Rising Above Feeling Bad, with Alexander Technique

Here's another practical application of using AT "Freedom Directions" (see recent blogpost) in response to an unpleasant incident, in which I felt put down by a friend.  My process:

First, I felt bad in response to the incident, but there were no conscious negative thoughts at the time - I just realized that I felt bad.  When I sat down to work through it, I quickly wrote down the first thoughts that came to mind, without censoring them:

she shouldn't have said that
she isn't nice to me
she doesn't respect me
she doesn't realize or acknowledge or appreciate what a positive thing I did
she puts me down
she makes me feel bad

I am free to be nice to me
I am free to respect myself and take care of myself

she is free to say whatever she wants to say
she is free to think whatever she wants to think
she is free to not respect me and to not be nice to me
she is free to not "get it"
she is free to put me down
she is free to make me feel bad
she is free to offend and criticize me

I am free to feel put down
I am free to feel disappointed that she doesn't get it
I am free to feel bad
I am free to feel hurt, offended, and criticized

I see that I am putting myself down by reacting, causing myself to feel disappointed, to feel bad, and to feel hurt and offended
I am free to do that, and to keep doing that if I want to
I am free to stop putting myself down by reacting/thinking in certain ways
I don't like this feeling, and I want it to stop
I want to feel good and be happy

I am free to stop doing what puts me down
I am free to feel good
I am free to think good thoughts about myself
I am free to think that I am good, in order to feel good

I am free to smile and be happy
I am free to celebrate that I have overcome this challenge
hurray!


*Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Direction of Universal Energy with Alexander Technique

We don't know much, but it seems that there is agreement in the scientific world that universal energy expands.  (Please correct me if I'm wrong on this, and enlighten me with anything more specific you might know about it!)

If that is so, then I can use that within myself (since I'm alive, and this mind-body energy within me is part of this universe).

Sure, you could say that's very abstract.  But how can I make it immediately practical?

Here's one way, which I am experiencing right now, so I know it works for me.

- I become aware of a very strong emotion at work within me - I feel its energy.

- I notice that there is direction to it.  What do I mean by that?  Well, I notice a sharp constriction in my solar plexus and throat areas (chakras, according to some).  As I pay attention to the sensation, I realize that there is a constricting, narrowing, tightening, compressing, contracting energy that is aiming inwards.  It is not expansive.  It is therefore aiming away from life and towards death - if we define life as the universal energy (I know I'm on shaky ground here, but bear with me - I'm doing my best to make it simple and practical).

- I don't like how this feels, in fact it is quite unpleasant.  I can almost say I hate it (but not quite, because I'm interested in it.....hmmm....that's interesting......as soon as I notice this, I realize that part of me actually loves it, and suddenly my face smiles and I breathe)

- I could just stay with the above realization, but something in me wants to investigate my first idea, which is a bit different.  So I notice the constriction again.  I want it to go away.

- Noticing the constriction, I choose to stop doing whatever it is I'm doing to cause that.  (Interesting again - as soon as I think, "I am stopping," it goes away!  ... but then it comes back as soon as I stop thinking that.....)

- Again, I could stay with the previous discovery, but I really want to try out the spatial direction of energy idea...

- So as I notice the constrictive inward direction, I remember that I want that to stop, and I choose to aim this energy in the opposite direction; what I mean is, I want those areas in the middle of me to aim outwards instead of inwards - I want the energy in me to be re-directed into expansion, like a shining sun. 

- Ah, that does work.

...So many ways to Rome.....with Alexander Technique ideas of observation, inhibition, and direction.

Smiling, breathing, shining out again.  And balanced, too, because the inward energy still lives in me, too, even as I am aiming out.....

Always more to explore!

Putting Alexander Technique Freedom Directions into Practice in the Now

I love my work.
I love when I practice what I teach, and to share my experience.

Here's an example of how I am using my Freedom Directions (see last post), right now, in real-time.

I notice that I'm feeling sad, and I don't like it.
Well.....

Now, I remember that I'm free to feel sad.
And I'm free to let sadness move within me and through me.
It moves me, emotionally, mentally, and physically..... I move.

