had rounded, diffident shoulders and a hesitant gait. Some of them were looking for a way to get themselves into postures of power because they had been told that that was holding them back from progressing in the organisation.

I could see very well that there was no way they were going to force themselves into the kind of 'good' posture that would presumably bring them the rewards of high office. Holding oneself in a posture that is not natural to you is difficult - no, nearly impossible - and damaging. It only means you have an additional layer of tension over the one you have already accepted as natural.

Instead of adding to it, you actually need to let go of it, so that the natural dignity of the human body can reestablish itself.

This doesn't just translate into a posture of power in the board room - it translates into an unselfconscious grace of being that operates everywhere. The authority in the board room - if you happen to be in it - is just the cherry on the icing.

The Knot in the Gut

One of the most memorable discoveries I made after I started learning the Alexander Technique was the presence of fear in my life.

There really was no apparent cause for it at that point - I was thoroughly enjoying my training, I'd got interesting work to do that paid for all my living expenses, I'd made wonderful new friends... in short, I couldn't wait to leap out of bed and into my day every morning - no matter what the weather - and that, for the UK, is saying quite a bit!

But then, through all of this, there was also a layer of tension at a very deep level; it surfaced, I think, simply because other, more superficial tensions began to drop away; that was great, because I realised that it was possible to live with a simple and uncomplicated pleasure -if only I could get rid of this clutching in the gut!

That was when I began to get a dim idea of just how much unnecessary fear we cart around. I thought around to all the people I knew, friends, relatives, acquaintances... anyone I could think of, and they were all living with this deep and diffuse apprehension that wouldn't let them enjoy their lives.

All of that terror, and where was it being held? Of course in the body! In the neck, the shoulders, the hips, the guts, in deep insidious knots that makes sure you are nicely tightening and shrinking. As I discovered, it wouldn't go away just because I was asking it to - and this was the point where I really felt I'd hit a wall.

This was the baseline from where I was living - under all the pleasure, pain, excitement, sorrow and all the myriad emotions that make up our daily lives, there was this layer of nameless dread; it surfaced as my habits began to change, and was just there -that knot in the gut, a solidly physical presence that kept me from living life as completely as I wanted.

But the real revelation for me was not this - it was the fact that this was the way I'd been living all along - this fear filled, apprehensive quality defined my life, and I hadn't even known it!

Then, of course, I can't help thinking -

What else do I not know?

Butterfly on a Wheel

I've always found this title very evocative - the idea of using massive force to do something that requires minuscule effort.

As I watch myself and others live our lives, the phrase comes back to me more and more insistently. We're using so much effort to do so little! In a converse of the 20/80 rule, 80% of our efforts bring in 20% of the desired end. Why would someone use a clenched fist to hold a tea cup?Or cling to the newspaper as if it were a lifeline?

Time and time again, if I stop whatever I'm doing, and simply ask myself,' Can I do this with less effort?', I find that indeed I can; not just that, but the quality of the action changes radically, becoming easier, smoother, lighter and altogether more pleasurable.

It seems that somewhere deep within us we have internalised the idea that life should not be pleasurable in this simple and satisfying way, that it is actually intended to be a struggle. So when we are able to access this quality, we don't really see it as something we can learn to bring more and more into our lives. We see it as an aberration - an enjoyable, even desirable one, but an aberration nevertheless. By definition, an aberration is something that's not normal - we can't take it for granted.

Which is why, when we experience the lightness and ease in the release of a long held muscle, we tend to tell ourselves,' Oh, that's lovely, but of course it's not going to last. That's not now I really am,' and straightaway go back to the comforting familiarity of tightness.

One Hour AT

An enjoyable hour spent on a Sunday morning introducing the Alexander Technique to a group of 25 participants of a summer workshop being conducted by Bangalore Little Theatre group.The best way to get people to appreciate the weight they are managing all the time without thinking about it is to get them to think about it!

A couple of sandbags weighing 5 kg each, and the participants had the task of balancing a bag on the head and experiencing what that did to their necks and backs. Of course, no one who was at all apprehensive about this did it.

Why is the sandbag balanced off centre? Because we often do funny things with our heads, (to the extent possible) and create problems for ourselves, only we're so entrenched in our habits that we don't notice it until the problems become acute!

Mountains, Bogs and Snares

I've been talking to some new students about the process they can reasonably expect to go through as they begin to apply the Alexander Technique in their lives. Thinking about it at home recently, I realised that I could probably distill it into some common ideas. It's a bit like the heroes of mythical stories setting out on quests with a guide telling them about the kinds of obstacles that they could expect to encounter on the way.

