No more "auto pilot": Using Alexander Technique for Mindful Movement

No more "auto pilot": Using Alexander Technique for Mindful Movement

I remembered reading about John Pepper , who consciously retrained his movements to overcome foot drag and tremor, and became curious about how his conscious attending to his walking, typically an unconscious and habitual motor task, allowed him to perhaps create neural pathways that could compensate for or bypass the areas of his brain impacted by Parkinson’s.

Alexander Technique asks us to perform automatic tasks in a conscious and novel way.

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How are you doing?: Looking at how Allostatic Overload is Impacting Our Well-being

How are you doing?: Looking at how Allostatic Overload is Impacting Our Well-being

When I began my Alexander Technique teaching practice in 1989, my focus was on performing artists and helping people improve their posture and live with less pain.

Fast forward to 2020, when the Covid-19 Pandemic upended a way of life, and - perhaps for the first time- people who historically weren't so vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of resources and economies, found themselves part of the global trauma.

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Stillness as growth

Sometimes getting still to shed a habit and let something new emerge seems fruitless.

We live in a time and space that emphasizes doing.

Waiting IS doing something.

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When you plant a seed, many things happen that you don’t see before a shoot comes up from the soil.

You don’t see how the food you eat becomes fuel for your body and brain.

You don’t see how neurotransmitters create elegant, coordinated action.

Slowing down is under rated.

Give yourself some time and space.

Let the story you tell yourself fade into the background for a short time and find your breath.

Try being still with inner space and inner movement.

Anatomy of the head and top of the spine

Anatomy of the head and top of the spine

In this video blog, I show you where the head rests on the top of the spine. Having a more detailed understanding can facilitate your self-work and what you are exploring in lessons with your teacher. I am currently offering video sessions until it is safe for us to meet in person.

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Sherlock Holmes? Not quite, but Alexander teachers do detective work.

Sherlock Holmes? Not quite, but Alexander teachers do detective work.

In a recent video session with a colleague, we debriefed a series of three lessons she taught to a new student. It was hard to tell whether she was pleased overall, or disappointed. The student has a pain condition, and reported different degrees of change, relief and comfort at all three lessons.

So I started asking her questions. Lots of questions. And since we were separated by distance, I had to rely more on dialogue than I might if we were together and I could see more details about her expressions and my hands could supplement that information with what I could feel.

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Awareness: A blessing and a curse

Awareness: A blessing and a curse

There is a saying: The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.

Studying the Alexander Technique is an invitation to discover you may be doing things you aren’t aware of. Much of what is taught and learned begins with physical action. However, all of our actions and perceptions, whether intellectual, emotional or physical (or a combination of all) can be brought to a higher level of awareness and can become more accurate, including our perception of the world around us.

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The Power of a Hug: Why Alexander hands-on work may be good for your health

The Power of a Hug: Why Alexander hands-on work may be good for your health

I ran into a college classmate the other day, who I had not seen in close to 40 years, although we “see” each other on Facebook. She lives in another state, so it was an extreme coincidence that she was crossing a busy intersection in Manhattan just as I was crossing the other direction. We both went in for a mutual embrace in the middle of the crosswalk, at which point I joined her to double back and walk a bit, so we could catch up. We were not that close during my short time at the same college, and don’t know each other that well, but I know she is a kind-hearted, loving person and the immediate availability, as well as the warmth of her embrace definitely lifted my mood.

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Alexander jargon: using language in a non-habitual way

There are many folks who are critical of the jargon* we use in the Alexander Technique. I understand their point. Semantics (the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning) can muddy communication. Our terminology can be confusing, de-legitimizing, off putting and inaccessible.

However, consider the definition of jargon: * “special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand”. Alexander students gain skill from the process one goes through to understand the jargon. Alexander’s directions and concepts can invite someone to think in a new way. Language can be used to trigger novelty in perception, making it possible for someone to access change. Alexander Technique is about change. We are looking for ways to bring habituated, automatic responses to a level of awareness where we have more agency to choose how we respond.

I offer Alexander’s main instructions in many variations, in my self work and with my students:

  • Neck free, head forward and up, back lengthening and widening, knees forward and away.

  • Allow your neck to be free, to allow you head to move forward and up, to allow your back to lengthen and widen, to allow your knees to release forward and away.

  • I allow my neck to be free, to allow my head to release forward and up, to allow my knees to release forward and away from each other, to allow my shoulder to widen, lengthening through my arms and out my fingers.

  • I don’t have to tighten my neck, I don’t have to pull the base of my skull back and down towards my tail, I don’t need to shorten or narrow my back, I don’t need to pull my arms and legs in.

I find this keeps me from becoming habitual and automatic, reciting words by rote without perceiving their meaning. After all, I can recite the alphabet, count, repeat song lyrics and any other number of string of words without needing to let them register. This is very to the experience that I can drive a familiar route and have the sense that I don’t remember passing the previous three exits. That kind of automated behavior is what the Alexander Technique seeks to remedy.

Another benefit of having a glossary of jargon in the Alexander paradigm is that it brings an awakening to our auditory processing during lessons and in our self-work.

Try This:

  • Imagine your head getting lighter and easing towards the ceiling. What do you notice?

  • Say to yourself: “I don’t have to hold my breath” as you think of your head being light. What do you notice?

  • What does it mean to let your head move forward and up? Does the image below illustrate what you would understand from those words?

