alexander technique in
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how to start living more in the present
how to relax
try this at your desk
try this in the car
carrying bags
how to bend and lift
alexander cures back pain video on BMJ site
visit the British Medical Journal to read the research.
British Medical Journal Video
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applying alexander technique to putting
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tip's
These are simple daily tips to help make life easier but the best tip of all is to seek the help of an experienced practitioner who can show you exactly what to do.
how to start enjoying what you have
The Alexander Technique is a practice of living in the present. So
many people talk about these ideas but The Alexander Technique gives you a practical
and achievable set of ideas to work with so that you can stop just existing
and start to enjoy your life.
try this for yourself
Think about any everyday activity, such as brushing
your teeth. Observe the way you do it, you might begin to notice that
you are using a lot of unnecessary effort and energy. Perhaps you are
gripping the toothbrush too tightly and overusing the muscles of the
arm, shoulders and neck, you may be swaying your whole torso from side
to side, or perhaps a subtle combination of all of these. All this effort
for an action, which requires only a small movement of the wrist! If
you multiply this over-effort in each activity over the course of a whole
day you've got an insight into a lot of unnecessary work going on in
your life.
how to relax
semi supine Lie down every day to relax, preferably in the Alexander Technique semi supine position. This position involves lying on your back with the head supported on some books and with the knees bent pointing upwards to the ceiling. The feet can either be flat on the floor, or you could rest your lower legs on a low stool. This is the best resting position for the spine. Many people will find that this is immediately beneficial. Spend 20 minutes twice a day in the semi supine position and you will feel the benefit to your spine.
stand with feet a little apart
People often find they get tired and achy when they stand for a long time. If you are standing for a while - at a party or during a shopping trip - try keeping your feet a little apart in order to spread the weight of your body more efficiently. Try to keep most of your weight in your heels - many people drift forward so that the weight is more on the toes than it should be. This is hard work for your back.
If you stand with you feet very close together for a long time it is more likely that you will stiffen your back. Check your breathing pattern and make sure that you are breathing well. It is common to not breathe properly and that puts a strain on everything.
less is more
End-gaining describes a state that many people are most familiar with. End-gaining could be described as anticipatory tension. It ia also a word we use to describe the state of 'not being in the present'. The basic idea behind this concept is that the modern human is exposed to an unnatural life style with unnatural goals, to which we respond with over exertion. This over exertion may be observed in yourself in almost any activity. In fact a great question to ask your self is, “what is the minimum amount of effort I need?” for any given task. Whether this is a walk down to the local shop to buy a sandwich or a more complex situation like sitting in a board meeting, or dealing with a tricky emotional situation. The next question you may consider is,
"what does all this over effort contribute to my day-to-day experience?"
One ex-commuter described how she used to arrive in London each morning and mentally and physically “armour” herself against the day. What is this “armoring” and where does it lead? It may be OK occasionally but if you do it for months or even years, at what point does this become deleterious to ones being? This lady also found herself suffering from insomnia with high blood pressure. Does any other creature armour itself against the day ahead? Would your cat or dog become anxious before going out to catch a mouse? This is a sort of sophistication that only mankind enjoys and perhaps it is unnatural and a root cause of much disease.
Another good example of the principle of end-gaining would be tightening up our muscles and becoming irritated because we are in a traffic jam, or waiting in the supermarket queue. When you stop to think about it how can you speed up the traffic by becoming tense? You need to begin to realize that this anticipatory tension may be triggered all day long; indeed for many people it is a constant state. The tired commuter trying to get home, rushing through the crowds, anxious and over reactive to any setback. Or the tired mother trying to get the children to bed. One of our students said immediately, “is that the same as when I get all fizzed up?” She understood immediately what end-gaining meant and for her that made her anxious and brought on asthma attacks and made going on stage in the West End much harder.
End-gaining is a huge concept to understand fully without the experience of The Alexander Technique, but you may begin to understand the implications quite quickly. Try to catch yourself experiencing end-gaining and then observe your muscular and mental state at that time. We all live in a hectic modern world, but the Alexander Technique is a sophisticated tool for people to deal with their high-pressure lifestyles.
don't wear high heels
Many women feel very attached to wearing high heels, even if they instinctively know that they may be causing themselves harm. If this is you, try to cut down the amount of time you wear them. Wear flat slippers at home and if you must wear heels save them for special occasions. You know how good it feels taking them off after a long night out - that may be your body trying to tell you something. It is hard enough to balance on two legs and feet without making things harder by trying to balance on your toes. Really when you wear high heels you should fall over, the only thing that stops you doing so is extra muscle tension.