I am free to move.
I am free to be moved by something I do not understand.
I am free not to understand, and free to simply experience what is happening right now.
I am watching the experience of this body-mind-person.
I am free to let the body take on whatever shape it moves into.
I am free to wonder about it...I am free to think whatever I think about it, and feel whatever I feel about it.  I am free to continue wondering and watching.
I notice that I am breathing freely.
I am free to breathe.
I am smiling....free to smile.
I want to aim up.
I am free to aim up and out and long and wide.
I remember that my body is free because I am free, and that includes my neck.
My neck - this neck that I am aware of - is free.
My head is free to aim forward and up, free from the spine, free to be poised above.
My torso is free to move, to breathe, and to free up.
I am freeing up.
I am feeling happy.
How nice.........

Directing into Freedom with the Alexander Technique

Hi!  I'd like to share with you the new sequel to my first podcast adventure (I wrote about the recording experience in a recent blogpost). These two talks, which are for anyone (but will make the most sense to people who have already experienced Alexander Technique work), are about a new way to use Alexander Technique thoughts to direct our body-mind-person into improved use.  I'm calling these directions "Freedom Directions", as per the great suggestion of my friend and colleague, Robert Rickover, who is conducting these interviews. Here are links to both podcasts:


Part I ~ http://bodylearning.buzzsprout.com/382/112493-an-interesting-new-development-in-alexander-technique-directing

Part II ~ http://bodylearning.buzzsprout.com/382/123626-an-interesting-new-development-in-alexander-technique-directing-part-2


I've written a few posts about freedom before, but these two podcasts bring my ideas together in a more comprehensive way.  I'd love to hear what you think about them, especially your experiences in trying them out.  So far, I've been getting lots of great feedback, and I'm so excited to share these discoveries with others and find that they are helpful!

Another wonderful AT teacher, Imogen Ragone, has also talked about the Freedom Directions in a recent podcast.  Here's a link to hers: http://bodylearning.buzzsprout.com/382/119822-the-power-of-alexander-technique-freedom-directions


***

See a real-time example of one way that I put Freedom Directions into practice for myself in my next blogpost:
http://balanceandharmonyat.blogspot.com/2013/10/putting-alexander-technique-freedom.html

Great Thoughts and the Alexander Technique ~ A Daily Practice

I started a new personal daily practice about a month ago.  Every morning, I open up my mind to finding/creating a "Great Thought", which then becomes my personal theme for the day. I've decided to post my GTs here, in case they might inspire you to start your own GT practice. You can use mine, of course (GTs are pretty universal, so they don't "belong" to anyone in particular), but I think finding/creating GTs yourself is potentially a more powerful practice, since it is something that comes from deep inside of you.  That said, using a GT from someone else can work just as well if you let it resonate with the core of you which does in fact "own" the same GT.

Why are GTs important?  Because they give structure and meaning to your day, and bring you closer to what you really want.  I think it's very important to formulate a GT in the present tense, and it's important to formulate it so that you can really believe it (which is why it might be easier to create/find them yourself).

In case you're wondering what a GT has to do with Alexander Technique, I see it this way: AT is about improving our use of the body-mind.  The mind and body are inseparable.  Good thoughts are not just mental - they go hand-in-hand with the well-being of the body, so if you are choosing to think good thoughts, you are using your whole self well; you are going in the right direction.

Where does inhibition fit in?  Inhibition happens when you choose to stop thinking in the usual way for a moment and open up your mind to the possibility of letting a new thought arise.  Conscious, constructive direction means knowing that you want the new thought to be one that will take you into a better use of yourself.

Today's GT:

10/15  I am in the process of strengthening (through the practice of open awareness and repetition) the good thoughts that make me feel happiness. I am free to feel happy!

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about this post, and - especially - about your own great thoughts!  Share them here, and you are likely to inspire me and others, too!

Becoming Strong with the Alexander Technique

Learning how to be strong....from the inside out.

I used to think I didn't "have" muscles.  I thought I was weak.  Do you know what those thoughts can do to a person?  What you think is what you get.  I wasn't weak, and I definitely had muscles, but I did not experience strength because I told myself those things, and I believed those thoughts.

Do you believe that you are weak?  Do you want to feel strong?

