Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Falling back into old habits? Not as badly as you might think...but take care.
My last client this morning commented after her three week visit to USA to see some universities that she may apply for, that her posture had 'slipped back' and she'd lost some of what we'd achieved in her earlier Alexander Technique lessons. She's had around 12 lessons before her trip and had clearly got a little round shouldered and stiff in her back during the time she'd been away.
I reminded her that doing a little semi-supine lying on the floor is a great aid to maintaining her poise. Doing this daily can be a great help as it allows our back to release unnecessary tension, to allow our shoulders to let go and widen, and our back may become flatter on the floor.....all without making any physical effort. it's a good thing to do regularly for all of us.
However, by the end of today's first session after her trip, she felt quite radically altered; more upright, looser, lighter and calmer. Her shoulders had released and felt much more comfortable in herself. There are some good reasons for this. The sessions she'd had before leaving for the USA were sufficient for her to experience better posture most of the time; her old habits were fading and the new way was becoming established. So while the lengthy gap of a few weeks had caused her to get stiff and round shoulders again as was her old habitual way, she was familiar enough with the new way, for it all to come rushing back. It was only a temporary lull and nothing to worry about too much. However if she'd continued like this for much longer, it would have become progressively more difficult to recover.
The other thing is, that we all have a natural instinct for good poise that we have from birth. It's with us until we die. So this is what we tap into with Alexander Technique; your body 'knows' what to do. We just need to stop doing the wrong things and the right thing will take care of itself. The instinct is there and it's surprising how quickly we can change back to a healthier more upright poise.
