Why such a long break from posting?

... well, I recently focused on my new blog in Polish. Here it is:

Sztuka zmiany z Techniką Alexandra

I may translate some entries into English in the future.

Is the Alexander Technique for me? ...

Are you one of those people asking himself / herself that question?

Yes? Then read on!

No? Read on anyway...


There is a simple way of determining whether the Technique is suitable for you. You need to answer the following 3 questions:

Question 1: Are you alive?

If in doubt, check if you breathe, if still in doubt: if you're still reading this it means you must be still alive.

Question 2: Do you have a body?

If in doubt, look in the mirror.

Question 3: Do you have a mind? 

If in doubt, ask someone.

* * *

If you answered 'yes' to all the questions above, then I have great news for you - the AT is for you!

If you answered 'no' to one, or more questions, don't worry - you don't need it anyway...

Printer's Hat, aka. how do I respond to a challenge?

Every Wednesday one of students at our school gives a ‘talk through’. On the last Wednesday of the term we were given a task of using written instruction and pictures to produce a ‘printer’s hat’ made of paper. Here's the sheet that was used:

This provided an opportunity for self-observation.

We were working at 3 different tables, so I shared the space with 4 other people. When I was on step 3 of the process, I reverted to what seems to be very and old forgotten habit – I looked at what other people were doing, looking for guidance... Well, that’s what I relied on at school, that’s how I went through it (until about 2nd half of my 2nd year at the Uni)!!!

We were asked to stop, and proceed with the task again, this time reading the instructions aloud. This time I decided to work on my own to see how I can go about this task independently. Trust my own thinking.

It's interesting to note that I managed to finish the task successfully, whereas none of the people at my table managed to do it. I'm only mentioning this to illustrate the point: it was certainly not the matter of ability, but rather of a strategy. First time I tried to work through the problem, I looked for help too early, and thus undermined my own thinking / problem solving process. All I needed to be successful was space and time to think and trust in my own ability.

I think that being able to ask for help is a very important skill, I know of some people who are not able to do it. The point is, that I was trying to ask for help too early, without really thinking about what I’m doing in-depth. If I tried different approaches to solving this problem, and was still stuck, I would have no problem in asking for help, but at least I would know that I used my resources, I gave it a fair shot. Then there's a question: 

Whom should I ask for help? 

Do I choose someone who is struggling, or someone who knows what she/he is doing, someone who can give me reliable instruction?

But what does it have to do with the Alexander Technique, you may ask?

Well, the AT is about how we do things, this includes habits. 

How do I learn?

How do I respond to the challenges?

How do I solve problems?

All useful  questions...

Why don't you give it a shot to make a printer's hat yourself? Any newspaper page will do...

AT Promotional Video

This is how the AmSAT promotes the Alexander Technique:

 

Holding my breath, or taking time to exhale?

One of the most common ways we interfere with our breathing pattern is by holding our breath. I wasn't aware of this habit until I came across the Technique.

So, what makes me hold my breath?

1.000 + different things!

It could be trying to get something right, being watched, feeling of being judged, excessive focusing on something, anxiety, the list doesn't end... Does it sound familiar?

Things are not as desperate as it may seem though - with time bringing the awareness into such  moments allows the breath to come back to it's more natural flow, and it's certainly what I experience these days, when such holding takes place.

Move!

We spent last few weeks looking for a new flat, it's been busy and also stressful. I'm glad that life sometimes brings challanges that provide learning opportunities. How do I react to those external and internal pressures? Do I remember to work with the AT Principles, for example saying 'no' to reacting habitually? (some wise people call it Inhibition).

Good news: we found a new place in North-West London - in Hendon, and we'll be moving there this Saturday.I'm so much looking forward to getting back to more regular rhythm, so I can have more time for writing this blog and other things.

Training school break

We're now half-way through the Spring Term at the training school. My second term.

The highlight of the past few weeks was beginning to learn how to put the hands-on. I'm happy to say that by the time we began doing it, the idea of putting hands on was no longer such a big deal - I was confident.

I suppose what helped me most to make this transition, was to remember that it's all about me working on myself!

It's good to have a week of break from the training. Time to let the work go and allow it to sink in and be assimilated.

Ladies and Gentlemen: the main breathing muscle

So, what is this main breathing muscle? It's a diaphragm.

However, breathing is also the whole body business, so in a way, every muscle of our bodies is a breathing muscle. If in doubt, do one of the following things and observe what happens to your breathing:

Grip the floor with your feet...  clench your jaw ... or just stare.

Got it?

It's also fascinating how unlocking relatively small tension (in the ankles, for example) can free up our body. The body is working as a whole unit!

Here are 2 interesting videos of the diaphragm at work:

 Jessica Wolf's Art of Breathing - visit the site to view the video...

Breathing

The Theme at our training school this term is "Breathing".

If I had to point out the weakest aspect of my use, it has always been breathing. So when this Theme was announced I was both excited, but also apprehensive, as I anticipated that this was going to be challenging...

However, it wasn't. Quite quickly I made a reasonable choice not to try to sort out my breathing this term, instead the aim is to get a better understanding of its mechanics, and particularly how I interfere with breathing.

What are the most common patterns of interference? How come, and how do we work with them?

