The third lesson

Before I leave to Ladywell for my lesson I have this wish to walk through Catford, where I'm living, as for the first time. I notice things I normally wouldn't do, very enjoyable walk. Well, I wish I could have this attitude to other things I do and experience.

The lesson today was harmonizing and centering, clearly things are moving on. I feel still and well grounded, almost like the tree when standing - no urge to move anywhere else, this is where I am, and it's the place where I am present to myself and what is around me.

It's interesting how quickly my became still during the lesson, just after few minutes into the work. Yes, stilling the body helped here.

Technique and teaching

I found an interesting AT related podcast few days ago, it's called Body Learning:

http://bodylearning.buzzsprout.com/

I chose to listen to the interview with Harriet Anderson first:

http://www.harrietanderson.com/index_english.shtml

I found the interview very relevant to my current school teaching experience, and just can't help to quote few sentences:

Where we like it or not, we are all performers. Every day life is full of small stage entrances and exits. And whether we like it or not, every time we enter a classroom, we are putting on the performance.

(from The Teacher´s Body as a Teaching Tool - The Alexander Technique and Performance Skills for Teachers, full article is available on H.Anderson's website)

And more from the interview:

If a teacher is living the principles of AT in the classroom, the the classroom atmosphere will be much more conducive to learning, so the pupils immediately benefit from that ... Pupils will benefit from increased alertness, increased sense of well being if they can sense that a teacher is in the state of well being...

What a day

Today was a peculiar day, I felt fragmented from its very beginning. Only after coming back home and doing lie-down I felt that I actually have something to say about what I am going to do next.

Yes, the lie-down was healing today - sometimes you just need to do nothing and watch. The procedure seemed more accessible after yesterday's lesson.

In the evening continue reading Man's Supreme Inheritance (MSI) - just over two pages is more than enough - this is a very rich, and also quite difficult text. I jotted down 11 new words!

AT lesson

It's a lovely weather tonight, I walk to my second lesson with Michelle while listening to one of Walter C's talks: "Economizing on effort".



First 15 minutes of the work: standing, sitting and what is in between & beyond. I feel I am beginning at the place of less effort than one week ago.

Second half: lie-down. I request to go through it as if I was doing it for the first time. This works and is useful - I recently felt that my practice became stale - I got stuck!

Here are few Michelle's guidelines for me I wrote down later in the evening:

No expectations.

I'm not going anywhere.

I don't have to do anything.

No concern about passing of time.

The head is resting on the book.

Enjoy the support of the floor.

Feet are on the floor, knees are going up.

Eyes are resting softly in the eye sockets.

Stay connected with what is outside.

Remember to stop doing!
Then, a bit more work with the chair. At the end of the lesson, after peeling away some layers of tensions, the pain in the lower back gets uncovered, which triggers an emotional state associated with this tension. This apparently is an inevitable part of the process, however it's rather unsettling and uncomfortable. But at least this time I understand how it works, at least I think I do! There's a price we have to pay for change and self-awareness.

Sleep & school

I have an ongoing sleep problem - I don't sleep well and don't really rest properly. Last night I took care of myself (including pre-sleep lie-down) and had more constructive rest.

So I woke up in good shape today, already pretty connected with my body at the beginning of the day. It was really informative to observe how my use deteriorated during the day - I was particularly surprised to notice the tensions gathering in the back side of my body - back of the legs, back, shoulders...

After the lessons we have the department meeting - I don't feel I have much to contribute there, but at least I can contribute with some degree of personal presence - collect myself, and pay attention to my posture and the space around me.

I feel pretty grounded at the end of my work day, I pause before leavening.

And in the evening: AT lesson. More later...

Divided attention

I did an active sitting during watching the movie on my laptop today. My intention was to maintain my attention both in the various parts of my body and what I was watching. A balancing act. My attention would first oscillate between these two, as if there was not enough of it to encompass both inner and outer, but I gently persisted. Then I also noticed more - sounds outside the house and sounds inside the other rooms.

For me, a nice example of how the Technique enriches our experience of life and what is around us.