Listening, observing, and connecting
Alexander Technique practice can be enhanced by listening, observing, and making connections to non-Alexander Technique sources including frogs, football players, dolphins, wind, and waves.
Cats inhibit, football players inhibit, and frogs inribit.
Cats are professionals when it comes to inhibition. When they pounce, they wait for just the right moment; not too soon. Sometimes they wait too long but, following F.M. Alexander’s advice, they do something completely different and take a bath.
Every professional football players must inhibit on every play. If not, he receives a penalty called “failure to inhibit”, though in football terms it’s called “offsides”; five-yard penalty.
The frog’s penalty is not catching the fly; the outfielder’s as well.
Breaking waves, broken branches, imperfections, and number 23.
Breaking waves supply the image of “up and over”, as in: up and over the hip joints, and up and over the atlanto-occipital joints.
A bird’s wings come from the back; like ours.
Trees and animals display an effortless “up” and, like people, they are warped, bowed, broken, and bent. Birds’ wings break. Rocks break. Waves break. Animals limp.
And Michael Jordan stuck his tongue out.
Trees, dolphins, babies, and the wind
Inflexible trees may break. They have to “learn” to sway.
Dolphins lead with their heads and glide; head leading torso.
Babies breathe fully, scream loudly, and toddlers squat and lunge.
Leaves whisper ah in the wind on high branches.
Mark Josefsberg-Alexander Technique NYC
(917) 709-4648
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