Amy Ward Brimmer
3 Reasons to Take Alexander Lessons

A 3-minute video about the 3 most common reasons people come for Alexander Technique lessons.

3 Reasons to Take Alexander Lessons
Awareness, Mindfulness
Amy Ward Brimmer
Fear is Not the Enemy

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.

Fear is Not the Enemy
Alexander Technique, Awareness, Mindfulness, Spirituality
Amy Ward Brimmer
Truths That Blow Your Mind

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.

Truths That Blow Your Mind
Balance, Alexander Technique, Alignment, Meditation, Mindfulness
Amy Ward Brimmer
Steady in the Middle of it All

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.

Steady in the Middle of it All
Awareness, Mindfulness
Amy Ward Brimmer
Don't Go Back to Sleep

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.

Don't Go Back to Sleep

Mindfulness

, , , ,

Expanding and Contracting

, , , ,
Expanding and Contracting

Life is fluid, dynamic, and always shifting. Ultimately, this is good news, but we have been conditioned to expect reality to be solid, fixed, and predictable. The essential groundlessness of our existence frightens us, or at best, takes us by surprise, and when that happens, we react by resisting. Habitual, unconscious resistance shows up in the body-mind as contraction. It is such a basic and common response to living as a human that we don’t even notice it. Yet the moment we do, we are liberated and can transform contraction into expansion.

Includes a Bodymind Experiment.

, , , , ,

Practicing the Pause

, , , , ,
Practicing the Pause

One of the key components of mindfulness and somatic processes like the Alexander Technique is practicing the Pause, learning how to wait before taking action. There is a moment between stimulus and response, and in that gap is the possibility of making a fresh, perhaps different choice. When we don't do that, we often increase our own suffering.

Includes a Bodymind Experiment

, , , ,

The Meditation Routine

, , , ,
The Meditation Routine

Daily meditation has been described as mental hygiene, and that’s true. Just as we brush our teeth, feed and clothe ourselves each day, sitting meditation can be part of your routine. It isn’t a matter of “finding the time” (a frequent complaint), it’s finding the best time each day. Every time we meditate we are training our minds and hearts to incline toward unity, balance, and steady calm. Even the least “successful” sit (whatever that means) trains the attention in this way. This is self-care for the soul.

, , ,

3 Steps to Trusting Yourself

, , ,
3 Steps to Trusting Yourself

It takes practice to discern wisely about what to buy, or how to meet our needs in general. We have a scarcity mentality that sometimes leads to FOMO. As modern consumers we have been programmed to react from a "Black Friday" mentality -- get it before it's gone. A lot of times we buy on impulse because of this, not from a sense of true need. So I find that a 3-step process can assist in helping to discern whether I'm following an authentic urge or a conditioned, habitual reaction: Pause, Check In, and Sense.

,

Days of Awe

,
Days of Awe

The 10-day period in the Jewish calendar is called the Days of Awe and starts with Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, and ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It begins with sweetness and light and ends with repentance, sacrifice, and purification.

All definitions of atonement remind us that the original English meaning was literally, "at-one-ment," the bringing together of beings who have become separated. Harmony, peace, and unity are attained. Wholeness is restored.

, , , ,

Visitors with a Tale to Tell

, , , ,
Visitors with a Tale to Tell

Lately I have been struggling with powerful bouts of despair and doubt, temporary but painful. While that makes me human, it doesn't need to dictate my day-to-day existence. The key is to recognize despair, negativity, fear, rage, and all these sticky heart-mind states for what they really are: visitors with a tale to tell.

, , , ,

Walking Away From Pain

, , , ,
Walking Away From Pain

Walking doesn't have to wear us down. Our ability to move upright on two legs is a miracle of evolution that we take for granted. What you can see and sense when you're right up on top of yourself is what connects you to the world around you -- and the universe inside, too. The key, however, is how you walk. Alexander Technique teaches how to recover that wonderful evolutionary miracle and walk well.

, , ,

Alexander Technique and Mindful Parenting

, , ,
Alexander Technique and Mindful Parenting

I've learned more from my children about applying the Alexander Technique than from any other situation in life. Mindfulness and Alexander work have made all the difference for me in becoming effective and skillful as a mother, and in sustaining me throughout its continuous challenges. I am far from a perfect parent (whatever that is), but raising children with the Alexander Technique and mindful meditation and movement practices made me a better one. It also helped me avoid unnecessary strain and injury, which is no small thing as we age.

