How is your back these days? Now you know what I'm talking about! You may comment that your back is just fine, thank you! On the other hand, you might complain of pain, stiffness, aches or general discomfort; I hope you do not have spasms or even a trapped nerve! Around 80% of us have back problems at some time in our lives; for many it can be a recurring or consistent problem. It may surprise you that back problems are often caused by tension in the front of our body. Most of us do not have a 'Back Problem'; it is our Front Problem we need to sort out! By releasing tension in your abdominal and chest muscles you may allow yourself to come up to your full height and your back problem may just disappear. Let me explain...

If we have pain in an area of our body, say for instance in our back, then that is usually where we feel that treatment should be focused, to relieve the pain. However, while there may be problems with the way our back muscles are supporting us, or not, as the case may be; while we may have a trapped nerve, squashed, perforated or slipped disc, the CAUSE of the problem may well be else where. We just feel the pain in one part and think that is where the problem is.

Throughout our body we tend to have groups of muscles that work in pairs. We have Flexor muscles that make us bend and we have Extensor muscles that straighten us out. If you bend your arm, you flex your biceps. We may do this to show how big our muscles are! To bend your arm your biceps contract, but when you straighten your arm, you release the tension in the biceps and the triceps contract (in the back of your arm) to straighten your arm again. Similarly we have pairs of muscles in our legs; the muscles at the back bend our knees and the quadriceps in the front can straighten our leg. The alternate use of these muscles cause our legs to bend and straighten and this is part of the activity of walking; straightening and bending our legs alternately. If we tighten both the front and back (flexors and extensors) at the same time, we cause rigidity and stiffness; we will then be bracing our legs.

We also have flexor and extensor muscles in our torso. The flexors are our abdominal and chest muscles and the extensors are the muscles in our back. We can tighten our flexor muscles in front to make us bend forwards, to curl up into a fetal position and our back muscles can straighten us up again. If our back muscles are not working effectively we may be encouraged to strengthen our tummy muscles, to develop chore strength to support the weak back. This strengthening usually brings about a general tension around our middle to help keep us upright.

However, young children have wonderful posture. because they have not developed any bad posture habits. They are very free and upright, yet they do not have strong tummy muscles. Their tummies are soft; it is the muscles in their back that are doing their proper job of supporting them. This is also the quality that we as adults still need in order to have healthy posture.

I asked the question, "How is your front?" because tension in the abdominal muscles and other muscles right up our chest causes contraction and can remain contracted, causing problems in our back; They may be constantly contracting and pulling us forwards and down. We do many activities that can cause us to become tight and contracted in our fronts; desk work, bending forwards to clean, fix, write, vacuum; we may also go to the gym and do 100 sit ups that tighten up our abdominal muscles. Unless we stretch ourselves out again, these muscles can be distorting our posture. Most people I meet at my Alexander Technique practice have tensions in their front that are shortening their stature and distorting their posture.

Tension in our 'front' is extremely common and has an effect on posture for most of us. There is no way that we can have a healthy back if we are constantly shortening in front. Muscle tensions in the front of our torso pulls us forwards and downwards so we become bent like a banana. We need to release these tensions so we can come upright again.

With Alexander Technique we can think to release tensions and 'send' our head upwards to lengthen our back. But although we may think of lengthening in our backs, we can easily forget that we must lengthen in front too! The distance from our groin to our throat should be lengthening too. A good stretch may help, but we must avoid just pulling and holding ourselves in a fixed and stretched way as this will cause other tension problems. Good posture does not require effort, at least we should not perceive it as effort. Young children don't make any effort of this kind, so nor should we as adults.

The answer is to 'think' upwards with our heads, but also think of our sternum coming upwards too, so the distance from our groin to our sternum and our throat becomes greater. Care must be taken though to avoid unnecessarily lifting our chest as this will also cause problems. Alexander lessons will help you with this subtlety. As we come up in front, out back will become more upright too and will allow more lengthening. We need the lengthening in our front and our back to take the pressure of our intervertebral discs and allow our spinal curvature to restore itself to normal. The spine should not be straight like a ruler, but curved; not excessive nor straight. Thinking upwards will allow it to sort itself out.