take regular breaks
Everyone spends so much time sitting at a computer. Our bodies were not designed to be fixed in one sitting position for hours on end. It is not surprising so many people end up feeling stiff and tense. The importance of regular short breaks cannot be overemphasized. Every half hour you should stand up and walk around the room. Every ten minutes you should stop and look around you whilst dropping and relaxing your arms. Even at work you should follow these rules. It doesn't take long to do but it will save you a lot of discomfort and strain, and in the long term will make you more efficient.
don't fold your arms
It is difficult to relax the arms when they are
folded across your
chest. You are not really giving them the room they need to relax. If this
is a habit that feels familiar and comfortable to you try this little
experiment. Try folding your arms with the opposite pattern, ie/ if
normally you put the left arm over the right arm then reverse that pattern
and take a moment to notice how it feels. It will undoubtedly feel odd,
but you will probably notice the tension involved in maintaining your
arms in a folded pattern. When you reverse the pattern you may notice
how twisted you are, but in your familiar pattern of folding the arms
this twist has come to feel comfortable.
don't cross your legs
Crossing the legs is a very common way of sitting. Very often we have developed habits of constantly shifting from one position to another - crossing legs first to the right, then to the left, then at the ankle, then tucked under the chair. If this is a familiar pattern for you try stopping at each point and notice the discomfort that causes you to want to change position. The next time you catch yourself crossing your knees, stay in the same position and really observe what it is doing to your body. You will probably notice pressure on your knees and hips, stiffness and aches in your lower back and a compensatory twist throughout the body, culminating in tension in the neck and shoulders and shallow breathing. It is best to sit with both feet evenly on the ground.
stop and listen
Listening to the sounds around you is a very effective simple way of
relaxing the mind and body. Far from losing our train of thought, a little
rest from concentration can make it easier to keep our mind focused and
clear rather than tense and overwrought.
use less effort
Every single task we perform can be done with less muscular effort
and consequently less tension. If we are doing something and using twice
as much effort as we need we are inefficient and tiring ourselves unnecessarily.
It is also likely that the extra effort is merely adding to the sense
of stiffness in our own bodies.
give yourself space and time
Relaxation requires both and it is important to give ourselves the
space we need and enough time with that space. We should all spend at
least 20 minutes a day allowing ourselves this treat.
remember your peripheral vision
So much time is spent in front of computers and driving cars, many people get into the habit of overusing the central part of their field of vision and neglecting their peripheral vision. This can cause eyestrain, but is also a major contribution towards headaches and migraines. It is very important to stop what you are doing and allow your eyes to look around, using the periphery of your vision for a few moments. This is particularly important for people who wear glasses. Computers and televisions tend to encourage this emphasis on the centre, whilst the peripheral vision becomes underused. People who wear glasses have are even more likely to habitually over-use the central fields and dismiss the blurry part of their vision as useless.
Here is a useful exercise to try when you have 10 minutes to spare.
Once you have practised it a few times you may be lucky enough to discover
just how lovely it is to give your eyes the opportunity to experience
their whole field. Of course doing eye-work in a beautiful place by a
river or under a tree is lovely but part of the art of using your eyes
in a better manner is to see beauty in all things. So an urban environment
is fine too. It is most enjoyable and pleasant thing to do on the train
or during your lunch-break.
don’t pull your shoulders back
Just about the only piece of postural advice most of us are given is to pull our shoulders back. If you want to observe perfect posture take a look at any young child’s body and notice that whilst they achieve perfect posture it is not through any pulling or pushing. Try pulling your own shoulders back now, ask yourself what have you had to do to achieve this? It is hard to observe yourself but if you really stop and think about it what you did in order to pull your shoulders back was to grip the muscles across your upper back which just creates narrower and stiffer shoulders. It also interferes considerably with your breathing and puts a strain on your chest, back and neck. Unfortunately so many people associate good posture with this single piece of advice that really has more to do with the army than nature. Good postural reflexes are also much more subtle and connected than the notion that we can adjust one thing and it will somehow pull us into shape.
So whatever your Mum used to say don’t do it.
lightness and ease
Without realizing they are doing it, most adults pull themselves downwards
and make things harder for themselves. If they would just stop to think
of lightness and ease occasionally, their lives would improve and their
bodies would certainly benefit. Lightness and ease is definitely better
than heaviness and difficulty.
try this at your desk
Stress is so common as to seem a normal expectation of modern living. On the face of it the average office worker should be having an easy time, sitting down all day in a reasonably comfortable chair doing activities that only engage the fine motor skills such as typing or answering the phone. Why do we actually experience desk work as very hard work physically? Of course it is hard work but could it all be done in a slightly easier way?
So many people spend too much time sitting both at work and at home. Modern man could be described as Homo-sedens.