Includes a podcast interview about parenting and the Alexander Technique.

, , , ,

Choice Points on a Foggy Road

, , , ,
Choice Points on a Foggy Road

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.

,

Walking the Alexander Way

,
Walking the Alexander Way

Walking well means you are free to notice the power and energy you produce, and the beautiful scenery you encounter, and the other people who are out there trying to get and stay healthy, too. Applying the Alexander Technique gives you the freedom to let your legs move your torso along, to let your neck be free of tension so your head can bob along in balance as you move. It means you can breathe easily and powerfully, with awareness of your back and what is behind you. And you can be grateful for your feet, which do so much for you all day long.

Includes a podcast interview with me about AT and walking.

, , , , , , , , ,

Awake and Aligned the Alexander Way

, , , , , , , , ,
Awake and Aligned the Alexander Way

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.

, , ,

Are We There Yet?

, , ,
Are We There Yet?

Bringing embodied awareness to the transitions we experience — whether small everyday movements from one task to another or during larger significant life changes — can bring about deep and dynamic change. Why? Because it's the last place we show up. We are always thinking ahead, moving toward or away from something, Who brings intention to reaching for the door handle and opening the door? The point, we think, is to get to the other side of the door. The truth is, always being ahead of ourselves leads to unnecessary suffering. Luckily, we can learn that how we do what we do makes all the difference.

, , , ,

Finding the Strawberry

, , , ,
Finding the Strawberry

Are you waiting for things to improve so you can feel better again?

Is your jaw tight, your knuckles white, your breath held? Do your thoughts run out of control? Is your mind fuzzy and your attention worse than ever? And do you believe this will change just as soon as the pandemic is over?

This is what is known as Destination Addiction, the belief that once I arrive at some future point or state of being, then I will be okay, then I can be happy and at peace. This is what AA calls stinkin' thinkin' and it stinks because it is a lie.

The truth is, you don’t have to be dependent upon certain conditions in order to know happiness and inner peace.

,

You're Soaking In It

,
You're Soaking In It

Repetitive thought patterns tend to reinforce themselves, and this always shows up in the body somehow. This is good news, because it means we always have an immediate tangible way to know what’s going on in any given moment. We don’t have to unconsciously absorb the pool of greed, hatred, or delusion that may have become the mental background of everyday living.

, , ,

There is No Try

, , ,
There is No Try

When there is something I don't understand, if I remember to notice the tension that arises around "not knowing," I can release it before it begins to cloud my brain with panic-based messages. I feel this tension in my neck and behind my eyes; other people get upset stomachs or jaw pain or sharp headaches. I observe myself striving to understand a new way of doing something, using different controls, and in the striving, I tighten. So I let go of trying at the same time I let go of the tension in my neck. I think everyone gets anxious when they have to learn something new, even if it is something they are excited about learning.

Includes a Bodymind experiment for you to “do or do not.” But no try.

, , ,

Sweetness Within the Sorrow

, , ,
Sweetness Within the Sorrow

Like many of you, people I knew and cared about died on September 11. Yet we also came to life that day. I met neighbors I had never known and found so many sweet, authentic connections. I saw in action what we talk about when we talk about community.

, , , ,

Senseless

, , , ,
Senseless

Part 2

The motivation to begin Alexander lessons came primarily from my curiosity about this method I had heard about for years. The actors and dancers I knew swore by it, saying it kept them injury-free or was a huge help in recovering from the physical demands on people who use their bodies for a living. On a less intellectual level, I felt a nagging pull toward anything body-based, because I suspected that my relationship with my physical self was not what it should be or could be.

The truth is, I had almost no awareness of my body, my senses, or the way I moved through life. I was senseless.

, , , ,

On the Verge

, , , ,
On the Verge

Part 1

I had my first Alexander Technique lesson 30 years ago. I arrived with a belly full of butterflies and a head full of curiosity. Even then, I was aware enough to recognize the feeling of being on the verge of something significant, the sensation of being carried along by a flow not of my own making.

First in a series of reflections on 30 years of Alexander practice.