Many back problems are caused by us shortening in our front. If we can allow ourselves to come more upright by lengthening in front, then we are helping to reduce the strain on our back.

Of the several lovely places we visited during last weekend there are some that emblazoned themselves on my mind more than others. A visit to Kenwood House in Hampstead owened by English Heritage was lovely, rewarding and culturally stimulating. Where else in the world can you view masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Romney, Guardi and Canaletto for free without even paying an admittance charge? Fenton House, also in Hampstead, owned by the National Trust was equally stimulating and fascinating with its fine collection of keyboard instruments including harpsichord, virginals, Clavichords and spinetts.

While music and art provide me with immense amounts of pleasure, as a spectator, listener or as a participant in my humble attempts at violin and photography, there are other parts of me only satisfied by connecting with nature, by seeking solitude away from my busy client based Alexander Technique practice to be amongst ancient woodlands, on top of hills with distant views or in wild and overgrown dingley dells secreted away from the unknowing passer-by.

Two such places were real highlights of the weekend. Hampstead Heath in north London is well known for its views across the city, its great walks, botanical variety and even the swimming lakes. But the North Woods that lie just to the north of the main Heath are less well known and lying in a hollow is a placid pool surrounded by oaks. This is place does not attract many visitors, but it is so peaceful, a haven full of energy and life.

Although my hobby is photography; you may be aware that I specialise in black and white hand made pictures that I produce in my darkroom in the traditional manner; it may surprise you therefore that digital imaging is a foreign medium to me and I know nothing about it! However I took a few snaps with my Leica C-Lux camera which you can see two here.

Bluebells in woodland, Chilterns, Oxfordshire.

Monday Bank Holiday saw us out in the Chilterns walking in favourite areas, through woods, over hills, down winding lanes, past the windmill at Turville and past the most wonderful display of Bluebells you could ever hope to discover. Lying as a purple carpet they extended on and on, between the birches and oaks, grouped in their thousands as swathes.

It's just so good to get out into the country, get the air about you and use those muscles for the most pleasant of occupations away from the beaten track. I'm now sitting in my office awaiting another client who will arrive in a few minutes. I think back to the pool at Hampstead and the Bluebells in the Chilterns. They were there yesterday..... I suppose they are still there even when I'm not looking at them.... Mental note, must go back and visit again soon. :-)

So, are you displaying your Duchenne Smile today? "My what?" I hear some saying, as I did on first hearing of it.

The smile that only turns the mouth upwards is unlikely to have much depth of feeling about it and probably originates in simply being polite. Whereas the smile that lights up the whole face, that lifts the mouth but also wrinkles the sides of our eyes into crow's feet by contracting the Zygomatic muscles, comes from the heart. We can pretend to smile, but the smile that does not include the eyes and facial muscles other than around the mouth does not ring with any truth. Would you buy a car from this nice man?

The Duchenne smile

Guillaume Duchenne (1806-75) experimented with electricity and determined that smiles resulting from true happiness not only utilize the muscles of the mouth but also those of the eyes. Such "genuine" smiles are called Duchenne smiles in his honor.

We smile when we're happy but we also become happy when we smile; it works both ways. The emotional response to endorphins is happiness which creates a smile, but the smile also creates endorphins. This lifting of our mood is wonderful for our health and well-being. It boosts our immune system and can even improve our posture. Yes, I do mean that. You can experiment by putting yourself into an awful slouch so you are really collapsed and slumped forwards then say "I am Happy!!" Does this ring with any truth? Now if you bring yourself up to your full height (use the principles of the Alexander Technique if you know how, by freeing your neck and thinking your head upwards), look out into the world around you, relax your shoulders, stand broad across your shoulders and now say " I am Sad!!" That does not ring with truth either, does it?

If you gain top marks in an exam you are elated and will feel 'UP', but if we fail we may feel depressed. The actual word 'Depressed' also applies to our posture and the effect of our downward collapse depresses our insides.

