The advance copy of my new book 'Free Yourself from Back Pain - A guide to the Alexander Technique' arrived on my desk yesterday from the publisher's. It's not due into the shops until mid February 2011 but at last, 16 months after its inception it is finally here.

There is nothing quite like seeing your words in print to reinforce your worst concerns, that no matter what I might think of it now, it cannot be changed! I dare not read it for fear of what I may discover.... Did I write THAT?

Anyway, having stolen the courage to flick through, I feel quite pleased that it looks so well and I do hope it's of interest and help to a great many people. Do you know that 80% of the population suffer back pain in some time of their lives? The Alexander Technique has been clinically proven to provide long lasting relief from back pain and to address the root causes such as postural habits and tensions.

So here it is....one copy. And a quick look at Amazon I see that it is already available for pre order. If you're interested, click Here.

Although one cannot learn the Alexander Technique from a book as it requires us to have one-to-one lessons from a qualified teacher, I do hope this book acts as a helpful aid-memoir to anyone already having lessons or may encourage those who have not, to help themselves. There is no-one in a better position to help us, including any doctor or therapist, than ourselves. If we can learn to release our own tensions and maintain healthy upright poise, we will not suffer back pain due to postural problems. Looking after ourselves is the key to enjoying a long and healthy life....free of back pain.

It wasn't FM Alexander who developed the use of the saddle in Alexander lessons, but his protege Walter Carrington who trained with him in the mid 1930s and who subsequently trained me. Walter had apparently been working on a young girl with spina bifida and he had not felt that he had achieved as much change and improved co-ordination as he'd hoped. It was then that he had the idea that if he put the young girl onto the rocking horse in his study (which he'd had there to entertain young children as he worked on their parents), then her legs would dangle freely on either side and he could work on her legs much better. It was so successful that he thought if it could work for children, it will work for adults, so he had a trestle made high enough for an adult to sit on. Subsequently he put a proper leather riding saddle on it in place of the previous blanket. He used it regularly with adults thereafter and trained those of us fortunate to study with him for the three year full-time course, in it too.

So my saddle is in the music room at home in Beaminster, Dorset and has already been used with great effect. My pupils love it!

But I have made a start at doing some Alexander work around the weekend with a few neighbours and local people who have asked me to work with them, and I'm really thrilled by and it's just great fun. You might think, don't I want a rest from teaching if I'm so busy mid week, giving Alexander lessons and completing writing my next book, but if truth be told and there's no reason to not, I thoroughly enjoy it! Giving a lesson to someone is the same as working on myself, as it's with the thought and guidance I give to others to free up, lengthen and widen in stature, that I am doing the same too. So both of us end the lesson feeling great! What better way of spending a few hours, seeing a few 'pupils'.

There's lots of obvious differences between my two practices relating to how completely at odds Cavendish Square in London is to Beaminster. The city is so hugely busy and noisy and despite having a very nice and spacious practice room at the Harcourt Clinic right on the leafy square, it's so peaceful at home in Beaminster where I can see my own garden and terrace! Then there are the church bells and when all 13 of them go ding-dong in the morning, it's as though all Hell (and Heaven) is let loose,.....but I love it. Anyway they're not so 'in your face' that we cannot think and work.

I'm so very glad I've made the choice to bring my Alexander work to my home town of Beaminster. It's so very calm and relaxing here and we have lots of space in our music room for some Alexander Technique work. In any case, a few years from now as I get older I may well be stepping back from London to do more Alexander work here. So this life-enhancing technique can benefit myself and others right into older age. Decrepitude is not necessarily just around the corner!
If you want to contact me, please call: 01308 861759.

Having just completed another check through of the edits of my forthcoming book about avoiding back pain with the Alexander Technique, I find I'm relieved and also stimulated. There is nothing like writing to help clear the mind and develop one's understanding of something, because you can't explain something clearly and succinctly if it's unclear in your own mind. And boy, have I found myself challenged to make easy sense of some complex matters to do with poise, balance and co-ordination.

I find writing so very therapeutic and stimulating, all at the same time. Not to say it can't be frustrating when the words are elusive, the logical sequence and train of discussion escapes me, but there is nothing like reminding one's self of what one is supposed to know, than putting it down on paper....or onto screen in front of me.

A yawning blank page is enough to put anyone off and the longer one looks at it, the balder and blanker it looks, until you either run away and make a cup of tea or determinedly write any old thing just to get the brain cells and fingers working. When there's something on paper, then you've got something to develop, change or focus on. I sometimes start by saying the most outrageous things, only to use these as a catalyst to get me going and then delete the nonsense once it's all flowing. Maybe I should keep the nonsense and forget the rest as it may be a better read!

I've got to do another round of checks to this manuscript, finish the captioning of photographs then discuss a few details with the publisher before it's taken out of my hands and the next time I see it will be in printed form in the shops in February 2011.