Somehow I managed to get rid of the 'big fuss' factor from the awareness of my breathing, I stopped to try to improve it, or fix it, or at least intellectually I understand that I can't sort my breathing out directly. However, in practice it's not always that easy to step back, to stop interfering. Well, how about having a trust in the process of working with the principles?

In 2 weeks time I'll have to offer a talk on this Theme, so since some thoughts and observation already began to stream in, I'm going to share some of them here ...

Back, again!...

And here we go again, exactly one month after completing using this website... I begin again!

I'm now almost half-way through the second term of my AT training. It's going well - I'm really into it.

I'd like to use this blog as a means of clarifying my understanding of the AT by writing about it. I'll see how it develops...

For now, it's 23.23 here in Catford, London. Time to get ready for bed, but first I think I'm going to have a constructive rest.

Completion

Last Wednesday I began my second term of my Alexander Training Course.

This blog has served its purpose in preparing me for the AT teacher training. This is my last entry.

Thanks and all the best
Jacek

Holidays

And here we go - back after bit of a break, before another break coming up!

3 years of working full time at the secondary school in inner London are over - it'll take time to recover from that. I recently took a cranio-sacral therapy session, very powerful relief.

My AT training starts in September. I'll be away most of the time until then, and I hope to post regularly again once I get into my stride.

Time to let go, recover and move on.

Photo by Agnieszka

Dreaming of day off

Guitar & AT Project
Day 32/40

It was one of those days when my attention was escaping me during the gutiar practice, and therefore I couldn't really connect with the Technique.

I'd love to have a proper day off for proper rest. No internet, no emails. 

What did I notice?

Guitar & AT Project
Day 31/40

What did I notice during guitar practice today? - that I have quite a lot of unnecessary tension and holding in my shoulders.

What did I notice just now, when typing this? - I was sitting with my right leg crossed, bending forward, fixed in the position.

10 more days of work left, before long holidays. Do I have a lot of energy, as anticipated? Actually, not at all!

More deeply rooted in the AT work

Guitar & AT Project
Day 20/40

Clear development in the area of working with the left and right hand right exercises: the detailed work on the operation of the hand / fingers in now embedded in the whole body work. It's actually quite astonishing to see the difference between how I work on certain exercises now, and how I used to do it say 3 years ago. Despite having a long break from practicing the guitar, last week I was able to practice some normally awkward left hand combinations without any pain and discomfort. This I believe was thanks to working with the principle of the wholeness of the body. My guitar work is now more deeply rooted in the AT work. It makes a huge difference.

This is the 20th day of the project, another 20 to go. So, I'm in the middle!

The focus of this week's work was on the negative directions.What a wonderful discovery - looking forward to carry on exploring and playing with them.

Engaging the whole body in activity

Guitar & AT Project
Day 19/40

Tiredness. This makes working at the same level of attention as over the last 3 days impossible, but that's fine - it's the part of the process, isn't it?

Work on the left hand exercises. For me it is not only about zooming in on the left hand fingers anymore, but engaging the whole body in activity.

Negative directions

Here's the link to the Body Learning podcast about the Negative Directions:

Using Negative Alexander Technique Directions.

There are 2 more related follow-up interviews on the website.

A moment of psycho-physical unity

Guitar & AT Project
Day 18/40
 
In my application for the AAD Course I wrote: My Aim is to apply the principles of the Alexander Technique to practicing the guitar. The focus being: experimenting & playfulness.

In this spirit I carry on playing around with the inhibitory directions. This is the only thing I define in terms of my AT work (The guitar material is provided by the Course) for today.

So, I respond with my AT thinking to whataver I notice. If I notice my breathing is restricted, I think: I'm not breathing, and so on. Another directions used today: I'm not playing guitar, I'm not tensing my right hand, I'm not fixing, I'm not tensing myself. I don't think this contradicts the principle of defining the Aim positively. Say my aim is to find release and more freedom in activity - the negative directions definitely support this positive aim.

At one point I notice how this way of thinking prevents tension from happening during practicing an exercise that usually induces tension. I have a very clear moment of psycho-physical unity awareness. At that point, I couldn't really clearly draw the line between where thinking stops and doing begins. What a wonderful experience.

The process of practicing is gradually becoming organic.

The Outcome

Guitar & AT Project
Day 17/40

Today I continue playing with the inhibitory directions during guitar practice.

At one point, as a result of released tension in my right shoulder, the arm considerably drops. This changes the position of the elbow and makes it very uncomfortable, so I re-adjust the strap and basically pull the guitar bit higher. Improvement. It seems that this offers much better and balanced position for my right arm.

It's quite remarkable. This development improvement is no doubts an outcome of a process based on the principles of the Alexander Technique.

Inhibitory Directions

Guitar & AT Project
Day 16/40

A new week begins, the energy levels almost fully restored.

Today the focus of my guitar practice was more on the technique (mainly slow speed), so it was easier to give part of my attention to the Alexander Technique principles.

Experiment with the so called negative, or inhibitory directions. The ones I focused most on:

• I'm not sitting down
• I'm not playing the guitar
• I'm not breathing
• I'm not tensing myself
   

I was thinking all those things, while engage in those activities. For example, I'm sitting down and at the same time think: 'I'm not sitting'. According to some AT teachers these kind of directions are very powerful.  

I enjoyed working with them while standing and walking. What I noticed during guitar practice: these directions draw me nearer the state I would call doing nothing.

Warta River