Alexandre Technique Takeaway #Session Two

Dear Michael,

I am now in an italian café in Kerisdale and, while my memory is fresh, am jotting down what I have learned from our session today. In this session, I came to be aware of more bad habits of my postures and movements, and also make out some principles that underline good movements and learned some techniques for bringing about those movements according to different situations:

Bad habits: 
1. hands crossed on my belly which result in my heightened and forward shoulders, as well as a protruding abdomen
2. feet too close. As a result, the thumb areas have to support most of my body weight; and two feet seem to collapse inward.
3. I tend to distribute more weight on my right leg than left leg because my left leg is much weaker than my right due to my accident.
4. my feet are too close also when I lie down
6. my hip and head are too forward in relation to my ankles
7. when I try to assert a position that I think of as ideal, I pull my shoulders too backward. For me, the backward shoulder is somehow the normalcy.

Principles/Techniques: 
1. let all movements be coordinated: it is futile to adjust my head position without also adjusting my entire body. The distribution of the weight on the feet seem especially important in determining the overall efficiency of my posture;
2. awareness of the space that I am in: I tend to exert too much internal awareness -- focusing intensely within my body and mind, in disproportion to the awareness that takes in the external space and surrounding. Strive for a balance between internal/external awareness.
3. Eyes are instrumental in guiding movements. How my gaze follows a trajectory in space will activate a response to initiate a corresponding movement within my body. In addition, eyes are also useful for calibrating the inwardness/outwardness of my attention (you didn't teach this last point per se, but I made this connection).

(From brainpicking.org)

Tips for Specific Situations: 
1. Standing: let the floor support you; hips and head (earlobes) above your ankles; even distribution of weight on your sole;  right distance between feet
2. Walking: let the hands sway freely
3. Get up from bed: eyes follow a circular trajectory in the air while letting the entire body shift its way up in a coordinated fashion. Do not strain the neck in particular.
4. Using laptop: legs not too wide, using the floor's support; wrist not higher than elbow; cut the "threads" that bind my thumbs to my ears.
5. Supine position: do this position regularly throughout the day; use hard support for the neck; the entire soles rest on the bed.
6. Sleep: take 15 minutes to sink into your bed and drift into the boundless space. Make it a ritual.


Three Questions to Ask Myself Alll the Time: 
1.  "how is your posture right now"? : I would ask myself this question every time I sit down somewhere and during every study break,  All knowledge is useless if I do not REMEMBER to utilize them.
2.  "how can I use the most of the support around me?": the chair, the floor, the desk that can rest my forearm, etc.
3.  "what are some qualities that you want your movement/posture to project"?: ease, readiness, trust, supreme efficiency, dexterity, etc.  Prioritize the state of mind over the activity; being over doing. All activities only serve to fashion a state of being that I want to abide in and project out. When my desired state of being is failing, start a short meditation session to re-set it.






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