The first, of course, is failure. What could it be, in mythic terms? A mountain they have to climb? An ogre they have to slay? However you think of it, it's the state where you try and try and you're very aware that it's not working. People come back after a first, second or third lesson and say," You know, I tried those directions at home, and nothing happened."

Or people who've had a few lessons say," Yes, I can do it when I'm quietly at home, but let me get to work and in front of the computer, and bam! everything just slams back to square one. Just can't do anything about that."

The thing is that this is a process where we are challenging some of the deepest and most entrenched habits of mind and body; habits which we weren't even aware of. Not surprising if it takes a bit of time. We just have to give ourselves the time and space to allow it to work itself out. There's absolutely no point in giving ourselves deadlines and saying - "Okay, I have this really important party next week, and there are going to be a lot of people I want to impress, so I want my shoulders nicely released and broad, please." There's not much hope of that happening, especially if we're going to be obsessing about it all the way to the party.

The best way to climb this particular mountain - or kill this particular ogre - is to stop worrying and learn to enjoy the process. Forget about the party - or decide to enjoy it anyway, broad shoulders or not. We probably have a much better chance of impressing our target audience if we do that!

I've found that people who are able to do that seem to get on much better with applying the Technique in their lives; they also seem to be the ones who stick with the Technique, start actively enjoying it and getting fascinating insights into the way their bodies and minds

work.

Another difficulty we may face is stagnation. Mired in the bog. Nothing happening at all. This is especially hard for us to take if we've been noticing a real difference in the days or weeks past. We suddenly feel that there's no response to our directions; in addition, because we've started to become aware of subtler levels of tension, we feel that not only are we not responding, we're actually tightening up even more!

When my students complain about being stuck, I usually suggest that they give themselves a pat on the back for picking up the tightening in themselves. I also remind them that they have challenged their bodies in a really deep, fundamental way, and that time may be needed for real assimilation to take place. In other words, even if you think nothing is happening, there's a lot going on. Encourage it by quietly continuing with the directions as before and allow the response to emerge.

After all, the best strategy when you're mired in a bog is to do nothing at all, but keep very very quiet.

True to the traditions of myth, the last one is the deadliest - the trap of success. It's a really heady feeling when we start picking up on the releases that are happening in ourselves, and realise that we have the ability to influence what happens in our bodies. We start feeling confident that we can do it - and from there it's a short and slippery slope to 'doing the directions'; rushing into action instead of staying quiet and allowing the directions to work themselves out.

The remedy? A healthy dose of failure -the poisoned goblet that carries the promise of rebirth; and the best thing to do is to drink it down and start afresh.

The Liberating Wobble

It's been my experience, and that of several of my students, that when something frees up, there is actually a sense of uncertainty, of being off balance. This can be a very physical sensation when the release is in the weight bearing joints like the hips, knees and ankles, but it can also be a sudden disorientation in the mind.

I had a definite sense of wobbliness when I experienced release in my legs for the first time - it felt like I was standing with a great deal of freedom, but also as if falling was just a heartbeat away. As if, every instant, I was choosing balance instead of falling. It was a strange, heady feeling; perhaps because I had never imagined before that I had any options in the matter of standing.

We see that same choice being exercised when we watch toddlers take their first tottering steps. It's a delightful sight, but if we can watch with awareness, it's also a very educative one. We realise that the choice has never gone away - we are still making it every instant that we stand or walk. The only difference is that we're no longer aware that we're doing so. Once we had worked out the mechanics of balance we turned our attention to other things - there were so many things we needed to learn in order to function in the world!

But we paid - and are still paying - a price for our lack of awareness. We lost the sense of connection within ourselves, and with it, we also lost the ability to tell when we were doing things wrong, in a way that would damage us.

If now we want to regain that first delightful feeling of ease, of balance and grace, we have to work at it. We have to recapture it consciously, and practice it as a skill is practised, so that over time, it becomes more and more natural for us to use ourselves well rather than badly.

At any point, if we start falling back into the old unhelpful ways of using ourselves, we are able to tell; and we then have a choice. Continue with the bad use, or stop, and let ourselves release into good use again.

We might still, for our own reasons, choose to go with the bad use - but at least we will know we are doing it.

Making a Note of It

Keeping a record of lessons and of the process of your learning can be invaluable; I recommend it to everyone who comes for lessons.

It can seem a bit of a drag, keeping notes after a lesson, and every once in a while, but once you're used to it, it becomes an integral part of your learning.

