Did you know your postural state is directly connected to your stress responses?

We all experience stress. While we can’t always control the amount of stress in our lives, we can learn to respond to it differently.

When you can respond moment-to-moment with a calmer state of being, you experience more choice. Practicing the Alexander Technique helps you in the middle of your daily life as well as in important activities.

We instinctually react to ordinary stress as we would to a threat of danger—this is a natural, adaptive response marked by a tight neck and contracted body. We no longer face tigers or bears, but our fight-flight-freeze reaction is hard-wired in us. Most of us hold onto some tightness even after the stressful situation. Even 10% extra tension and contraction from stress can cause chronic back or neck pain, digestive disorders, respiratory and vocal dysfunction, headaches, repetitive strain injuries, anxiety, depression, heart disease. You name it, stress makes it worse.

In the rush of each day, you may forget to attend to your body’s signals. Study of the Alexander Technique teaches you to pay attention to what you do and how you do it. You will learn how to bring your neuromusculoskeletal system back to a calm and balanced state of being, improving your moods, and the shape, tone and feel of your body. You learn to re-stabilize and recuperate from stressful situations and respond with more choice. As you practice expanding the boundaries of your usual field of attention, you are able to handle multiple concerns without freezing up or contracting into your old patterns of tension. You become more effective, more resilient and experience more pleasure in life. Working through the body to get to the Being, your new habit is to embody wholeness and choice.

Stress, emotional wellness, and the Alexander Technique:

Self Care and The Alexander Technique

“Most of Us Live on Autopilot” An Article by Constance