There are a great many people who do not smile much; indeed none of us do compared to when we were children, laughing up to 600 times a day. But the smile, as long as it is an honest one not only does so much for our health, but will also improve our social life; it is contagious and what we give out, we receive in return.

None of us consciously think about the types of smile that people give, but our subconscious certainly reads facial expressions more accurately than we can possibly imagine, so we know how to respond to others. It's all body language.

It has become popular with some people to try and eliminate the crow's feet from around the eyes by Botox or anti-wrinkle cream, in an attempt to 'stay young'. It is unlikely that our subconscious will be fooled by this as we read so many small signals in body language, eyes, posture, movement and spirit. Attempting to reduce these little lines around the corners of our eyes also removes part of the expression that makes us attractive, our display of happiness; by doing so we interfere with our Duchenne smile! Far better I think, to allow all our natural expression to show; exude the qualities that we like to see in others.

Aparently long-onset smiles have been shown through tests to be perceived as more attractive, more trustworthy and less dominant. Head tilting also increased attractiveness and trustworthiness but only if the head is tilted in the right direction. In this case, the right direction is the same way as eye orientation or towards a partner.

Make friends with your Duchenne smile and others will make friends with you too... :-)

What are your specialities? What is it that you are good at? Start naming a few. For me, I'm 'quite good' at communicating, teaching the Alexander Technique, printing photographs by traditional darkroom methods, I also seem to make a few people laugh; I'm told I'm quite good company although a big part of me doubts it; I cook (a bit), decorate, design and write. I also play the violin to a modest level given my 3 years experience.

OK, so there are some obvious things that can come to mind if we pause for just a moment. Now let's look at the less obvious ones. You are a good friend; you think and care for others; you give help where it's needed and not even asked for; you listen with your ears, your heart and your mind; you are good with your hands; you have several languages at your disposal to communicate, you draw people towards you without effort (when we make effort it doesn't work); you are a good teacher; generous with your time as well as in your gifts and, and, and, and....

Are you thinking that some of the qualities I mention above do not apply to you? Now, don't feel bad. I just listed the wrong ones... There are others, and others and even more others, if you care to just realise them. Indeed I'm sure you could list 100 positive qualities about yourself. If you have ten minutes you might like to write them all out.....yes, 100 of them. If you're feeling unsure, ask a friend, "My dear friend, can you please tell me what you think I'm good at, or what are my positive characteristics?" See how you feel when you've done it. If you like how you feel, maybe give a moment to tell a friend what they are so good at; it will surely bring a smile to their face.

OK, these are the things we do know about ourselves. But what about the things that we do not know about? As we may not know them, we cannot write them down. But I'm willing to bet (although not being a betting man) that there are more and more wonderful qualities and abilities you have that you do not yet know of. You can be so wonderful in certain situations, at more activities than you care to dream of, you could be so successful and so, so happy doing any one of many more things, of which you are not aware. Your potential is far greater than you can imagine. So is mine; so is every-one's. Wouldn't it be great to discover just a few more of them?

Maybe you'd like to try something new. Keep your mind and eyes open for new ideas and new opportunities. What is in your heart?

There is an old saying.... 'No matter what your level of ability, you have more potential than you can ever develop in a lifetime.' I like to remind myself of this. There is always more to do; there is always more to give and there is always more to life than we've done already... But whatever your achievements, whatever you do; contentment is what really brings happiness.

:-)

The day before I had received a phone call from a representative in Barclaycard's Fraud Department asking me about certain transactions that were clearly not ones that I had made. He went through the list and I answered "NO" to each one in turn as the list of fraudulent purchases mounted up and up including several flights and large store purchases in France. Fortunately the insurance will (or should!) cover the whole amount but this does not diminish the feeling of having been 'taken'. How dare they?!

I am intrigued by the experience and sensation of having 'suffered' quite a large theft and 'assault' on my personal finances, while at the same time feeling quite normal, relaxed, free and happy. Stuff (I believe it's called Shit in today's language) can happen yet unless it is a bash on the head, a fall or other physical 'happening' we are just the same as before. It goes to remind me that most of what we experience is how we think of it. It is all in our head.

