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...
The Alexander Technique calms you down as it wakes you up. The Alexander Technique lets you know what you already knew but forgot so that you can remember it when you forget it again. It gives some un-namable things names, reinforced by a guiding touch. The Alexander Technique gives you words, strategies and directions to get the feelings you want. It opens you up. All you have to do is think of it. The Alexander Technique has plenty of side effects, only they're all good ones...
Many times people say to me 'I did ok this week, Alexander Techniquewise, but I caught myself a few times.' There can be a negative connotation to 'catching oneself ', but there doesn't have to be. In fact catching yourself slumping or sitting up rigidly straight is really a positive thing. It's at those moments where you can employ the principles of the Alexander Technique and make positive changes. As you catch yourself, you're becoming aware; you're waking up. Additionally...
