Alexander Technique Posture. Not.

Good Posture

One of the problems of trying to achieve ‘good posture’, or ‘perfect posture’ or “proper posture” or even “correct posture” is that these terms imply rigidity. Some Alexander Technique teachers attempt to avoid the word posture altogether, calling it the ‘P’ word.

One could learn to have ‘proper posture’ in a few minutes, especially if you think of military posture. Military posture is standing up as straight as possible, with your stomach in, chest out, chin tucked in, shoulders back etc. I guess we could add ‘not being able to move’ and ‘not being able to breath fully’. ‘Tighten every muscle in your body and tense your jaw.’  Might as well make a fist, too. Do we really need any more tension?

Alexander Technique Posture and Poise

Maybe we could think of ‘poise’ instead of ‘posture’.  What if you think of poise as being flexible, being able to change direction seamlessly and easily? Poise and pride. Think of having pride in yourself, having your head up high, but without arrogance. You don’t want to think of sticking your nose in the air. In fact, sometimes you’ll want to lower your nose, as the crown of your head moves up.

Alexander Technique for Better Posture

Poise, pride, freedom of movement, ease and lightness may describe what the Alexander Technique offers in terms of good posture or proper posture. However, when people come for sessions for ‘posture correction’, their posture gets fixed. One of the differences between good posture and using the Alexander Technique is that with the Alexander Method we’re subtracting tension instead of adding it, and it’s permanent.  Plus, the Alexander Technique has extremely beneficial side effects.

Mark Josefsberg Alexander Technique NYC

Mark@MarkJosefsberg.com

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