If I check the numbers of my Lottery ticket and discover that all 6 are the same as the winning numbers for Saturday's draw, my little heart will skip a beat and I will be 'jumping for joy'. However if I check again and discover that my ticket was for last week or I misread the numbers, my heart will sink and I shall bemoan the loss of 'what might have been'. Our emotions can go up and down depending on what we think about, yet in the case of my Lottery numbers, nothing changed, just my thinking.

Getting worried and all worked up about 'stuff' does not help anyone, least of all ourselves. It virtually doesn't matter what it is that happens unless it is a physical or mental 'injury', we are just as healthy and well as before; the sun is still shining, the spring breeze is keeping the air fresh, we breakfasted well and the hills are beautiful. I think to myself, even if the insurance did not pay out (although I expect it will), I am still in fine fettle; it is just 'stuff'. There are great things out there that I can enjoy right now. Whether I think that something is 'bad' or not, is just in my head. In the total scheme of things, it really doesn't matter that much. I'll move on. life moves on. Yes, it's a really fine day today.... :-)

But "How dare they steal my money!" Ah well, "Yes, it's a fine day today..."

Postural alignment is rather a simplistic term that could even just involve strapping a pole down someones back. There may be some disciplines or treatments that could offer postural alignment where the practitioner has only a few months training, unlike the Alexander Technique that requires 3 years full-time training to become qualified as a teacher.

It is often said that we should have a nice straight back. The word 'straight' however is a misnomer as a healthy spine has 4 natural curves when viewed from the side. When viewed from the front or back, the spine may appear straight. The curves are there for a reason, to provide support, to accommodate the ribcage and pelvis, to offer flexibility in movement and shock absorption when we jump. If our spine was entirely 'straight' like a broom pole it would not provide any of these benefits. The flexible arrangement of vertebrae (bones) and cartilage (flexible and rubbery spacers between the vertebrae) is all held in place by ligaments and muscles. Depending on how our musculature in our back is behaving, this will determine whether our spine is 'pulled' out of alignment by increasing or decreasing the curves, or whether the curves are even reversed in some situations. Scoliosis is what happens if someones back muscles are tensing more or less on the right side than the left, causing a sideways twist. Unless there is injury or disease of the spine, it is the activity of the muscles and ligaments the determine whether our spine is healthily upright or misaligned (I avoid using the word straight). It is determined by how we 'hold ourselves', standing on two feet and coping with the effects of gravity. Many postural habits such as slouching, stooping or sitting in a twist or carrying heavy bags on one shoulder affect our uprightness and alignment of our spine.

Yes, the Alexander Technique does address the alignment of the spine and our whole posture, but we do so indirectly; by eliminating harmful postural tensions and habits that cause a shortening of stature and the misalignment in the first place. All tensions cause a 'shortening' of stature, but if we revive the springy 'lengthening' of stature that we should have and did as a child, our postural alignment is improved. But we are not setting out in the first place to 'straighten' the spine, but address the poor postural habits that interfere with our co-ordination, balance and poise in movement as well as when still while sitting or standing. To be healthy, we need to be expansive in stature while also free and loose. It is this springy and light quality that Alexander Techniques seeks to revive (we had it as young children before habits set in). As we eliminate harmful tensions and address our balance (evenness on both feet and upright poise), our spine naturally takes on a more appropriate and healthy curvature, free of distortion.

In the process of addressing our balance, co-ordination and poise, many other aspects of health and personal performance are often enhanced; Alexander Technique helps good breathing, voice, personal confidence, sporting activities, acting, dance and many more activities we do in life. It helps people make more of themselves in almost any occupation or situation. This is why the technique is so popular with performers in music, dance and on stage as well as with business and sports people. Postural alignment does not cover it, however, one would be correct in thinking that this technique will help postural alignment. But postural alignment is only a small part of what we are addressing, as the Alexander Technique helps the working of our entire body and mind.

