A 3-minute video about the 3 most common reasons people come for Alexander Technique lessons.
I learned a long time ago that I don't have to be afraid of fear. It's an energy, and a rather unpleasant one -- unless you're choosing a scary book or film as entertainment. It can be mild and continuous or sudden and strong, but as emotions go, it's one of the easiest to recognize. And one of the hardest to bear.
Over the years I have heard statements that rang true and woke me up to reality. These are truths that seem obvious upon hearing, but also feel familiar because they are easily verifiable by direct investigation or experience. It leaves you wondering, “how could I have forgotten this?” or amazed that you’ve never thought of it in that way before. The truths that blow your mind.
The spring equinox brings an equal amount of daylight and darkness, and it’s a good time to explore balance. Learning to surf the waves of life requires a commitment to turn toward direct experience, to include whatever is arising with acceptance, to learn how to balance in the gap between stimulus and response. Equanimity develops as the other factors of awakening are cultivated, and mindfulness is the link between them all.
Two weeks into the new year, and many of us are already hitting trouble spots in sticking to our resolutions. That’s pretty typical, because deep and lasting change is not easy. The poet Rumi has some wise advice for how to stay awake and keep honoring those intentions.
The spring equinox brings an equal amount of daylight and darkness, and it’s a good time to explore balance. Learning to surf the waves of life requires a commitment to turn toward direct experience, to include whatever is arising with acceptance, to learn how to balance in the gap between stimulus and response. Equanimity develops as the other factors of awakening are cultivated, and mindfulness is the link between them all.
Alexander Technique comes in handy when the snow flies. Shoveling often produces all sorts of minor injuries, aches and pains for people. If you find yourself with low back pain, twinges in your shoulders or neck, or other maladies as result of shoveling, pay attention to how you are bending and lifting when you shovel. Like vacuuming, raking, or gardening, shoveling is essentially about lunging.
Major life choices seem both inevitable – how could it have been any other way? – and random – that decision led to an outcome I could never have chosen.
We imagine that the plans we dream up and the actions we intend will bear the fruit we hope for. We can see the steps we need to take and we think by taking them we know our destination clearly.
But now the road is really foggy. The territory ahead is not what we expected it to be and the route has changed to one we’ve never travelled before.
This is not a problem — read on.
If you study and practice the Alexander Technique, it will change your life for the better.
This is a statement I can make with complete confidence and zero doubt. I can say this to absolutely everyone, no matter their condition or circumstances. With very few exceptions, there is no one who can't benefit from the principles and the process created by F. M. Alexander and developed over the past century by those who have followed his path.
That’s quite a claim. Read on.
People who come for Alexander lessons anticipate that their balance will improve, and that's almost always a predictable result. Yet most people are surprised to learn that balance is dynamic, not static. One doesn't maintain balance by holding on, but by letting go. Or, to be more precise, by letting flow.
The spine is the central column of support and the core energetic pathway in our bodies. At Way Opens Center Alexander Technique offers a way to access the central support of the spinal column and move according to its design. In lessons, we focus on freeing up the spine, allowing it its full length and renewing its supple, flexible nature. Thinking up, inhibiting downward pull or collapse, and rediscovering the poise of the head in movement -- these are all excellent ways to encourage the body to reorganize itself so that activities are easier and more enjoyable. But do you really know anything about your spine?
