How To Do Constructive Rest: The Alexander Technique Lie Down

by Witold Fitz-Simon The Lie Down is an important component of self-care. All it takes is ten minutes once or twice a day. It will give you a chance to calm your mind and rest your body while exploring the principles and the “means-whereby” of the Alexander Technique: observation, inhibition and direction.

Set Up

• Find a clean, firm, comfortable surface to lie down on. The floor is better than a bed as it will give you a level surface for better support. If your back pressing into the uncovered floor is uncomfortable, lie down on carpet or a folded towel or blanket instead.

• Lie back with your head supported by a number of books. There should be enough height under your head so that the back of your neck can be firm but soft to the touch, and that there is a sense of space on all sides of your neck.

• Lie with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.

• Lie with your elbows bent and your hands resting comfortably on your torso, perhaps your lower ribs or abdomen.

Expanded Awareness

As you lie here, calm your mind and soften your gaze to become aware of what is going on in the periphery of your vision. Allow the light of the room to come to you, rather than staring out.

Keep the level of your eyes above your cheekbones rather than turning down towards them. This will help to keep you alert.

Expand your awareness to include the room around you and your body. Allow the sensations of your body to rise up to meet you as you look out through your eyes, rather than dropping your awareness down to feel your body.

Inevitably your attention will wander. Gently bring it back to the present moment, looking out at the ceiling with the center of your awareness behind your eyes and above your cheekbones.

Observation

As you rest here, become aware of the touch of your body against the floor. Observe where you might be pressing down into the floor or where you might be holding yourself up away from the floor. Observe where you might be narrowing or compressing. Observe where you might be holding.

Inhibition

As you observe all these places where you might be doing something muscularly in your body, let go of what you do not need. You may find that there are places where something is holding or doing that aren’t ready to let go. Leave those places be.

As you consider your legs, you will find that some muscular effort is necessary to keep them up. See how little you can do without your knees falling in or out. If, as you explore, they do fall in or out, simply send them back up towards the ceiling.

Direction

Without feeling to see if anything is happening, send a message to your neck to be a little freer so that your head can ease away from the top of your spine. Send a message to your back for it to lengthen and widen. Send a message to your knees to ease up towards the ceiling. Send a message to your shoulders and elbows to ease outwards away from your wide chest and back.

Become aware of the movement of your breath. Without trying to shape or change anything, and without losing your expanded awareness, follow each exhalation to its logical conclusion. Allow your inhalations to drop in without actively taking a breath.

Coming Up

When you decide it is time to get up, pause and let go of your first response to the thought. Come back to your expanded awareness. Use the process of coming up as an opportunity to explore your expanded awareness. Once you have got to your feet, pause.

Once again, send a message to your neck that you would like it to be a little freer so that your head can be balanced in poise at the top of your spine rather than being held in place. Send a message to your whole torso that you would like it to be long, wide and deep. Send a message to your legs that you would like your knees to be easy and pointing forward and away from you. Send a message to your shoulders that you would like them to widen off your wide chest and back. Do all of this without feeling to see if anything is happening. Then go on about your day.

WITOLD FITZ-SIMON has been a student of the Alexander Technique since 2007. He is certified to teach the Technique as a graduate of the American Center for the Alexander Technique’s 1,600-hour, three year training program. A student of yoga since 1993 and a teacher of yoga since 2000, Witold combines his extensive knowledge of the body and its use into intelligent and practical instruction designed to help his students free themselves of ineffective and damaging habits of body, mind and being. www.mindbodyandbeing.com[/author_info] [/author]

Using Alexander Technique Concepts To Reason Your Way Towards A Better Solution

Alexander didn't have a teacher to help him solve his vocal problems. He had no one telling him where to begin or how to approach finding a solution, so he began with simple observation and then experimented on a trial and error basis. One of Alexander's observations and concerns, as he worked for over 60 years teaching people from all walks of life, was the lack of critical reasoning people brought to problem solving. Some of my most effective teaching moments have been when I could help someone see, for themselves, how they were using their body or reacting to a situation.