Sue Holden, Chief Executive of the Woodland Trust quotes in the spring Newsletter from the novelist Jeanette Winterson. There was a woodcutter who has three sons. The first was so strong that he could chop down an oak tree in a morning. the second was so skilled that he could plank up the wood in an afternoon. the third son was so small that he just collected the acorns. "And what is the use of that?" said his father. "You never know when you might need a forest," replied the son.

The UK is one of the least wooded parts of Europe yet it has probably more ancient trees than any other European country despite ancient woodland only accounting for 2 per cent of our land. Ancient oaks, yews and beeches can be found not only in woodland but alone in fields, in hedgerows, in churchyards and even at the foot of our road.

But what the story of our woodcutter reminds me of is that not only are his three sons quite individual with their own strengths and different skills, but so are we all. We all have our own attributes, strengths and abilities, be they in caring for others, nurturing, building, creating, challenging, leading, restoring, organising, inspiring, healing, teaching, discovering, inventing, selling, buying and any other ....ing you care to think of. We are all unique individuals; no better or worse than any other, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the highest and the lowliest. Indeed each of us is both the highest and the lowliest within ourselves, no matter our financial, social or hierarchical standing that some may perceive as measurements of position and success.

An ancient oak will stand large and strong in the centre of a field for all to see. An ancient oak surrounded by new saplings also stands out from the crowd. An ancient oak within a mixed wooded forest blends amongst its companions, barely distinguishable from all the other growth around unless one looks carefully. What is young once also becomes old, given luck with health in a supportive environment. We are just as unique as the trees that eventually grow ancient. And we are also just as unique as the three woodcutter's sons with their own individual strengths and characters.

It is sometimes worth remembering that you and I are unique, with beneficial and valuable qualities, even if they are not appreciated by all around. :-)

If we consider any habit particularly to do with posture, but may also equally apply to other habits we may have; in order to change we need to prevent ourselves from acting habitually. I When I say 'prevent' I do not mean stiffen! The habit may be sticking our hands in our pocket all day or biting our nails or scratching an itchy insect bite. Without thought to 'intercept' the impulse we will unthinkingly carry on acting inpulsively or behaving habitually. The same applies to sitting in an unhealthy slouch or stiffening our necks. These are habits that we have developed over the years, probably from as young as 5 and now are so ingrained that we do not even know we do them. But these habits characterise our movements, our behaviour and our posture; they also affect our health, quality of life and performance in any activity. Changing this can sound difficult but it actually quite easy when we are shown how with lessons in the Alexander Technique.

One meaning of Alexander's Inhibition is to stop before we act or move. We can Inhibit any stimulus if we just use our minds, that is unless it involves our autonomic nervous system. If we touch a hot stove we will snatch our hand away without thinking as our survival instinct kicks in. The same applies of we lose balance and we will automatically stick our hand out to save us. However it is possible to be so free and loose in our posture that if we do fall, we need not stiffen, reducing the likelihood of breaking our bones! When our life is not threatened, we have a window of opportunity of a fraction of a second when we can inhibit our reaction. There is a brief moment between receiving the stimulus and our reaction when we can choose to either proceed or not. This is particularly helpful if it is our tendency to stiffen our neck every time we answer the phone. The phone may ring, but we need not answer so instantly and by pausing for a fraction of a second we can 'Free our neck' before we pick the phone up.

We can Inhibit tensing in habitual ways just as we may inhibit an action such as biting our nails. To leave yourself free and loose in difficult and stressful situations requires us to make the choice to be so, at the time. The wonderful thing is, that as we practice 'leaving ourselves alone' or not tensing, then this becomes a new 'habit' as the quality gets into our muscle memory. We will soon be able to answer the phone without stiffening our neck, type the computer keyboard without hunching our shoulders etc. Bear in mind, we have an instinct for good poise from birth; it is part of our genetic make-up. So although our habits may have existed for decades, they are not an intrinsic part of our system, whereas our instinct for healthy poise, is. With Alexander Technique we 'Re-learn' good poise, having had it previously at a very young age.

