Chairs that promote active sitting (Balance Balls, Sissel pillows/sitting discs, or mobile stools) encourage movement and a dynamic postural balance.

But even on a static chair, you can balance upright.

Sense your sit bones on the chair and your feet on the floor.
Let your sit bones rest on the chair as you think of letting your skull go in the opposite direction, up to the ceiling. Allow your neck to release into length, so that your head floats up and you allow your spine to follow.

If you can sense your spine moving upwards from the middle of you, rather than lifting yourself up from the front (chest/ribs) or forcing your back to be straight by holding muscles, then you are on the right track. Picture your spine, with it’s gentle curves. It is very wide and strong in the lower part, inside the pelvis, which is a bowl-shaped structure that can support you in balance on a chair. In the middle, the spine is supported by many tiny muscles deep within you. Visualize, imagine, or sense, that you can allow these deep small postural muscles to do their work, so that the larger muscles of your back do not have do any unnecessary holding. Closer to the top of the spine, the bones are smaller and more delicate. Can you sense that they and their surrounding tissues can be free of tension or collapse?

It does take time to develop these senses and this skill of balance, so practice in increments that feel reasonable to you.

Being kind to oneself is not only good for emotional health, but good for the whole organism. The tissues of the musculature become softer and more at ease when supported by kindness. Kindness is sustenance for peace within.

Pause right now and check in with your latest self-talk. Notice if you have been harsh or gentle.

Now give yourself a few seconds to sense your body and its weight and your breath. Notice your jaw and face. Can you any release tension there? Notice all the places where your body is touching the chair. Notice the way your clothes feel on your skin. What other areas of your body might benefit from some release? Let yourself soften.

Say something nice to yourself, as you might to a good friend who needs your support.

Try this: “Wow you’ve been doing a lot lately. Even if you don’t feel like you’ve done everything you need to, kudos for all you have accomplished.” Or, “Procrastinating is human. Give yourself a break. Maybe you just need some time to zone out.” Or, “When stressed, we all make mistakes.”

Let the kind words land in your body. Where do you feel them?

Allow your breath to move easily in your torso. Allow your face and jaw to un-do another layer of holding. Allow your head to float easily on top of your spine.

Now, say something kind to yourself that supports a positive attribute.

Something like, “You have been so helpful to the kids you work with.” Or, “You always keep the big picture in mind.” Or, “I appreciate how clear you are about what you want.”

Let the kind words land in your body. Where do you feel them?

Give yourself another few seconds to allow ease and spaciousness in yourself. When you catch yourself being harshly self-critical, allow yourself to be moved by your own pain or suffering, knowing that your experience is part of being human. Give yourself a moment to feel into your body and say to yourself a few kind words.

Next time you do the dishes, notice if you are using more effort than needed. Pause for a moment and send these messages from your brain to your neuro-musculo-skeletal system:

I’d like to let my head balance easily on top of my spine. I’d like to use just the right amount of muscle tone for this activity. 
I’d like to allow the joints in my legs the freedom to balance my weight rather than hold me in place as I reach forward.
I’d like to sense my back as well as the front of me.
I’d like to allow my breath to move through my torso in a three-dimensional way, filling out my ribs and back as well as my diaphragm.
I’d like to invite a state of non-hurry into my being.

These invitations to yourself are not pushy demands but rather gentle, clear intentions to un-do excess effort. Because even a task as simple as doing the dish can be an opportunity to practice moving with ease.

Bring your attention to the head/neck joint—way up high, almost between the ears—and think about allowing this joint to have a little more space. Think about your head balancing easily and delicately. You do not have to hold your head up with your neck muscles if you allow your skull to balance.

Now bring your attention to your breath. Just allow your ribs to move as you breathe—in a three dimensional direction—so that your back ribs have as much mobility as your front ribs.

Next, notice that your skeleton is holding you up, and that you can let your muscles rest in neutral. Allow your arm, shoulder, leg and buttock muscles to rest as you let your bones support you in gravity.

As you bring your hands up to the keyboard, experiment with how little effort is needed. Continue to let your head float gently as you begin working again.

Now think to yourself that you’d like to allow the cheek muscles to un-do whatever tension is held in them.

Bringing your attention to your jaw, think of letting the jaw rest easily. There is no need to hold it up toward your face. Let your lips rest together as you allow your teeth to slightly separate and the jaw to release muscular tension. Notice that your jaw muscles go way up toward your ears and think of allowing space in the temporo-mandibular joints (TMJ’s) near your ears.

You’d like to let your tongue rest easily in your mouth. Notice that the base of your tongue is way back toward the throat. Visualize, imagine or sense the throat having plenty of room. Allow your awareness to come into the layers of your neck muscles. Your neck goes from the base of the skull at the top all the way to the collarbones at the bottom. The muscles are varied, larger and smaller, some go on a diagonal, some go almost straight up and down. There are ligaments, tendons and tissues as well as muscle. Invite all of this to un-do any excess tension.

Now allow your breath to release with an soft Aah sound as you let your jaw to hinge open from that joint near your ears. Let the breath rebound in. Repeat a few times as you notice the ease of movement and sense of internal space just through your clear intention.

