How are you doing?: Looking at how Allostatic Overload is Impacting Our Well-being

How are you doing?: Looking at how Allostatic Overload is Impacting Our Well-being

by N. Brooke Lieb

When I began my Alexander Technique teaching practice in 1989, my focus was on performing artists and helping people improve their posture and live with less pain.

Fast forward to 2020, when the Covid-19 Pandemic upended a way of life, and - perhaps for the first time- people who historically weren't so vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of resources and economies, found themselves part of the global trauma.

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Step 2: Exploring F. M. Alexander's 5-Step Process

Step 2: Exploring F. M. Alexander's 5-Step Process

"Project in their sequence the directions for the primary control which I had reasoned out as being best for the purpose of bringing about the new and improved use of myself..."

Alexander applied this to speaking, I will continue to apply this to reaching to lift my cup. You can apply this to any activity you choose.

In practice, this part is the same regardless of your stimulus, although you may develop your own specific directions that assist with particular activities. For instance, I think more detailed directions when I am preparing for a fine motor task, like typing, than I do when I am walking.

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Language matters: defining terms

Language matters: defining terms

I was working with a colleague who has been teaching over video. She said one her students didn’t know what she was asking when she said “Release.”

Release seems like a straight forward and simple word, but in our work as Alexander Teachers, it has layers of meaning.

The dictionary.com definitions of “release” that are most applicable to Alexander Technique are:

Verb (used with object), release, released, releasing:
to free from confinement, bondage, obligation, pain, etc.
to free from anything that restrains, fastens, etc.

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Sherlock Holmes? Not quite, but Alexander teachers do detective work.

Sherlock Holmes? Not quite, but Alexander teachers do detective work.

by Brooke Lieb

In a recent video session with a colleague, we debriefed a series of three lessons she taught to a new student. It was hard to tell whether she was pleased overall, or disappointed. The student has a pain condition, and reported different degrees of change, relief and comfort at all three lessons.

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Alexander Basics: Head Forward and Up

Alexander Basics: Head Forward and Up

by Brooke Lieb

The instruction to allow your head to release “forward and up” is intended to improve the way your head balances on the top of your spine, to allow better distribution of weight through all the weight bearing structures of the body, adjusting for our position (standing, sitting, inclined, in extension, etc..)

Alexander observed that addressing this balance had a global effect on efficiency of muscles, reduced stress on joints, nerves and discs, improved coordination and better stamina for the tasks of posture, balance and movement.

These two videos show movement with the downward force of “back and down”, which is attributed to an over-shortening of voluntary muscles at the base of the skull; and how the same movement can be accomplished with more length in the neck.

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The Power of a Hug: Why Alexander hands-on work may be good for your health

The Power of a Hug: Why Alexander hands-on work may be good for your health

by Brooke Lieb

I ran into a college classmate the other day, who I had not seen in close to 40 years, although we “see” each other on Facebook. She lives in another state, so it was an extreme coincidence that she was crossing a busy intersection in Manhattan just as I was crossing the other direction. We both went in for a mutual embrace in the middle of the crosswalk, at which point I joined her to double back and walk a bit, so we could catch up. We were not that close during my short time at the same college, and don’t know each other that well, but I know she is a kind-hearted, loving person and the immediate availability, as well as the warmth of her embrace definitely lifted my mood.

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Seeking Enlightenment?: The Alexander Technique may help you get there, faster

by Brooke Lieb (originally published here)

Many years ago, I was teaching a first lesson to a young woman. Her first statement was “I am an Evangelical Christian.” Her first question was “Does the Alexander Technique promote any religious or spiritual ideology that will conflict with my beliefs?”

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I told her no, because the Alexander Technique is not a philosophy or a religion. It fails a key element of cults, in that Alexander Technique promotes the individual learning a process for assessing and revising belief systems through self-exploration. F. M. Alexander implored the teachers he trained to teach and innovate based on their own lived experience, not to copy him.

That being said, many people who study the Alexander Technique are also on a path that includes meditation, mindfulness or some spiritual practice. Sometimes, the Alexander Technique turns out to be the catalyst for getting on such a path.

I am a big fan of the Stephen Mitchell translation of the Tao Te Ching. I recognized in my early 20s that movement and dance were the most effective and direct way for me to reach a meditative state. I don’t study any particular philosophy, and enjoy learning from and experiencing many forms of mindfulness.

A dear friend recently (October 2019) gifted me Michael Singer’s book “The Untethered Soul” which draws on many spiritual and philosophical traditions, particularly Buddhism.

As I read the book, I was reminded of the stories of seekers spending years studying, meditating, going on retreat, all in search of spiritual enlightenment. I got the impression that this enlightenment required decades long practices, was elusive and required sacrifice and deep practice to have a lived experience.

I cannot speak to what is true or possible, but as I was reading Singer’s book, his choice of words and descriptions of non-attachment and enlightenment sounded an awful lot like my lived experiences of non-attachment, achieved through my Alexander Technique practice.

Singer talks about releasing an inner struggle, learning not to identify as my thoughts and feelings, even as I experience them. He writes about choosing happiness, as a point of view, and learning to reduce self-created suffering. At the same time, he acknowledges that we will experience the gamut of human emotion. It is our relationship to it that determines our degree of struggle and resistance in the face of the reality we are in.