Example 1:

This student contacted me for lessons because she was dealing with chronic, debilitating lower back pain, and unbeknownst to me, her doctor has suggested surgery. She never mentioned his recommendation to me (I read about it two years after the fact in the quote below), just her symptoms, at the start of our first lesson.

As soon as she came into the studio, I observed her alignment when standing, I could see why she was in pain. I showed her how she was putting pressure on her lower back by locking her knees and pushing down onto her waist and sacrum. I showed her on the skeleton where her hip joints are; and that her sacrum is not a weight bearing structure, but she was trying to rest her weight on the sacrum as though it was a third leg, putting enormous pressure on her lumbar spine. Within moments, she was able to allow her weight to distribute forward onto her hip joins, and lessen the pressure on her lower back.

"When my doctor suggested surgery to alleviate excruciating back pain from two herniated disks, I remembered a friend who had avoided surgery by working with an Alexander trainer so I tried it too. It's been almost two years since I started working with Brooke and I am virtually pain-free. When I do have pain, it's because I've forgotten to use the Alexander tools Brooke taught me; as soon as I remember to walk properly, the pain goes away. I no longer suffer from terrible lower back pain. My whole body feels less tense and I have fewer muscle aches. Using the Alexander Technique while playing golf, lifting weights or doing any other physical activity has helped prevent injury."

Example 2:

I was presenting the Free Monthly Hands-On Demonstration at ACAT, and as I typically do at the start of the event, I asked participants why they had come. The woman quoted below raised her hand, explaining she was in pain and was looking for tools she could use to reduce her discomfort.

"I asked Brooke about my knee pain and she asked me to get up from the chair and within a few seconds she saw my problem. She had me sit and get up again, this time giving me commands on how to position my legs when getting out of a seated position. I felt the difference immediately and to this day, I use the instructions she had shown me."

I was able to give her simple instructions so she would allow her head and torso to fully transfer over both her feet before she stood up; and to keep herself balanced over both legs as she sat. I could see quite clearly how she was putting undue pressure on her knees by trying to stand when her weight was still behind her feet and legs. Although she was unable to "feel" what she was doing that was contributing to her discomfort, she was able to understand my instructions so she could move differently. As soon as she had this new experience, she understood how to let her weight come onto both her legs.

Example 3:

I am working with a young actress, who shared she is not satisfied with her quality of sleep. After about 5 lessons, she came back and told me she has engaged in a point-by-point investigation into solving the combined issues that were interfering with her sleep. She said she'd solved some of her problems, knew the solution to others and was getting to them; and still had some questions about solving some of the problems. At our lesson last week, she said she was sleeping better already.

Here is her checklist:

1. Sleep Mask—buy one that does not fall off 2. Mattress—switch with neighbor, get a new one 3. Pillows—remove second pillow and get smaller pillow to put under big pillow (both pillow were a lot for me, and one was not enough so I was always struggling with them at night) 4. Glass of Water—Keep at distance far enough that you can't knock over 5. Dogs 6. AC—Keep remote next to you and turn on and off as you please during the night 7. Comforter—Keep yourself cool so you won't get hot under it, ask Michael to push it to your side before he gets in the bed so he does not sleep on it and therefore deprive you of wonderful comforters 8. Michael awake at night 9. Dogs chewing things—before going to bed remove all things that the dogs can reach that you know they will chew on (shoes, pens,etc)

While students who have lessons sometimes have a hard time describing what the Alexander Technique is, or describing the sensations and changes they experience, these examples are a bit more concrete and can help students understand the reasoning process that is an integral aspect of applying the principles of the Alexander Technique.

