“The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes”

Goethe

Stillness in Action. Stillness in Being

What happens when you pay close attention to the way that you move or to the simple act of standing ? Is what you are feeling actually happening ? Or do you not feel anything ?

The Alexander Technique explores these questions in a unique and practical manner. Often, many of the problems we suffer are entirely preventable if only we knew what it was that we were doing.

The most fundamental thing about the Alexander Technique is that you stop and pay attention to the way you feel. This sounds simple and it is, but within that simplicity is a kernel of infinite variability. It is one of those profoundly simple things that can generate great presence of mind. At first you sense your body then soon realise it is the experience of your body you are sensing. Still later you realise it is your experience of life through your body that you are actually sensing. Even with ‘stopping’ How can you stop doing what you don’t know you are doing ? The simple act of standing, upon closer inspection reveals that you may not have stopped at all. Your mind is probably racing, your eyes and tongue are probably darting about and you are also I imagine, busy holding yourself in some sort of frozen action that is anything but standing in stillness.

Listening with all your senses

The Alexander Technique is a search for stillness. Stillness in action, stillness in being. It is often a search for a new experience which can make it a mysterious thing. It’s like moving through a fog in a small boat. Everything is heightened. You listen with all your senses. You are aware of the water under your boat, the current on your rudder, the sound of water lapping and in the distance, other boats. As it is a new experience, how can you be sure of what is happening ? Are you actually moving or are you still harnessed to an old mooring ? How do you find the other shore or perhaps the great current of your destiny ?

Alexander used to say that “You can’t do what you don’t know if you keep doing what you do know”. So you stop, pay attention and reduce effort. You go to move, sweeping your attention through your whole body, listening to what you are doing. If you find yourself moving in habitual or inefficient ways you stop and listen once again. In the stillness an image of where and who you are begins to emerge. You soon find yourself experiencing your body in new ways. Movement becomes effortless and the way forward becomes clearer. In the distance you catch a glimpse of the great effortless stream and you set your bearings anew.

The path of least resistance

The Alexander Technique reveals the path of least resistance by removing your self-imposed barriers. One of the cornerstones of the Alexander Technique is learning to maintain the delicate balance of our head on top of our spine. To do this requires a certain organization of the rest of your body and ensures you will be moving in the most efficient manner possible.

Alexander noticed that when he used his body inefficiently he used more muscular effort than necessary. The unnecessary effort had the effect of compressing his body. He also noticed that the back of his neck was the first place to be affected. He found that if he was able to stop the tension there, he stopped it through the rest of his body as well. He realised that the balance of the head on top of the spine had a controlling influence on the rest of the body, which he called ‘primary control’.

During a course of Alexander lessons you will learn to become aware of the way your head is balanced on top of your spine and the influence this balance, or lack of it, has on the rest of your body. If you have an ache or pain you can usually trace a related tension to your neck. Freeing your neck so your head moves freely can have the most surprising consequences.

A profound sense of peace

On the surface the Alexander Technique seems concerned with posture or with maintaining a sense of ease in all movements. The actual experience can seem a lot more than that. Many habits of tension and poor movement are a reaction to old fears - fears that survive long after the threat has passed. Releasing tensions such as these can give a profound sense of peace. Stopping to pay attention gives you the opportunity to reassess the relevance of old perceptions and be present to what you perceive now. It can create a great sense of freedom and possibility.

In a way it is rather like travelling, except that your surroundings don’t change. It is your ability to perceive your surroundings that changes. It is a profound experience that can have many consequences. It is not just that you learn a way to move that removes pain or feels robust and graceful. It is an experience that can fill you with awe and appreciation for who you are and what you have.