One very important benefit, I think, is that it sharpens your observation skills. I remember when I started training, every now and then, and usually when I wasn't thinking Alexander, there would be a fleeting sense of release. Just a slight shift, so small that I couldn't be sure whether I felt it at all, or it was just wishful thinking on my part. It was a bit like glimpsing someone out of the corner of your eye - a flash, and gone. But I soon learned to accept that as a release that I had indeed picked up, and I found that it became easier to notice when these releases happened again. Record keeping helps you to capture these little will o' the wisps as they flit past. Sit down at the end of a lesson and jot down anything that occurs to you; even if nothing does, the very fact that you took the time to think about it makes it easier for you to observe things the next time round.

The other thing that record keeping helps with is when you are on your own, after a series of lessons, trying to apply Alexander in your life. You remember a couple of things that were done during your lessons, and you work conscientiously at them; but as time goes by, and you don't work at anything else, mainly because you don't remember all the other stuff that was done, the chances are high that you'll get bored, and gradually let things slip completely. If you have a record of the various activities that you worked on, you have a number of alternatives that you can go on to explore.
Another very useful result of record keeping is that you start to have a picture of an ongoing process. That really comes in handy when, as happens sometimes, your body adjusts to the changes that are happening, and you forget that there was an earlier and more unhappy time when you were troubled by sundry aches and pains. You think you were always as you are now, and you may start wondering whether the Alexander Technique did anything for you at all. One look at your record will tell you exactly what, and how much, it did.

I've also found that as I make notes on a particular session, things that happened a long time ago suddenly start making sense. I'm able to make connections between my observations now, and events earlier in my life; in fact, I've found that it links up past and present in a way that I hadn't anticipated at all.

The View at the End of Your Nose

Back from my visit to Hyderabad and Delhi, but deciding to stay put in Bangalore to set up my studio here properly. No sense in running around madly distributing pieces of myself in half a dozen places!

One evening I had a visitor who'd just dropped in on some other errand, and we got talking. She was going through a spell of bad back pain, and having to watch every move she made, and I told her how the Alexander Technique could help.

"Oh, I know the Alexander Technique!" she exclaimed. "We had a teacher come in to the office to help us with better posture - but it was so boring!!"



That did gave me a start, because I've never had someone describe AT to me as boring - strange, bizarre, inexplicable, even disturbing... but never boring!

So I questioned her a little more, and it turned out that many years ago, when she was working abroad, their company had an Alexander Technique teacher come in to help people with their working posture, and apparently what she did was to go around making adjustments to the way people sat. At least, that's what this lady remembered it as. It didn't work at all for her because she was already suffering from her back pain, and all she wanted to do was lie down - which of course the teacher was not in a position to offer her, not in that setting, anyway!

I thought that teacher must have had an uphill job - table work is such an important part of the work for me that if I couldn't offer it, I'd feel I wasn't giving my pupils all the help possible in re-educating themselves for a better quality of life.

Also, I guess she must have been under tremendous pressure to produce results quickly to justify her employment by the company. In that situation, one's focus can shift from what is actually best for people to what looks most effective - only it might not be.

I've faced that dilemma with people who come with pronounced back pain or some such problem - how to not just make a difference, but to be seen making a difference, and quickly too. So far, I've been able to stay back from jumping straight into addressing the problem, and luckily for me, within a few lessons, they've been able to get a sense of what's happening and take it on for themselves.

I've been lucky, I should say - will I continue to stay lucky... well, I certainly hope so!

And my visitor - I didn't have the time to give her a lesson as I'd have liked to, but I did take her through semi-supine and explain how she could use it for helping her back - so I hope that helps!

Walking Skywards

This is a lovely phrase that one of my pupils used as we were applying Alexander ideas to walking and movement.

It struck me then that life would be so different if we could access that state of ease and harmony as a matter of course, and if that elusive quality could be something we take for granted rather than something that we view as a delightful aberration.

That's what most of us do - we like the changes that we observe in ourselves after a lesson, but we don't really expect to have it permanently. We've already bought into the view that this is something that we can have only when we're thinking exclusively about it, or when we're in a lesson. The idea,'This is the way I can be all the time', doesn't figure as a serious scenario - and in a way that's understandable.

Lots of things working here - one is of course the strength of habit, which keeps us expecting to go back into the old familiar state, sooner or later. The other is the thought that it's all too good to be true - is it really possible that we can rid themselves of our problems so easily? It seems to much to expect.

I tend to get caught up in that mindset too, and I've to be constantly on guard to make sure I don't unwittingly transmit that to someone working with me.

'Walking skywards' is something that we're all made for - age, race, sex, profession no bar. But we do need to accept that it's possible.