Ten Questions You Can Ask Yourself To Help You Solve Your Problem

1. How am I doing what I'm doing? Could I do this differently? 2. Am I tensing my neck while I do this? 3. Can I leave my head resting easily on the top of my neck while I do this? 4. Am I breathing? 5. Am I taking full advantage of my weight bearing bones? (spine, pelvis, legs, feet). 6. Is this something I have to do, or can I ask someone else to do this? 7. What is bothering me or making this a challenge? 8. Do I have an experience when this was easier or simpler? What is different now? 9. Do I know everything I need to know about this situation? Or am I assuming things? 10. What step-by-step instructions would I give to someone else if I was teaching her or him to do this?

A simple example from my own life came when I realized I could thread a needle more easily by facing the hole towards my eyes, and bringing the thread from behind the needle into the hole. It is much easier to see. I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, but I realized how habitual I can be in life, and when I made this simple adjustment (after 38 years of threading a needle "blind" by bringing the thread in sideways) the activity became much easier and more efficient.

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://www.acatnyc.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Brooke1web.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]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[/author_info] [/author]

Giving Up Good Posture

by Dan Cayer

I started meditating long before I ever heard of the Alexander Technique. Now, my experience as an Alexander teacher has profoundly affected how I sit on the cushion and even how I approach meditation altogether. A week ago, I taught a workshop at the Interdependence Project called Posture, Pain, and Meditation Practice. My experience there inspired me to write about "good posture."

If we look at a meditator like this, from my perspective as an Alexander Technique teacher I can see a few imbalances which are likely making this posture uncomfortable. The low back is arched, the chest is lifted, the neck braced to keep the head from falling back, etc. But mostly what I want to tell this person is, "Don't try so hard to have good posture!"

Working with the tendency to stiffen the torso during meditation.

A Punitive Approach to Posture

What most of us associate with good posture is that oft-uttered admonition from mom, "Sit up straight." For many of us, there is a "snap out of it!" element to this impulse. There we were, daydreaming and slumping, and Whack! We were chastised to sit up straight. There might be a little shame or guilt lurking about in the moment between being reminded to sit up straight and our attempt to do so. As if it were immoral or embarrassed to be in the posture we were in.

What's not clear from the sit up straight recommendation is where you sit up from? What part leads this movement and where do we get support from? Lacking this important information we tend to lift our chest and arch our back to be more upright.

Dan demonstrating how posture begins at the top of the spine.

And yet, sitting up straight never feels that comfortable or satisfying. It feels like we are barely hanging on to this upright posture and it's just a matter of time before we are deposited back into our familiar slump. I would argue that part of the reason we fail to find a comfortable, upright posture is due to the very intensity of our pursuit. When we strive to sit up straight, we neglect such essentials as our breathing, a free neck, and relaxed shoulders to name a few. By the way, I found this photo when I googled "correct meditation posture," and there are loads of other photos in a similar breathless effortful hold.

Good Posture Is within Us Already

But don't take my word for it, here is Suzuki Roshi talking in Zen Mind, Beginners Mind:

"People ask what it means to practice zazen with no gaining idea, what kind of effort is necessary for that kind of practice. The answer is: effort to get rid of something extra from our practice. If some extra idea comes, you should try to stop it; you should remain in pure practice."

It's not that we give up our intention to have a healthy posture. Rather, we accept that good posture can be found within us naturally, just as meditators believe that Buddha nature resides within. If we realize that our posture can be uncovered just like the natural qualities of our mind, it transforms the way we approach our bodies. Good posture emerges when there is a lack of interference.

The last word goes to Roshi:

"We do not need to polish something, trying to make some impure thing pure. By purity we just mean things as they are. When something is added, that is impure."