Our bodies were not designed to be fixed in one sitting position for
hours on end. It is not surprising so many people feel stiff and tense
at the end of the working day.
take regular breaks
The importance of regular short breaks cannot be overemphasized. Every ten minutes you should stop what you are doing, take a look around whilst dropping your shoulders down and relaxing your arms, every half hour you should stand up and walk around the room.
use a sloping writing table
Years ago all school desks used to slope. If you look at pictures of the 17th and 18th century you will see that a sloping writing surface was common then as was the practice of working at lecterns.
Around about
the 1960’s there came a fashion for flat desks. Unfortunately this
is a fashion that has stayed with us, often because of the space saving
aspect of being able to stack tables that are flat on top of each other.
Nowadays we have so much expensive equipment on desks that would fall
on the floor if they were sloped. The slope has the effect of bringing
your work nearer to you and means that you can sit more comfortably to
write. A useful addition would be to get a sloping writing surface, only
a slight slope is required to make an improvement, this would make writing
and reading a little easier.
computer screen lower
A recent ergonomic fashion has been to have computer screens at eye level. This is fine for Alexander Technique students who can sit upright effortlessly, but most people’s untrained attempts to sit up straight simply cause more strain for their necks and shoulders and backs. For them it would be better to be slightly looking downwards at the screen and to have the screen angled up towards their eyes.
get a good chair
There is much nonsense written about wonder products that cure bad backs, of course if they worked nobody would be bothered with back pain. Of course some products will give relief of some sort to some of the users. Products such as these appeal to a very basic desire to solve the problem of pain but fail to address the fundamental problem which is that it is how you are sitting that is the problem not what you are sitting on.
You can sit well on a plank of wood or sit badly in a very
expensive ergonomic chair. The most important thing to look for in a
work chair is that it gives you good support for your upper back and
that it has a flat seat.
try this in the car
People often experience tension and stiffness in the neck and shoulders after a long drive. Some of this can be eased by holding the steering wheel lower down. With the hands at 10 to 2 for long periods of time, the shoulders tend to get raised and start to ache. Hold your steering wheel at 20 to 4 position or try quarter to 3 or 20 to 4 from time to time. You will still maintain control over the wheel, but it will be less tiring.
driving breaks
On a long journey, the temptation is to go as quickly as possible in order to get to your destination. This approach will probably make you feel tense and exhausted. Far better would be to stop every hour even If you just get out of the car take a few good breaths and a look at the scenery a short walk around and get back in the car again.
This practice would only add 10 minutes to a 5-hour journey, but you
would reach your destination in a lot better shape.
carrying bags
If you carry a rucksack whilst walking, make sure it fits well and have it high up your back. If it hangs lower down your back and is poorly adjusted it can pull you backwards and cause a strain for your lower back.
If you are doing serious walking and carrying a heavy bag, make sure to pack the heavier items at the top. This ensures that the weight is carried more evenly down your spine and puts less strain on the lower back.
Waist fitted bags are excellent and have a number of benefits. All the weight is taken by the hips and your arms are able to move freely. Your upper back and shoulders have no straps to strain against.
There are waist-packs in the shops that carry enough for a day in the mountains or a day round the shops. You should find a selection of these in out-door pursuits shops.
Don't wear shoulder bags on one shoulder. When you
add up the number of hours that we carry bags around it makes sense to
pay some attention to how you are doing this. Take a look around next
time you are in the shopping mall how many peoples shoulders are higher
on one side than on the other with the effort of holding onto a bag.
Far better to have a bag with a longer broad strap that can go across
your chest; this also leaves both hands free. An added bonus is that
the bag is more accessible and less likely to get left behind or stolen.
how to bend and lift
People often use more effort to lift things than they need to. One of the classic mistakes people make is rushing, it is much more likely you will hurt yourself if you are being too hasty. So take your time and try not to rush in order to get the job over and done with. If you are careful and measured in your movements it is easier to spot when the load is becoming too heavy and to rest it back on the floor. A good way to lift heavy objects is get into a good position first with your knees bent and the back straight, and start by getting a good sense of the weight. Start shifting the weight by using a little effort. If a little effort isn't enough to lift it, then gradually increase effort until you do have enough. As with everything take your time, don’t rush and snatch at it.
When lifting bend the knees not the back. This is a common tip used by many people but it is also important to hinge forward at the hips. If you try to keep the back perpendicular to the floor when lifting heavy objects it can cause a strain for your neck and back. So allow the hips to hinge as well as the knees.
Don't over-reach when lifting, lifting objects in a hurry when twisting or overreaching can cause havoc for the lower back as the discs can pull out of alignment.
Always stand as close as you comfortably can to the object that you intend to lift. Try and stay within your own balance whilst lifting don’t get pulled forward by the weight.
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alexander technique in and around brighton