To relearn healthy poise requires us to Inhibit our postural habits that interfere and prevent us from having it. And in order to Inhibit a habit, we also need just a little ambition to do so. :-)

A liquid breakfast however is something else though. In recent months I have taken to having a litre of water on rising at 5.30am(!) and my breakfast much later around 9.00-10.00am. I wouldn't mention this if I did not feel remarkably healthy with it. Many people say they do not eat any breakfast until a few hours later, but nor will they drink anything other than maybe a cup of coffee.

Coffee and tea act as diuretics that dehydrate us whereas drinking water re-hydrates us. Water also gives our liver and kidneys a good clean through, reducing stress, calming us down, makes us feel looser and freer in our muscles; it also helping us relax as well as wake us up. If I am a little sluggish in the morning the water almost always makes me feel more alert, energised and ready for the day shortly after drinking it. A glass of water even before getting out of bed can help us feel more lively within 10 minutes and more eager to get up. Cold water can be rather chilly and can even make us feel cold (OK in summer but not winter or even spring) but warm water can help our insides relax and even further help the elimination of toxins. As hot water requires sipping, I drink tepid or warm water that slips down easily and radiates its warmth for hours. It is surprising how un-hungry one can feel after drinking water and how energised too.

Read more information on the health benefits of water.

A few weeks ago I had the most enjoyable day with a photographer friend from Alabama, touring around the Chiltern Hills in Oxfordshire photographing small village churches. We were fortunate with the weather; the day after torrential rain turned out to be mostly sunny with the occasional passing cloud that helped soften the lighting.

The church at Ewelme hosts the tomb of the son of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer and has the most wonderfully varied interior mostly from the mid 1400's. The sun came through the stained glass window casting a reflective glow across the worn stone slabs and hand carved wood. We were the only people there and the peace was extraordinary. This church is a living museum with so much of interest.

Leica M6, 35mm lens, Delta 100 ASA film, hand developed to retain detail in shadow and highlights. Printed by hand on Ilford IV and then the image was scanned for reproduction here.

There are a variety of styles of violin vibrato technique; there is the wrist vibrato, the arm vibrato and the rarely used and 'old style' of finger-tip impulse vibrato that I am now using. This seems to be a harder technique to learn but when performed well can bring wonderful depth and richness to the notes. Being a traditionalist and enthusiast of old techniques and despite learning as an older person with the inherent limitations that the lack of youth imposes (to become a top performer you need to start at the age of 3 or 4!), I still want to play in the classical and traditional manner. I threw away my shoulder rest two years ago for similar reasons. I may never play the virtuosic pieces by Paganini, but it is my intention that whatever I play, it should sound as beautiful as I can make it. So I work on producing a beautiful vibrato.

It is my impression that a student's vibrato can often be left to develop by itself without training. Everyone has a slightly different style and possibly needs to grow their own over time. However I believe that problems can arise if left unattended and poor habits can interfere without our awareness. So I give a lot of attention to working on technique including vibrato, separately from the music. Everyone wants to play music (I do too) and we use scales, arpeggios and exercises to develop our skill as well. However playing the violin or for that matter swinging a golf club requires a great deal of fluidity of movement, poise, balance and the minimum of interference from unwanted muscle tension. Posture is critical and so is the freedom of the wrists, the relaxed thumbs and free neck. I believe such considerations are fundamental to performing any activity to a high standard.

So I play random notes slowly, working on the freedom of my wrists, the relaxed left thumb that still needs to support my instrument (in the absence of a shoulder rest) and I work on achieving the free movement of my hand and the rolling impulse effect of my fingertips on the strings. I experiment with making less effort with the fingers on the strings so they are freer and looser and consequently more agile and dexterous. I endeavour to use as little effort as possible to achieve the same effect or better. I also use a mirror so I can see what I am doing from a different angle.

