Alexander Technique: Natural Poise for Health

s you release the tension you may uncover psychological tensions that have been at the bottom of some physical

Alexander was convinced that every experience we have in life is transmitted into muscular tension;

locate areas of tension that may be fixed in your body.

The Alexander Technique is a way of directing our conscious minds in order to be more in the present moment. In this way we have the opportunity to be more in tune with nature and to heighten our awareness of the things around us. This will automatically bring more happiness, contentment and peace into our lives.

In this way we are encouraged to think about the past or the future - but never to be engaged in the present moment. Of course we do need to be practical and consider the future at times, but a great deal of the time, what we think about is unproductive and can be best described as nonsense. We have not chosen to think these thoughts - they come and they take over. We start to lose control of our minds in the same way that muscular tension often runs out of our control.

In many cases this is due to great disappointment: if you cannot enjoy yourself at Christmas when can you enjoy yourself?
And what happens on Christmas Day itself? More advertisements on the television, this time about those exotic faraway places which will really make you happy, and where you can lie in the sun!

Living in the Present
As children we have a natural ability to experience life from moment to moment, as is also true with animals. We are soon, however, encouraged by society to look to the future for our happiness. Christmas is a good example of this: weeks or even months before Christmas arrives, the shops start to fill up with goods which encourage us to dwell on a day that is far ahead in the future. Many of us look forward to the festive season and yet say after the event, 'I am glad that's over.'

Try placing a chair in front of a mirror. Stand up and sit down in your normal way and see if you can notice any habitual tendencies (anything which occurs every time). Do not worry if you cannot observe these. Then repeat the above but this time, pause for a moment, then consciously sit down or stand up differently from the way you normally do. Soon you will realise that there are many different ways of doing the same action. Do you notice

There are many ways to begin to practice this in daily life. For example, every time the telephone or doorbell rings, pause for two seconds before answering (you may find this simple exercise harder than it might seem!);

There are many old sayings and proverbs that point to the wisdom of thought before action, such as 'look before you leap', 'more haste, less speed', 'second thoughts are best', and so on.