Thursday, September 4, 2014

A few notes from my Alexander Technique lesson today- awareness of the head.


Lesson 4 September




Key points:

  • Head is primary, remember the image of a baby and its head-prominence.
  • Observe young children and babies, and their body posture and movement.
  • Being with yourself is knowing where your head is, and then your whole 'self' spatially. Being with yourself isn't an observer mode, but sitting comfortably in your body and body experience. (This could also be termed 'self-remembering'. It fits the bill because one is self-aware at this time, and aware of what’s going on around.- me)
  • Flow- one activity flows on to the next, there is no stop/start or separation. Awareness and movement is constant, even sitting ‘still’, or taking ‘a break’ involves movement and flows from a previous action to a next action.
  • Don’t try to adjust things (back position, head etc.), the body will let you know what needs to be adjusted, provided you are self-aware and experiencing things from head-down. It is only when tuning-out or in autopilot (habit) mode that we lose connection with the body and issues arise.
  • Make time during the day to feel where your head is located, and then your body, and whole ‘self’, and just experience sitting and being without any intention or need to do anything.
  • Experiment with ‘noting’ if the idea arises, though perform the noting within the context of the whole ‘self’ rather than just fixating on one arising (such as ‘touch’); note and be aware of the whole context occurring.
  • Take note when moving that the head is leading, or at least be aware of where you are going and what you are doing (while experiencing the head-body connection).