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Training Journal: Classes with Judith Leibowitz #25
Wednesday, April 19, 1978
Picking up a knee
First check on the freedom of the leg in the hip joint.
To free the leg:
1. Take care of yourself first, i.e., your own directions.
2. Place one hand on the pelvis, thumb on thigh. The hand is saying pelvis goes with head, thumb is directing out the knee.
Read moreWednesday, April 12, 1978
Head. Look at the angle of the back of the neck. See it and feel it. Also, neck under the chin….
Read moreTraining Journal: Classes with Judith Leibowitz #14
January 19, 1978
We worked on the use of the self as a totality in movement, being attentive to the tendency to get fixed in the small of the back.
As a group, we looked at our mirror image face on…. Judy wants us to have a clearer image of our objectives, as we are in movement. The image of our spine hanging between our ears, pelvis suspended from the sacrum (lower spine; loose bones, loose muscles; all of the spine is hanging as we walk. Nothing is fixed. Length is making room for bones, front and back.
Read moreTraining Journal: Classes with Judith Leibowitz #13
January 17, 1978
“Don't get bored. You are on a spiral of change. “
“When working on hands, start by dealing with the totality, out of which you move the hand.”
Think of the hand as being open and free. It is one of your most precious tools. Be nice to them.
Stretching often uses tension. Allow it to release. Direct it to release. She [Judy] used the example of reaching an octave on the keyboard. First stretch to reach it. Then allow your hand to release to reach. Think of the hand as material that has no bones. Your hand can be full of energy. When placing it on something, allow the energy to “flow” to that.
Read moreTraining Journal: Classes with Judith Leibowitz #12
January 12, 1978
Topic: Use of the arm in gesture. Begin with primary control. Use of the whole torso involved in direction. The arm gesture comes out of this. Think of air under the scapula. Think of air under the sternum. Release out of the neck. Support of the arms comes from the back of the torso which begins low in the deep area below the muscles of the [buttocks].
Read moreTraining Journal
Wednesday, January 11, 1978
We will begin working on ”the uncommitted hand”. As an Alexander teacher, the biggest asset is “the uncommitted hand”. Let them be free. No unnecessary tension in them. Touching another person is communication. The hand is listening to the other person. It is a double communication. Tension interferes in this communication.
Read moreby Brooke Lieb
This week, a student on the ACAT training course (trainee) commented that there didn't seem to be specific instruction on the nuts and bolts of teaching: where to put hands, what to say, and the sequence in which to do things.
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