This could seem lofty, elusive or grand, but in practice it’s down to earth for me. Since I started lessons 36 years ago, I have used the Alexander Technique to notice how I tighten, stiffen, react and resist life on every level (body/mind/spirit) and how to lessen those tendencies, without waiting for or needing the circumstances to change.

I’ve used my Alexander tools through health scares, the death of loved ones, economic uncertainty, relationship challenges, the common cold, injuries, pain, performance anxiety, panic attacks, celebrations, bouts of anxiety and depression, at parties and on and off throughout most every day.

I expect to continue to react, resist and tighten to life, but I know that living the principles of the Alexander Technique has transformed my experience, sometimes within moments, minutes, hours or mere months, depending on the situation. It doesn’t have to take forever to have a lived experience of non-attachment and to reduce the degree of struggle and suffering.

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N. BROOKE LIEB, Director of Teacher Certification since 2008, received her certification from ACAT in 1989, joined the faculty in 1992. Brooke has presented to 100s of people at numerous conferences, has taught at C. W. Post College, St. Rose College, Kutztown University, Pace University, The Actors Institute, The National Theatre Conservatory at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Dennison University, and Wagner College; and has made presentations for the Hospital for Special Surgery, the Scoliosis Foundation, and the Arthritis Foundation; Mercy College and Touro College, Departments of Physical Therapy; and Northern Westchester Hospital. Brooke maintains a teaching practice in NYC, specializing in working with people dealing with pain, back injuries and scoliosis; and performing artists. www.brookelieb.com




Alexander jargon: using language in a non-habitual way

Alexander jargon: using language in a non-habitual way

There are many folks who are critical of the jargon* we use in the Alexander Technique. I understand their point. Semantics (the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning) can muddy communication. Our terminology can be confusing, de-legitimizing, off putting and inaccessible.

However, consider the definition of jargon: * “special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand”. Alexander students gain skill from the process one goes through to understand the jargon.

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"Take a breath and count to 10..." and other life skills

"Take a breath and count to 10..." and other life skills

by Brooke Lieb (originally published here)

The Alexander Technique is a well-developed method for managing your response to life. It combines many capacities we have to regulate how we respond to life. The tools Alexander combined are not unique to his work and we all have concrete experiences that relate to the main concepts used: awareness, inhibition and direction. This post with focus on inhibition.

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Training Teachers: "Looking Under The Hood"

Training Teachers: "Looking Under The Hood"

For the majority of students of the Alexander Technique, the value comes in gaining the skill to apply their “Alexander” tools to the task of living. Most drivers don’t need or choose to understand the engineering and mechanics of their cars, they focus on learning to drive. Similarly, exploring and understanding the underlying mechanisms that produce the positive benefits of applying Alexander Technique is far less relevant for students.

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On Training Teachers: Choreography and Improvisation

On Training Teachers: Choreography and Improvisation

When I trained to be an Alexander Teacher at the American Center for the Alexander Technique from 1987 to 1989, I was fortunate to benefit from the wisdom of a large faculty of teachers with all levels of experience. Our Senior Trainers had anywhere from 6 to 30 years of experience teaching and training teachers. They each had a distinctive approach to the art of teaching. Alongside them, we were also taught by associate faculty, recent graduates and classmates who were at all levels of training.

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On Teaching: "Speaking without words"

On Teaching: "Speaking without words"

by Brooke Lieb

Brooke: During our work together on the ACAT Teacher Certification Program, I remember you repeatedly sharing with me that you found lectures and the verbal component of hands-on turns virtually un-intellligible, and stressful. I was able to appreciate that auditory learning wasn’t particularly useful to you, but in retrospect, I know I didn’t have a meaningful understanding or appreciation of how unique sensory processing is from one person to another. I was also fascinated because I know how much you read and comprehend, and that you studied much more complex subjects than I ever have and are articulate and versed in those topics.

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Working with Rhythm: Smoother movement for better coordination

Working with Rhythm: Smoother movement for better coordination

As an Alexander Teacher, I have been trained to observe and analyze my students’ movements and behaviors, so that I can teach them tools to maximize their efficiency while minimizing physical and mental stress.

One measure I use to that end is movement quality. I use a couple different scales, one of which is the range from smooth to jerky.

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Learning the Alexander Technique can reduce your degree of head forward posture, and most students enjoy their lessons

Learning the Alexander Technique can reduce your degree of head forward posture, and most students enjoy their lessons

by Brooke Lieb

A simple google search with the term “effects of head forward posture” yields results that show a possible correlation between degree of forward displacement and pain in computer users; increased time spent sitting at a desk increasing instances of neck pain; and a decrease in respiratory efficiency. Read more here.

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For Alexander Teachers: Foundations of effective teaching

For Alexander Teachers: Foundations of effective teaching

Training teachers and offering post graduate lessons and classes has been one of my passions during my 30 year career as an Alexander teacher. It has informed my studies, how I interpret Alexander’s writings, and is the area I focus my continued learning and development.

One consistent standard I see across all approaches to training is to emphasize that the teacher’s application of Alexander principles to the act of teaching is the foundation of teaching. Before working hands on with another, a level of self-organization is vital.

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Alexander Technique applied to weight management

Like many of my friends and family, with age my metabolism has slowed down. Once I could eat whatever I wanted, and as much as I wanted, and my weight was stable. In my mid-thirties, I noticed a slow but steady weight gain. At one point, I was 25 pounds heavier and decided I would need to change my habits.

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