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by Brooke Lieb
In an effort to reduce stress, I have stopped watching the news. I skim the homepage of the Guardian and the NY Times to keep current, but otherwise, I rarely watch news on TV or online.
Instead, I watch British films and TV, comedies and crime dramas, home improvement shows and I am a huge fan of the Great British Baking Show.
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by Brooke Lieb
This week in class, I was talking with one of ACAT's soon to be graduates. We were talking about the quality with which we work with Alexander Technique directions*. It is all too common to try to turn the directions into subtle muscular activity, or hyper focus on them to make sure we are intending and implementing them.
I asked him if he drives, and though he doesn't currently own a car, he does know how to drive. "What if sending the directions is similar to how you drive? You can have a conversation with a passenger, listen to the radio, attend to the traffic around you, use mirrors, navigate with road signs, and keep a generally global awareness. Maybe when we direct, we can have that same easy, expanded awareness of all that is going on around us."
by Brooke Lieb
One key aspect of using the directions in Alexander lessons is to understand how they are intended to work. Thinking is the essence of the Alexander Technique, and this thinking influences our whole being. We often observe the muscular changes, but changes occur at every level.
I am always refining, re-inventing, and re-imagining how these directions are meant to be applied, and I found an envelope where I jotted down my musings about this. I didn’t date the envelope, but I would bet good money it’s been sitting on my desk for somewhere between 5 and 8 years.
by Dan Cayer
Most approaches to solving chronic pain fail because they try to either overpower the pain through exercise or PT regimens, or ignore the discomfort and ‘get on with life.’ Both approaches act as if the pain and uncertainty aren’t there. Both approaches act as if you aren’t there – dealing with the swirling feelings and thoughts that arise. In my 20 minute interview on the podcast, “Body Learning,” I share a different approach to resolving chronic pain that I’ve tested out in my personal life and with hundreds of students.
Read moreLast fall, and again this spring, ACAT faculty member Judy Stern shared her wisdom and experience as an Alexander Technique teacher with a small group in a series of weekly post-graduate courses at ACAT. Having recently retired from her private practice, Judy is now devoting her teaching time to certified teachers and trainees in ACAT’s teacher certification program, passing along the teachings of ACAT’s founders and her own ways of working developed during her three decades of teaching private students, trainees and teachers.
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(photo by Garnett Mellen) Garnett Mellen, Mary Padilla, Karen Loving, Barbara Kent, Kathy Miranda and Tim Tucker (not pictured, Dana Calvey)
by Timothy Tucker
Recently, Barbara Kent held a two-day workshop entitled “Meeting the Stimulus: a Look at the Gift of Inhibition.” I signed up quickly when this event materialized on the ACAT website because opportunities to study at length with a 55-year veteran of the Alexander Technique are few and far between. And indeed it was a rich and spacious experience, with plenty of time for hands-on work, play and reflection.
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In order to pick up your paper, whether you have it at your front door or at the end of your walkway outside your home, you will bend some joints.
The question is, what joints are you using to bend in order to lower yourself in space. HOW are you doing this? Are you cold and hurrying as fast as you can in your stiffened from sleep state?
Read moreby Bette Chamberlin
When I was a professional ballet dancer with American Ballet Theater, people would come up to me and ask “are you a dancer? and then immediately “you have such good posture.” I would reply “yes”, and “thank you”. I felt content that in fact I had good posture. But that compliment was always tied with “are you a dancer?”
Hmm…
When I stopped dancing professionally and started to teach ballet, I continued to be that dancer that “had good posture”, yet I was unwittingly passing along the model of an over straightened spine to my students. At the same time, I was experiencing intense neck and shoulder pain. My spine was braced and operating by habit, acting as if I was still a professional ballet dancer, and not responding to conventional treatments. My anxiety about this was building and became another daily challenge.
The reality is that most of us dancers have an idea about posture that involves way too much muscular tension.
And I was an excellent example of this.
It wasn’t until I started looking for both relief for my neck pain and a more organic way to look at posture that I bumped into F. M. Alexander’s discovery. Rethinking the relationship between my head neck and spine was a revelation. I was soon pain free and decided to train as an Alexander Technique teacher.
Since that time, I have studied Ballroom dancing for the past 12 years, in particular American Rhythm and International Latin. There is no question that had I not changed my impression of “good posture” I would not have been able to continue lessons all these years, win competitions and find the enjoyment in moving.
Is there a special posture that we apply to ballroom versus walking down the street, waiting in line at the market, singing or playing a musical instrument?
We have all been taught by our awesome teachers that there is a specific angle of the head, or an element of body positioning that is required to evoke tango, salsa, waltz or rumba.
However, I have learned that good posture is based on the architecture of our bodies, the support of the spine, muscles, ligaments and tendons that help to move our amazing structure. But HOW to coordinate this in an efficient manner is what I have learned over the years.
ACAT was fortunate to host Drs. Tim Cacciatore (Ph.D. in NeuroScience, teaching via Skype) and Patrick Johnson (Ph.D. in Physics, presenting at ACAT) for their information packed workshop "Contemporary Science and Good Use” in May of 2017.