First, you must realize the thoughts you are feeding to yourself, and you need to realize that your body is innocent - it wants you to be right, so it gives you the experience of what you believe, to make it true.  If the body were to talk to you, it might say, "Oh! You believe that you are weak? That you don't have muscles?  Well, I love you so much that I want you to have the pleasure of being right!  I'm going to prove to you that you are weak, and make it true.  I will use my muscles less so that you get a sense of lack of movement and start forgetting the natural range of motion available to the joints...maybe the muscles will even atrophy someday so that you can feel really justified in your beliefs."  And the body will do this, because you are not sending messages to it to counter this process.

You are feeding the body false thoughts, and the body is giving you an experience to "prove" to you that you're right in believing those thoughts.  And then, you FEEL lack of movement and lack of energy and lack of power....so your beliefs are reinforced, and you continue to think the same thoughts - which are becoming true, little by little.

Is that what you want?  What DO you want?  To be and feel strong?

If that's what you want, don't believe your limiting thoughts!  Stop taking for granted that your thoughts about yourself are true.  Question them.  And stop thinking the ones that you don't want to be true. Don't trust how you feel in your body and rely on that.  Rely on your THINKING, and CHOOSE what you want to think!

What you think IS what you get!

1. Become aware of what you are thinking  ("I am weak, I don't have muscles")
2. Decide what you don't want, and what you want (I don't want to be weak, and I want to feel that I have muscles that work and have full range of motion, and strength; I want to be and feel strong)
3. Remember that you are FREE TO CHOOSE what to think and what to stop thinking (you are free to continue thinking those thoughts, or to stop thinking "I am weak, I don't have muscles"; and also free to think "I have muscles; I am strong!")
4. Don't pay attention to feelings in your body that are trying to convince you otherwise
5. Stick to your intention; stop what is unhelpful, and direct your thinking towards what you want, with meaning
6. TRUST your mind-body connection, and have the PATIENCE to keep this up.  In good time, you will start to feel strong, but mostly because strength begins in the MIND, and you are making your mind very strong by practicing this conscious, constructive, self-control.

If you actually do this, you are likely to be amazed by the results.  More and more, you will have opportunities to see that, indeed, you ARE much stronger than you ever thought.  Enjoy!

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Finding My Voice with the Alexander Technique & Podcast

One of the many things that the Alexander Technique is extremely helpful for is meeting and overcoming challenges, so that at times it seems we are achieving "the impossible".  I wrote a blogpost recently about some of the personal milestones I've achieved in my life with the Technique, and I'd like to write about another milestone I achieved just a couple days ago, which means a great deal to me.

I was extremely shy as a child, always preferring to stay on the outside of a group, observing for quite a long time before daring to join in.  I didn't feel understood by other children, and I didn't feel that they really listened when I spoke to them, so after awhile I didn't bother to speak much anymore.  I knew that I could express myself fully through playing the violin, so I spoke through that instrument instead of through my voice.  Which was great for my music-making, but not so good for developing my speaking skills!  

Realizing that deficit, I took a speech class in college, hoping to overcome what had turned into an unpleasant fear of speaking in public - but I quickly dropped the class when I drew a complete blank on a poem I was supposed to recite from memory.  When I won an award for my violin playing a couple years later from TIME magazine, I needed to give an acceptance speech in NYC; I don't think I spoke more than three sentences, deferring instead to the expression of my recorded music playing in the background.

So....a very surprising and completely unintended benefit from learning the Alexander Technique has been that I can now feel quite comfortable speaking in front of an audience.  I now enjoy teaching group classes (oh, how nervous I was the first time!), and I even speak with ease to audiences about my baroque violin during concerts.  

The latest milestone in this regard has been a podcast interview that I recorded a couple days ago for Body Learning, a comprehensive online resources for the Alexander Technique.  These recordings are listened to by teachers and students of the Technique alike.  Yes, I still experienced some performance anxiety before the recording began, but I thoroughly enjoyed taping the conversation.  

Sometimes I wonder....who is this new person emerging with a confidence and abilities I never knew I had before?  Yes...little by little....I am at last finding a way to express mySelf through my vocal mechanism in addition to the violin.  What a wondrous gift this Technique is!!

Here's a link to the podcast interview, if you're interested.  It's about making good use of our innate free will, but it will probably only make sense to you if you are already a teacher or student of the Technique.  Enjoy!

http://bodylearning.buzzsprout.com/382/112493-an-interesting-new-development-in-alexander-technique-directing

*Image courtesy of Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net