When we 'try hard' to do something better, it is very easy to increase the amount of physical effort we make in the process. This can work diametrically against what we are actually wanting to achieve as the extra effort stiffens us up and prevent us from moving fluidly. We are far more likely to succeed if we make less effort rather than more. Less effort = less muscle tension. We may even require to make an unfamiliar degree of 'less effort'. This can feel strange. We may feel unsupported, insecure in our movement as though we may even drop the instrument, golf club or whatever. However with practice the new way becomes more familiar and we learn just how much effort is required while also maintaining our fluidity of movement. Muscle memory plays its role so our technique becomes established.

Such considerations cannot be given adequate experimentation and time to develop if we are also trying to play a piece of music beautifully or compete in sport. (If you are a runner, how loosely can you run?) Taking time out to work on such basics for their own right can eventually lead to an enhanced technique that will positively aid and enhance every note we play or golf stroke we swing. It may require a little patience but the dividends can be huge and worth all the patient work and time put in.

Make less effort at almost any activity you do and you are almost certain to eventually enhance your abilities to a higher level than you could otherwise.

It's some time since I posted a photograph and thought this morning that I'd like to share this one with you. Autumn in a woodland near Hilton in the Dorset Downs at around 8.00am when I was the only person there. A wonderful atmosphere exists in quiet woodland where the energy is heightened and you are aware of life all around but nothing moving except the wind blown leaves.

Hasselblad, 50mm lens, Delta 100 film, rated at 50ASA, 4 second exposure at f16, tripod mounted.

Naturally being one day older is no different from any other day but because we now say that we are of a certain age and that's a greater number than yesterday we can feel somehow different, yet just the same. Our birthday is also our special day that we probably share with untold millions of others around the world; all these hordes of people all born within seconds of one another but as we are not aware of them we consider this Day as our day.

Today I would like to wish everyone who was born on 7th April a Happy Birthday and invite them all to join with me in sharing this day as Our Special Day. Today is our day to make it as significant as we wish, to treat ourselves, spoil ourselves, congratulate ourselves on achievements past and give good luck for achievements and happiness to come.

For happiness to come.... why do I say that? It's right now we should choose to be happy. Forget tomorrow and get on with today and make this as nice a day as possible. For me, it's not what I do that makes me happy, or what I eat, drink or anything; being happy is just a frame of mind, an attitude and way of 'being'. In my experience we can just 'be happy', and that's all there is to it. If we are constantly seeking external stimuli to make us 'happy' then the hole in our proverbial bucket will just require us to replenish it constantly. So if our kick comes from shopping and acquiring new things, then as their novelty wears off we're left feeling empty again. But we can experience such happiness right now if we choose to. If our circumstances are such that we are suffering in some way or we feel disadvantaged, put down, over worked, under loved then these are attitudes we 'choose' to feel (no-one is forcing us). However we can choose to feel different if we want to let go of the 'victim' role. Our problems and how we perceive them are not other people's fault but how we perceive them ourselves. Let go of anger and let go of fear and we can start to feel love; love for ourselves first and love for others second. I say this because if we're not feeling a great deal of love for ourselves we do not have much to offer others. But as we give love out, we receive love back, many fold over.

Today is my birthday and I'm choosing to have great day. However if I can have my way, it won't be much different from any other day. They're all going to be great days! But today is the day I have right now, and if you'll excuse me, I'll finish here and get on with a few other things. As I said, it's not what I do that makes me happy, or what I eat, drink or anything, but having said that, I think I'll just have another little chocolate! Yum. As the Buddha says, "There is no road to happiness; happiness is the way." :-)

There was a day within the last year or so when I did not have any enthusiasm for anything. It was a grey day and without troubling you with any details, all I can say is that I am very glad I do not experience many days where my attitude to life is without enthusiasm. It is the fire in you that makes you bright, happy, successful and experience an enjoyable life.

