We are all dealing with the fight/flight /freeze pattern to some extent every day. Whether it comes from deadlines, traffic, noisy neighbors or from internal expectations of perfection, this contractive pattern is human. If we can bring our habitual reaction … Continue reading
Take a moment to pick up and look at your phone. Notice what you did with your head, face, neck, shoulders. No judgment, just awareness. Put it down, and this time, as you pick it up, think of letting your … Continue reading
Everyone knows walking is good for your health, but how you walk is crucial to the health of your feet, knees, hips and back. To walk with less tightness or compression and more ease and efficiency, try this: First, sense … Continue reading
Bring your awareness to your feet. Let them rest on the ground and feel the soles of your feet widen into the floor. Sense the many bones in the feet and think of allowing a little space between those bones. … Continue reading
A gentle balance of your head on top of your spine can be an ongoing practice anywhere, anytime. A gentle balance suggests that it is not necessary to hold the head in position with neck muscles. The skull is meant … Continue reading
Tensegrity is a term coined by engineer Buckminster Fuller meaning an integrity of tension. The right amount of tension allows for an integrity of structure with internal space at a maximum. In humans, the muscular-skeletal system is very much like … Continue reading
In the Alexander Technique, there is no “perfect posture” into which you should “sit up straight.” Instead, you learn how to use your sense of balance to stop holding too much tension or not enough tone. You learn to access … Continue reading
One great effect from Alexander lessons is the experience of feeling integrated. When we say we feel integrated, what do we mean? We can describe it as the opposite from feeling scattered or disconnected with ourselves. Rather, we feel “rightness” … Continue reading
Directing—sending a clear message or instruction from your brain to other parts of yourself—is a skill that you can practice and improve. When you say directions to yourself, you say them in your mind with the clear intention that they … Continue reading
We humans are always falling and up-righting ourselves. Gravity makes us fall, and ideally we capture the force of our falling and our innate up-righting system kicks in and sends us back upwards. But lack of awareness and habits lead … Continue reading