I’m reading an e-book by David Gorman on the virtues. He makes the point that patience is the absence of impatience. And what is impatience? It is a refusal to accept reality. It is a refusal to accept that things are moving more slowly than we would like. Life is not living up to our …
Monthly Archives: November 2016
Live In Response, Not In Reaction
My Alexander Technique students usually want out of their pain as fast as possible. If they have a sore neck or tight shoulders of a gimpy knee, they want a fix pronto. But these pains are only symptoms for what is really going on — a refusal to accept reality. When we accept what is, …
Will Exercises Improve Your Posture?
According to fitness coach Belle Badell, “the idea of the chest pop is to squeeze the back muscles and then squeezing the upper abs. …Press the back muscles in and downwards. Press and release. If you ever wonder how Shakira does it, this is the trick.” I notice Belle tightening and compressing her shoulders and …
What’s The Training Difference Between An Alexander Teacher And A Yoga Teacher?
A typical yoga teacher has taken a course of about 200 hours, often done in 12-hour stretches on weekends. An Alexander Technique teacher trains for three hours a day, five days a week, 36 weeks a year, for three years (a total of more than 1600 hours of training). A massage therapist has training of …
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Reb Moshe Sat Up Straight
When I mention the Alexander Technique to people, they often stiffen and push themselves up in a rigid way. “Is this good Alexander Technique?” they often ask. No, it is not. You’d be better off with your habitual slump, I often answer. Sitting up straight and standing straight is not Alexander Technique. More often than …
How The Alexander Technique Can Help With Menstrual Cramps
A lot of women feel cramping in their stomach when they’re on their period. In this video, Marjorie Barstow helps a woman move out of the unnecessary clenching that exacerbates such pain: I get so impatient watching these slow-moving Marjorie Barstow videos. And the more impatient I feel, the more I tighten. Try to notice …
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History Of The Alexander Technique
A few months ago, I did this interview with Jeroen Staring (gnirats@hetnet.nl) via email: How has the Alexander community reacted to your work? Is there a certain type of mind that reacts with interest to your work and another type of mind that reacts with horror? That is an interesting question, difficult to answer though. …
Let Your Head Go Forward And Up, Dear
“Alexander Technique teacher Galen Cranz talks with Robert Rickover about our heads and why there are considerably more complex than most of us tend to assume, and why it’s important to understand these complexities. Galen is also a Professor of Architecture at the University of California and the author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body …
The Benefits Of Constructive Rest
“Amy Ward Brimmer, an Alexander Technique teacher in Philadelphia and Newtown, Pennsylvania, talks with Robert Rickover about the power of constructive rest for releasing harmful tensions. Amy’s website: wayopenscenter.com Robert teaches in Lincoln, Nebraska and Toronto, Canada. Website: alexandertechniquenebraska.com. More information about Constructive Rest: alexandertechnique.com/constructiverest More information about the Alexander Technique: alexandertechnique.com.” Amy: “You can …
I Rarely Looked Happy
Yesterday a friend told me that he noticed in my old interviews, videos and photos, prior to the Alexander Technique, I rarely smiled or looked happy. Alexander hasn’t cured my underlying depression, but it has thinned it. Blog Home August Blog Posts September Blog Posts