I was late. As I left my apartment I noticed that I was hunching forward, projecting myself (my neck) forward, as if that were going to get me to my destination faster. It didn’t. It doesn’t. It won’t. It can’t...
Art comes first. Life comes first. Joy comes first. Love comes first. The sushi chef is bent over his work, his art. Right now, this is his life; nothing else matters. He's a human being in the moment. His body forms the shape of...of a guy making sushi. He may someday develop pain, diminish his [...]
Sometimes in the early stages of Alexander Technique lessons, I might ask a student to ‘do nothing’ while they're lying on the massage table, or to 'let go' as I move their arm...I'm asking the Alexander Technique student (we're all Alexander Technique students) to inhibit. This isn't inhibition as in suppressing; it more has to do with stopping your initial response giving you a chance to do something in a new, conscious, beneficial way...
Often at the start of an Alexander Technique lesson here in New York City, I'll ask 'how did it go this week?' A few responses: 'I did the Alexander Technique, but not all the time,' or, 'I thought about the Alexander Technique, but not all the time.' To me, these are honest answers, but does anyone think of the Alexander Technique all the time? Would we want to be thinking about it constantly, and thinking of nothing else? Is that any way to enjoy a movie, a book or a companion? The Alexander Technique definitely becomes part of life, and new, more beneficial habits are formed. Even without directly thinking about the Alexander Technique, we've changed. We begin to have less tension with everything we do. We sit at the computer, stand, walk, bend, play the bassoon and bowl in a different way without the Alexander Technique being in the forefront of our thinking...