The movement Alexander meant by “forward and up”

The movement Alexander meant by “forward and up”

"Take a breath and count to 10..." and other life skills

"Take a breath and count to 10..." and other life skills

The Alexander Technique is a well-developed method for managing your response to life. It combines many capacities we have to regulate how we respond to life. The tools Alexander combined are not unique to his work and we all have concrete experiences that relate to the main concepts used: awareness, inhibition and direction. This post with focus on inhibition.

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Training Teachers: "Looking Under The Hood"

Training Teachers: "Looking Under The Hood"

For the majority of students of the Alexander Technique, the value comes in gaining the skill to apply their “Alexander” tools to the task of living. Most drivers don’t need or choose to understand the engineering and mechanics of their cars, they focus on learning to drive. Similarly, exploring and understanding the underlying mechanisms that produce the positive benefits of applying Alexander Technique is far less relevant for students.

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On Teaching: "Speaking without words"

On Teaching: "Speaking without words"

by Brooke Lieb

Brooke: During our work together on the ACAT Teacher Certification Program, I remember you repeatedly sharing with me that you found lectures and the verbal component of hands-on turns virtually un-intelligible, and stressful. I was able to appreciate that auditory learning wasn’t particularly useful to you, but in retrospect, I know I didn’t have a meaningful understanding or appreciation of how unique sensory processing is from one person to another. I was also fascinated because I know how much you read and comprehend, and that you studied much more complex subjects than I ever have and are articulate and versed in those topics.

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How Alexander Technique helped me recognize and ease anxiety and depression

How Alexander Technique helped me recognize and ease anxiety and depression

I was raised by two parents who live in a constant state of anticipatory anxiety. When I started my Alexander Teacher Training at ACAT in 1987, I had mild panic attacks, which disappeared over the three years of training.

When I would subsequently experience the physical sensations that came with those panic attacks, I would notice my inner narrative would start to tell me frightening things. Other times I would begin thinking about something that was frightening and the sensations would begin.

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Working with Rhythm: Smoother movement for better coordination

Working with Rhythm: Smoother movement for better coordination

As an Alexander Teacher, I have been trained to observe and analyze my students’ movements and behaviors, so that I can teach them tools to maximize their efficiency while minimizing physical and mental stress.

One measure I use to that end is movement quality. I use a couple different scales, one of which is the range from smooth to jerky.

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Learning the Alexander Technique can reduce your degree of head forward posture, and most students enjoy their lessons.

Learning the Alexander Technique can reduce your degree of head forward posture, and most students enjoy their lessons.

A simple google search with the term “effects of head forward posture” yields results that show a possible correlation between degree of forward displacement and pain in computer users; increased time spent sitting at a desk increasing instances of neck pain; and a decrease in respiratory efficiency

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For Alexander Teachers: Foundations of effective teaching

For Alexander Teachers: Foundations of effective teaching

There are many signposts of the progress during training.

One benchmark I monitor is the how hard the student is trying to “get it right”. Alexander used a term called end-gaining, which refers to a degree of habit and automaticity in carrying out an activity.

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Still Procrastinating, and making progress: AT in a technical crisis

Still Procrastinating, and making progress: AT in a technical crisis

My writer’s block is still with me. I have written down notes and titles for 12 or more topics, but just can’t seem to find the inspiration to sit and get the writing done.

In the meantime, necessity is the mother of invention. I somehow managed to delete every email in my inbox on my desktop computer. 14,000+ to be exact. I only keep the last week’s worth of messages on my web-based server. 11 years deleted.

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Problem Solving

Problem Solving

Alexander didn't have a teacher to help him solve his vocal problems.  He had no one telling him where to begin or how to approach finding a solution, so he began with simple observation and then experimented on a trial and error basis.

One of Alexander's observations and concerns, as he worked for over 60 years teaching people from all walks of life, was the lack of critical reasoning people brought to problem solving.

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My Valentine to the Alexander Technique

Happy Valentine’s Day. I wish you chocolate, pleasure, connection, ease, and a generally good day.

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I started the day with dance class, one of those spaces in my life where my mind focuses on the present moment. I don’t think about anything but what I am doing. It’s the best form of meditation for me - moving and active.

I spent the rest of this day arm deep in old documents from the American Center for the Alexander Technique, preserving the history of 54 years of people who came together in our shared love of The Alexander Technique.

For those of you who haven’t experienced it yet, find out for yourself. Take a lesson and decide for yourself.

While I was scanning documents and organizing things, I had on Spotify, listening to a one of the curated playlists they have called “Easy 80s”. That music really takes me back to a formative time in my life, and the soundtrack that played kept the pleasure coming all day.

What has all this got to do with the Alexander Technique? My capacity to be present, pay attention, focus and productive has been greatly enhanced by the technique. I am having such a lovely day, enjoying myself and grateful to be alive. Alexander Technique helps me choose where to direct my focus, so more of my days are spent in ease and pleasure.

Don’t get me wrong, I know life isn’t all roses. I’ve written about some of my not so great days in these blogs, you can read about how the Alexander Technique helped me then, too.



Finding my Inner Adult and other Adventures in the Alexander Technique

Finding my Inner Adult and other Adventures in the Alexander Technique

Most people consider the Alexander Technique a highly effective resource for improving posture, recovering from injury and managing the physical effects of stress, repetitive strain injuries and the demands of daily life. It certainly can provide relief and improvement in all of those areas. READ MORE

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