To make progress when learning the Technique, as with any other skill, my students must practice. But, the Alexander Technique is not a set of exercises. Rather, we can apply the Alexander Technique to anything we do. So what exactly am I asking my students to practice?
What I’m asking them to practice is awareness and THINKING, and most especially what can be called “thinking in activity.” Using Alexander terms, we are practicing inhibiting and directing – that is pausing to let go of habitual way of doing things, and giving ourselves constructive mental messages, such as, “My neck is free,” or “I am not compressing myself,” which encourage an improved coordination in whatever we are doing.
The bulk of this practice, therefore, happens during our lives, doing what we do every day. The benefit of this is that you do not have to set aside a specific amount of time to devote to the Technique – you can practice during everything and anything that you do anyway. You are practicing the skill of thinking in constructive ways that will promote an improved, more integrated, way of moving and coordinating yourself while you do whatever you are doing. The challenge, and it’s a big one, is remembering to think constructively while you are in the middle of doing something else.
I have found it useful for my own learning process, and that of my students, to also set aside some specific times to practice in isolation, as it were, from our regular lives. This could be while we do Constructive Rest and/or any other activity which we choose to practice on our own specifically using the “Alexander” constructive thinking processes.
Whether you are practicing on your own or “in activity,” be aware that as soon as you try and “hold on” to any of these thoughts you have lost the freedom they are designed to encourage. Trying to “do” the direction with effort (with our muscles) is also counter-productive – the practice (in both sense of the word) is about simply thinking and trusting that your body will make a change. It is useful to be aware of what is going on with your body as you go through the process, and to experiment with different types of thoughts/directions, noticing which seem to be more helpful or less helpful , without being judgmental. Be sure, however, that you are not trying to replicate how something felt “last time” and simply stick with the thinking!
We can take it as a given that we are going to forget to think about it. Any time we do remember is a plus and a step in the right direction. And, of course, the more you do remember, the greater your awareness and ability to remember again.
This website has a at the short slide show showing people doing various activities, before practicing their Alexander thinking and after. Take a look. Can you see the difference?
So, try a little Alexander Technique thinking today! You may be surprised how much difference just a thought can make.
Are you a student of the Alexander Technique? If so, how do you approach practicing? If not, have you ever tried being aware of your thoughts, and deliberately thinking something that you have found helpful? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comment in the box below.
This is wonderful. As an Alexander student, I find it helpful to read posts like this as a reminder to “undo” and “direct.” I find that while I’m reading the post I can feel my neck release and my spine lengthen and widen.
Yes, the thoughts, directions as we call them in Alexander Technique, are similar to affirmations. Thanks for your comment.
The images are SO effective. What’s super is the difference in the appearance of engagement of the image with good use vs. just not that great. You can see the state of readiness in each image of good use. Nice!
Oh, thanks so much Rene. I was really pleased with how the pictures came out, and glad you can see that sense of engagement/readiness.
Thanks, Jennifer! I’m absolutely loving (and so are my students) the “My neck is free!” or “I am free to …” ways of thinking/directing. In fact I’m doing an interview for the BodyLearning podcast soon about my experiences, as a follow up to the one you did where you introduced your ideas. I think they’re invaluable. You’ve made a wonderful contribution to our work.
I always love your blogs, thoughts and work and it’s so complimentary to psychological work. The pictures show this so much better than written words, a note to all of us bloggers! Fab picture show. I’m sharing the link on my facebook page and (later on) website.
Good post. I ledarn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon on a daily basis.
It will aalways be useful to read articles from other autthors and practice something from other sites.