F.M. Alexander, the originator of the Alexander Technique said, "You should always have something to look forward to." I suspect that his reason for suggesting this is that when we have something to look forward to we are ebullient, filled with anticipation of something good, and our happiness makes us buoyant, light and springy in stature; in short it helps your posture. If we are depressed, feeling low, tired or stressed with the weight of the world on our shoulders, we collapse in stature, shrink into ourselves which puts pressure on our insides that is detrimental to health and well being. There are health specialists who will tell you that a happy attitude will boost your immune system and ward off illness. Such a happy disposition may even cure you of sickness.

Having something to look forward to gives us enthusiasm. If we are able to find anything about our daily activities to be enthusiastic about, then we should endeavour to bring this to the fore-front of our mind and not let worries or negative thinking obliterate it. By looking at our day, our activities be it work or otherwise, see some aspects for which you are truly grateful, even if it is just the cosiness of your office, the regular income or if do not have that, the freedom that irregular work may provide! Enthusiasm is the bubble of positive emotion that will cause you to step out with a skip, that will lift your heart to smile, put a sparkle in your eye, that conquers depression, negates stress and will do more for your posture and health than anything. With enthusiasm you can achieve untold success, move mountains, build bridges and knock away troubles.

Henry Ford (1863-1947) the American Car manufacturer said, "Enthusiasm is the irresistible urge of your will and energy to execute your ideas... It is at the bottom of all progress."

When someone decides to train as a teacher of the Alexander Technique one of the main reasons will be that they want more of a full-time involvement and to immerse themselves in a method that helps them feel better for themselves. Yes, we want to help others; to provide a service that helps others enjoy a better quality of life, but we can achieve those objectives by doing any form of personal service; we do not need to do Alexander Technique.

I remember one client (or pupil if I am to be more correct in referring to people who come for sessions) asking me, "Have you ever had this done to you? It feels great." I was surprised at first that she may think that I might have become a qualified teacher of this technique involving 3 years of full-time training without ever having experienced a lesson for myself. But I quickly appreciated what she said for her simple implication that she was 'having a good time' and enjoying the process of freeing up and growing in stature; where she experienced the process of walking, standing and sitting as being more effortless than she had previously known. I was most grateful for her feedback!

It is not widely known that in order for a teacher of the Alexander Technique to help bring about postural change in a client which involves them loosening, lengthening and widening in stature, that we must actually be 'doing' this for ourselves first! It is only by thinking in the right way so I release unnecessary tensions and lengthen in my own posture that this quality becomes suggested via my hands-on guidance. The stronger my own thought and wish for myself to to loosen and expand in stature the greater is the stimulus in my hands that communicates the desired quality to another. All the intellectual knowledge and understanding about the Alexander Technique one can get from books etc stand for nothing when it comes to giving sessions to others if it is not being applied by the teacher him or herself at the very same time. The more I apply the technique for myself, the greater benefits are experienced by my clients. This is why I like to be very busy because I do my best work when I am so active, while naturally avoiding over-doing it as exhaustion can be quite detrimental. It is a delicate balance. Trainee Alexander Teachers are told that when they are giving hands-on lessons in this technique, if they are starting to feel tired, they should have stopped 10 minutes ago!

The hands-on guidance that we give during Alexander Technique lessons is not a mechanical pushing or pulling, nor is it massage with our hands, but a sensitive and thoughtful process. It is through our awareness as teachers and clear mental thinking can we bring about changes in ourselves and in others. When the experience is repeated and when the 'pupil' learns to think correctly, the new way of standing, moving etc becomes more ingrained and permanent and they learn to maintain it for themselves.

So you can see, if I am working on a client or indeed many clients during the day by giving them Alexander Technique lessons, I am actually doing it for myself first and foremost. It is only by applying the principles myself do I have anything to offer others. So if my clients walk out after our session feeling calmer, freer, taller and as though they are lighter than air, how do you think I feel after seeing a great many clients throughout the day? By 7.00pm I may be a little tired but if I have been applying myself well to this technique, it will not be from standing all day or by physical or mental exhaustion as the technique I use helps me sustain myself throughout the day. If I've been working well, I walk out feeling better and healthier than I walked in.

Maybe now you see how I may at times feel a little guilty? I have such a good day!

:-)

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882 American essayist, poet and philosopher