Buddhism offers the idea of "two arrows.", which has relevance to Alexander Technique. The first arrow strikes when pain comes upon us; an inevitable occurrence. The second arrow is the mental anguish we experience, or put ourselves through, because of the original pain. Mental pain enhances and prolongs physical pain. It's as if when shot [...]
...Good posture while you meditate, or your meditation posture, can be a challenge for those new to meditation, as well as those more experienced with meditation. Improving one's Meditation posture is important for people who meditate for ten minutes, and those who meditate for hours. The Alexander Technique can help with meditation posture, as it helps with posture in general. In researching various instructions for proper meditation posture, a suggestion that keeps arising is ‘keep your spine straight.
Can the Alexander Technique and Alexander Technique lessons help us with the stress of the holidays, 2011 style? Absolutely, especially when we remember that the stress isn't the problem. The real problem is how we handle the stress, and the manifestations of the stress. Stress has symptoms. Our body tells us we're stressed because our breathing gets shallow, our hearts race and our muscles contract. We tighten our necks, bringing our head back and down which could be a result of our habitual startle response...
Today I taught an Alexander Technique lesson to a flautist, or a flutist, or a flute player. This musician was experiencing neck pain that he believed was associated with his playing. Every musical instrument has it's unique challenges and the flute is no exception. The Alexander Technique helps deal with the musician's challenges, while improving [...]