This post was originally published at dancayerfluidmovement.com

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://www.acatnyc.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Dan-Head-Shot-13.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]DAN CAYER is a nationally certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. After a serious injury left him unable to work or even carry out household tasks, he began studying the technique. His return to health, as well as his experience with the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of pain, inspired him to help others. He now teaches his innovative approach in Union Square, Carroll Gardens and in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He also teaches adults to swim with greater ease and confidence by applying Alexander principles. You can find his next workshop or schedule a private lesson at www.dancayerfluidmovement.com.[/author_info] [/author]

How To Manage Anticipatory Anxiety with the Alexander Technique

by N. Brooke Lieb When I began my training as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, my biggest "symptom" was not pain, it was anxiety. I had started to have panic attacks, where I felt light headed and would begin to hyperventilate, and I was afraid I was dying. Often, the fearful thoughts centered around having an allergic reaction to something that would prove fatal. (I have had three incidents of strong allergic reactions, one to medication, one to food and one undetermined, none of which has been fatal.)

Learning to be Calm in a Crisis—Especially When the Crisis Was Mostly in My Mind

During the second year of my training, I noticed that I had not had any "incidents" in recent memory. A couple of years after I graduated, I recall watching a panic attack come on while I was riding the subway. I felt a flush of heat rise from my heart up to my ears (adrenaline rush?), my heart started pounding, and I began to think "I'm having trouble breathing". As I observed myself, my mind remained calm, and I thought to myself "Wow, your body is experiencing sensations of terror. Yet, I don't feel afraid. I am remaining conscious, I can breath even though I have concerns that I can't. Wow, this is so interesting." As fast as the symptoms came on, they subsided. The event made a strong impression on me because my reason stayed clear and I did not mistake the symptoms for something dangerous.

Learning to Talk Yourself off the Ledge

The process of training in the Alexander Technique gave me skills to refrain from my habit of anticipatory anxiety. I would not have realized this pattern of behavior if it weren't for the contrast I noticed. Over the years, I have seen how my focus on releasing physical tension from my body has had a beneficial influence on my mental state as well.

The first instruction in the Alexander Technique is "let the neck be free." Students are literally learning how to reduce muscular tension at the back of their necks. It is probably no accident that this was the first place Mr. Alexander addressed, because tightening the neck and drawing the head towards the body is one of the first observable features of the "fight or flight" response. When we are frightened, or stressed, our brain sends signals to our body to go into survival mode. Fight off the danger, or run to safety... Sometimes the source of our stress or fear is our inner dialogue. We are literally scaring ourselves with our thoughts.

Easing tension in the neck sends cues to the body that the danger is passing, so the fight or flight response begins to recede. In addition, putting your conscious intention on working with the first instruction, "let the neck be free", occupies your mind and focuses your attention, so you aren't as likely to be generating stressful or frightening thoughts that trigger the tension in the first place. This is an elegantly simple process, once you know how to work with it.

How to Release Muscle Tension with Direct Intention

1. Notice a topic you may be concerned about, or worrying over. (There are plenty of issues facing us, such as the state of today's economy.)

2. Write down the thoughts of concern or worry you are experiencing.

3. Which ones are based on current facts/circumstances? Which ones are based on what might or might not happen?

4. Now, take a moment to think of allowing your shoulders and jaw to release some tension. Notice what that is like.

5. Now, think about something you are concerned or worried about.

6. Return to releasing your jaw and shoulders. You may have noticed that they tensed again when you put your attention on your concerns.

7. Continue to move back and forth between actively releasing tension in shoulder and jaw, and thinking about things that worry you.

Learning to Work Productively with Your Thinking

This activity is beneficial in and of itself, as a way for you to see how your thinking affects your tension levels, and that when you put your attention on your muscular tension, you can find some relief.

The next step you might explore is to consider the source of your worry or concern. Which thoughts are based on current facts, and which are the result of anticipatory anxiety? For those that are based on facts, what actions can you take to address the concerns? For those based on anticipation of what might happen, go back to working with your muscle tension as a way to reduce the impact this habit of thought has on your stress levels.

Let us know how you did with these exercises; and be sure to share other ways you have learned to manage mental stress.

