Anna McConnell, Actor

Recently after an Alexander lesson, I needed to run around the city doing errands. It ended up becoming a great AT exercise: I noticed that I habitually tensed up when I felt cold, when I had to wait in line, when I was calmly sitting in the train but just thinking about the audition on Saturday, etc. I noticed that my body/mind system indeed OVERreacts to mundane, trivial, essentially insignificant situations as if they were questions of life and death. I also noticed that it was fairly easy to release the tension, breathe and let it go, and that even in the middle of an argument it's possible to be in a more neutral, relaxed physical space than I'd realized. Looking around me in traffic I realized how most people around me were indeed frowning, tightening up their whole bodies and staying in this physical and mental space that no longer looked natural, in a way, but rather like something painful, exhausting and unnecessary. Another thing I've noticed is that the more aware I am of the tension in my body, the more I breathe and let it go and return to a neutral space, the less I desire external artificial stress-reducers like cigarettes or sugar. I'm very excited about all these small discoveries and I'm looking forward to my next lesson