First, bring your sense of sight into your awareness. Let your eyes soften as you look away from the screen and see around the room or outside. Notice something you haven’t seen before. Observe the particularities.

Now tune into your sense of hearing. Allow the sounds around you to come to the forefront of your consciousness. Notice sounds that are usually out of your awareness. Perhaps close your eyes for a moment and let your hearing be the main thing.

Now turn to your sense of touch. Allow sight and sound to drift out of the forefront of your awareness and attend to what the clothes on your body feel like. What about the air touching your skin? Your fingers on the mouse? Your feet in your shoes on the floor?

If you like, add smell and taste in this mindful way.

Now you will add your kinesthetic and proprioceptive senses, your sense of where you are in space and what you feel within your own body. As you notice if you are balancing easily and what your muscles and joints feel like, invite a little space into your head/neck joint and into your spine. Allow your bones to hold you up as you continue to release unnecessary effort in your muscles.

As you go back to your day with a bit more conscious awareness of your self in your environment, continue to let yourself use less effort. Enjoy the sense of a little more ease.

Now, as you slowly blow out through your mouth, exhale gently until you feel you’ve reached the natural end of your exhalation. As you do this, allow let your neck to be free of tension and your head to float upwards. Simply let the breath to return in through your nose. Just alllow the rebound of the breath fill you up—you don’t have to do anything to pull it in.

On your next exhale, blow again gently out through your mouth, extending the exhale to it’s end without pushing. Then allow the in-breath to rebound. Repeat another time or two, extending your exhale gently and noticing that your inhale may become fuller.

As you breathe, allow your ribs to move easily in a three-dimensional way—to the front, the back and the sides. Your ribs expand in your back as well as in the front. They also move to the sides, all the way up to the underarm. Allow your back and sides to be included in the rib mobility. Feel the support that gives your torso to balance easily.

Now breathe normally and notice your sensations again. Can you feel your breath moving through your torso? What do you notice in your jaw and neck? Your face? Do you notice any difference in your overall state of being? If you’re like me, you probably feel lighter, more integrated, and more connected to Self. You can do this simple practice anywhere, anytime.

Now notice the weight and form of your body. Begin to allow yourself to de-compress by letting your musculature lighten and lengthen. Bring attention to your head/neck joint—way up high, almost between the ears—and think about allowing this joint to have a little more space. Think about your head balancing easily and delicately. You do not have to hold your head up with your neck muscles if you allow your skull to balance. Allow your spine to gently follow your head upwards, as if you had something heavy resting on you that was just removed.

You may shift in your chair as you allow your bones to move and release away from one another in response. Allow a little more fullness into your back and sides, and under your arms, letting your ribs move with breath. As you observe your breath, invite a long, soft exhale, so that your lungs are emptied of most of the air. Allow your breath to return easily, filling your whole torso. If you notice any areas in your body where your breathing seems limited or impeded, think about softening there, releasing whatever holding you may unconsciously be doing.

Bring your awareness to your skin. See if you can notice the sensations of your clothes touching you, and the air around you. Allow just a little more sensation of aliveness. Let your eyes take in your environment. Look away from the computer for a few seconds and allow something into your vision that you haven’t noticed before.

As you come back, notice again your easy breathing and think of allowing a bit more room for all that’s inside you—your organs, fluids, veins, nerves, tendons, connective tissue. Has your mental state shifted? Does your emotional state feel a bit easier? Allow this soft, enjoyable expansion to influence your whole self as you go about the rest of your day.

In lessons, the teacher is guiding or facilitating a coordination or equilibrium between the postural state, movement, breath and attention. Perhaps more, perhaps less, depending on where the student is in her study.

But how can an Alexander student bring this about on his own?

We have access to our experience of our selves in every moment. We can choose to pay attention to particular aspects, like our sense of balance, or our sense of weightedness, or if our skin feels warm or cool or enjoys the soft cotton of our shirt. These are examples of sensation that are often outside our usual perception. Sometimes the sensations are pleasant, and feeling them brings a more integrated quality to us. If they are unpleasant, our Alexander practice can influence them.

If for instance, I bring awareness to my sense of balance, and I notice a tiny falling backward in my chair, which causes me to tighten my back muscles, I can re-direct myself up and slightly forward, until I notice that I am balanced over my central axis (just in front of my spine, from the pelvis to the skull) with my head floating delicately. I may then notice that I can allow a lively ease of my musculature and a little more spaciousness to my breath.

When we bring awareness to any of the vast possibilities of sensation, we often discover we have a choice. Being a little curious about what is happening within us helps with the process of deepening awareness and sensory perception. Being gentle and inviting rather than pushing or trying hard to change something helps allow changes to take effect.
If for instance, I bring awareness to my sense of balance, and I notice a tiny falling backward in my chair, which causes me to tighten my back muscles, I can re-direct myself up and slightly forward, until I notice that I am balanced over my central axis (just in front of my spine, from the pelvis to the skull) with my head floating delicately. I may then notice that I can allow a lively ease of my musculature and a little more spaciousness to my breath.