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://www.acatnyc.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Brooke1web.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]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[/author_info] [/author]

How to Calm Your Mind and Invite Inspiration to Strike

How many times in your life have you been under the gun to come up with something new and inspiration just isn’t coming? Maybe you have to write a proposal at work, or come up with an idea for a fun outing with the family. Maybe you’ve been hammering away at a problem for an hour and the solution is still beyond your reach. It’s a situation most of us have found ourselves in. Why is it that inspiration can be so elusive in moments of pressure? The answer is something called the startle response. As stress levels rise, our body’s fight or flight response kicks in, creating all sorts of problems that can get in the way of clear and creative thinking:

• Tightness in the neck and shoulders

• Restricted breathing

• A surge in adrenaline

• Anxiety

• Agitated thoughts

The Alexander Technique can offer you a simple and effective solution to help calm your system down and expand your perspective, giving your subconscious mind a chance to do its work. And it can take as little as five minutes!

7 Steps to Calm Your Mind and Arouse Inspiration

1. Find a quiet space and lie down on the floor. 

You don’t need a lot of space to do this, just enough to be on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. You can let your arms rest by your side or have your elbows bent and rest your hands on your trunk.

2. Put something firm under your head to allow your neck to lengthen and release.

A couple of books are ideal for this, just an inch or two of height should be enough.

3. Soften your gaze and look up at the ceiling.

After you have yourself situated, allow yourself to settle. Keep your eyes open and really see the room above you. If you close your eyes or glaze over, you will be getting lost in your own thoughts and won’t be able to achieve the state of calm you will need.

4. Allow any mental chatter to calm down.

This can be very challenging. You might find you have to keep reminding yourself and bringing your awareness back to the present and to what you are seeing above you many times.

5. Let go of anything you don’t need.

Once you start to get yourself centered, you might notice muscles working that don’t need to be, given that you are resting on the floor. Gently encourage them to relax. You may find that they don’t cooperate straight away. Don’t worry if they don’t. Just keep sending the suggestion to your body that it can soften and do less. Allow your neck to be a little softer and a little freer. Allow your whole head to ease away from your body and your back to lengthen and widen across the floor.

6. Don’t keep looking for the solution.

You’ve been searching for the solution for however long at this point and it hasn’t come to you, so we’re going to change your approach. Let yourself be present and notice when your mind starts to leap around. When it does, as it inevitably will, simply remind yourself to not look for a solution. This way your conscious mind, which has been failing up to now to come up with the idea you’ve been looking for, will no longer be overriding your unconscious mind. Your unconscious mind is infinitely more vast and complex than your conscious mind and has a lot more resources available to it. Give it a chance to do its work.

7. Have a little faith and stick with it.

Your unconscious mind is infinitely more vast and complex than your conscious mind and has a lot more resources available to it. Give it a chance to do its work. Hang out here for five to ten minutes: keep calming your mental chatter; keep allowing your head, neck and back to expand; keep coming back to the present matter and letting go of a need to find your inspiration.

Perhaps your inspiration will come while you’re lying down, perhaps it will come after you get back up and reassess your situation. At the very least, going through these seven steps will give you a different perspective. Using this process, called “Constructive Rest” or a “Lie-Down” in the Alexander Technique, you will have calmed your nervous system, dispelling the unwanted effects of stress and giving your body and mind a chance to decompress.

If you find this helpful, tell me in the comments about your experience. If your interest is piqued, click here to find an Alexander Technique teacher near you.

WITOLD FITZ-SIMON has been a student of the Alexander Technique since 2007. He is certified to teach the Technique as a graduate of the American Center for the Alexander Technique’s 1,600-hour, three year training program. A student of yoga since 1993 and a teacher of yoga since 2000, Witold combines his extensive knowledge of the body and its use into intelligent and practical instruction designed to help his students free themselves of ineffective and damaging habits of body, mind and being. www.mindbodyandbeing.com