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The recent Presidential election and the aftermath have put a lot of us through our paces.
It might be hard to know how to handle our feelings, or what to do with them. Many of us are experiencing a deep-seated sense of dread, fear, or worry; a sense that we don’t know what’s coming, that our world has irrevocably changed. Some of us are experiencing a sadness that feels very vulnerable and groundless.
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Boy, is my answer to this question tired!! As a 20-year teacher of the Alexander Technique, I have some stock answers to common questions. While it’s great to discover trusted ways to explain Alexander concepts and stick with them, sometimes our tried and true responses can become uninspired. To inspire myself (and you), I asked some experienced colleagues how they answer this very typical Alexander question.
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I have been an Alexander Technique teacher since 1976.
I am also a childbirth educator with a private practice and a faculty member in the Parent Family Education program in the Department of Obstetrics of a NYC major hospital. The woman’s uterus is shaped like an upside pear and is a muscle consisting of 2 layers of elastic type tissue arranged in different positions.
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Becoming a parent is an extremely special time that brings both great joy and new challenges for expecting parents, such as pregnancy pain, fear of childbirth pain, and the strain carrying one’s newborn.
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I know I'm not alone in feeling that at this moment in time and history, I need all my self-care skills and then some. The Alexander Technique is at the top of my list.
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Full disclosure: I marched against the Vietnam War years ago and much later against the war in Iraq. I eat kale and arugula. I volunteered and voted for Hillary Clinton, and have been in mourning ever since election day. Having said that, I will add that this is not a political blog!
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Writing with a soft gaze and a loose grip around the pen might mean that you make more of a mess. And the thoughts that make their way to paper might be more of a wandering than an answer. A spiral of questions. Some what-ifs, whys and maybes.
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I began my relationship with Body Mapping in my early days as a college music student, little did I know how much of my future would be determined by simply registering for this course that came so highly recommended.
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Alice Olsher taught the Post Graduate Program "The Carrington Games: From the Basics of Self-Care" to Training Teachers on January 14 & 15.
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I’m not advising you on who or what to protest, but I marched on Sunday at a big anti-Trump rally in Midtown Manhattan. As I was remembering my Alexander principles, I came up with a few guidelines for participating in the demonstration or march of your choice.
Read moreby Brooke Lieb The first time I voted in a Presidential election was 1984. My memory is far from perfect, but I cannot recall a presidential race that began as early as the 2016 race, with one party's campaigning for the nomination starting in March, 2015; nor can I remember the type of rhetoric I am hearing as overt and extreme in US politics as it is during this election.
Frankly, it frightens me. And I am not alone. There are a plethora of articles about the heightened anxiety levels precipitated by this current election cycle. A search for "election anxiety" yields online articles from The Atlantic, US News, Newsweek, Time Magazine and The Washington Post, among other news outlets.
As an Alexander teacher, I spend my days teaching my students how to self-regulate so they can manage moments of spiking anxiety. To be an effective teacher, I use the very tools I am teaching, at work and in my life.
No matter which side of this debate you are on, it is likely that you feel strongly, believe in your own point of view and fear the outcome. It is also likely that your feelings are being heightened by the coverage you are exposed to.
What can you do to take care of yourself? Here are some resources, including simple tools I teach my students.
1. Remind yourself that you don't have to hold your breath.
When we experience fear or other strong emotions, we sometimes freeze. It may be a tight jaw, it may be subtle or not so subtle clenching in shoulder, chest or abdomen. Frequently, tension reduces the mobility of our torso, and breath requires movement in the ribs.
2. Stand with your back touching a wall or door.
Use the contact with your back against the surface to bring you into the present environment. See and name what is around you, in as much detail as you can. (Example from my studio: Area rug with floral patterns, in beige, burgundy, sage green; massage table with a green cotton sheet that has stripes; dark brown wood computer desk with a cordless phone/answering machine and an iMac; fireplace mantle surrounded by teal tiles).
3. Research what actions you can take to assure your vote counts and that your elected officials represent your values.
Search your state and federal nominees to find out where they stand on the issues (search "[your state] 2016 candidate platforms". In addition to finding out where they stand, you can find out how to support the campaign of those who represent your views.
4. Learn how to bring awareness to, change the subject, and minimize participation in conversations that upset you.
It is possible to effectively bring awareness and shift the conversation without shaming anyone. This article from the New York Times is entitled "Lessons in the Delicate Art of Confronting Offensive Speech"
5. If someone has decided who they are voting for, there is no need for discussion. If speaking to an undecided voter, learn how to listen to what matters to that person.
Here is an article "5 Ways To Have Great Conversations"
6. Limit your exposure to media
Once you have done your research and know which candidates represent your values, and how you can take action to improve their chances in the election, take a media vacation. This has not been easy for me, but I have designated media black out days, when I do not read or watch anything about the election.
7. Have an Alexander Lesson
Alexander Technique teaches mindfulness in daily living. Akin to meditation, Alexander Technique teaches conscious inhibition, or how to calm your "flight or fight" response.
This article in Wikipedia explains the neural mechanisms of mindfulness techniques.
This blog was originally posted at brookelieb.com
[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]