I do hope to find lots more mistakes and typos. The more I find and correct now, arguably the fewer readers will discover when they read it....that is assuming that people want to know the source of their back problem and how to get rid of it for themselves!

However I found that as I worked on my pupil on Sunday, the chair back was high enough to slightly hinder the way I worked so it felt strange. And there I realised that it was affecting the way I 'habitually' work and maybe the chair isn't wrong at all. I just need to change 'how' I work, then it would be fine.

I remember Walter Carrington who trained me, saying to me, "Noel, there isn't an ideal chair, you know. You will sit in thousands of chairs in your life so you have to make the most of the situation." If we look after ourselves in terms of poise, balance and direction, we can sit in a great many 'unsatisfactory' chairs, but still they won't harm us and we won't suffer. It's up to us to look after ourselves. And thanks to the Alexander Technique we can do just that!

Being adaptable means not being stuck in one's way of doing things. It means being open to new opportunities, to not being stuck in habit, to adapting to the circumstances and situation that you we find ourselves. It's when we rigidly stick to 'our way of doing things' that we end up getting into trouble.

So my chair is a little high in the back, but perfect for my pupils. So, I adapt my working around the obstacle and I now find I'm teaching the Alexander Technique with hands-on guidance, in a slightly different way. I now let the chair teach me. How refreshing! :-)

However my Alexander Technique practice is in London so we return to the 'big smoke' on Sunday evenings or Monday. I do enjoy my work, helping people with their posture and co-ordination and I get to meet so many interesting folk from all over the world who want to come and see me in our West End Cavendish Square clinic. It's a busy week where I start at 7.15am and often don't leave after my last 'pupil' until early evening, when I try to find time to practice my violin.

Recently however a number of our neighbours and local people around Beaminster have asked me to work with them, so I've decided to give some Alexander lessons from our home in Dorset. And I'm so glad I have. I use our music room which has plenty of space and a nice view of our garden, so it's a refreshing change from the London practice. Now Saturday mornings are taken up with giving a few Alexander lessons to horse riders who want to improve their balance and co-ordination on horseback (I have a saddle and wooden horse which allows us to focus on this especially) as well as others with postural problems and back trouble. And I must admit I just love seeing people change and improve their condition and it's great to be doing this in our home town!

So now I have two practices! But I know full well, that as I get a little older we will gravitate to our home in Beaminster and I shall reduce the days of work in London in preference to doing Alexander Technique teaching in Dorset. This is now where we live and don't we just love it!

I'm so grateful to those neighbours and local people who have asked me to work with them. If they hadn't I wouldn't have brought my work do Dorset and missed out on the pleasure of working in this lovely quiet environment. (It's not work really....I love what I do, so it's probably better described as a vocation!) Don't I look forward to eventually being here permanently! But in the meantime, I will still continue to work in London as that's where my main practice is.....but only for the time being!
If you want to contact me in Dorset, please call 01308 861759.

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.

But all too often, with the onset of colder weather we can see our friends hunching up against the cold....and I'm sure we do too. But what does hunching actually do? If we were to shiver, our muscles go in and out of spasm very quickly, serving to stimulate blood circulation throughout the body. But hunching is a continuous tensing of muscles, fixing our shoulders in a raised position, drawn inwards and upwards. The nature of hunching actually slows down the circulation of blood as the cramping of muscles rather squeezes the arteries so the flow is less. It's rather like standing on the garden hose pipe. There will be a build up of pressure behind the blockage and less water comes out. If we hunch it's a similar thing but in our case the tension will reduce the flow of blood to our hands and if we stiffen our hips too, we'll get cold feet. Hunching does not serve us yet it's such a common thing to do in the face of bleak winter weather.

If you can, allow your shoulders to drop and think of them being free and wide. Let your shoulders find their own natural alignment without fidgeting or pulling them anywhere. Leave them alone. Let your neck be free to allow your head to teeter on top of your spine at a point between your ears, allow your shoulders to be free and wide, then you'll know you're allowing your blood to circulate as best it can and will warm you far better than hunching. If you can catch yourself out doing some hunching, just make the choice to let it all go. It's far better for us to leave ourselves free of tension than to make a whole lot in our shoulders while saying "Isn't it cold?" It's no wonder we're cold in our hands if we are adding to the problem by reducing our blood supply! Stay warm. :-)

Saturday 18th July, 1:45pm EST (New York Time) (and 6.30pm Greenwich Meantime. UK) on www.darlaontheradio.com. Tune in to The Darla Shine Show and you'll hear me chatting live with Darla Shine on Being Positive, Happiness and Posture. It a few years since I talked with Darla on the US Radio Syndicate that broadcasts from coast to coast via 140 radio stations. I'm really looking forward to the chance to do so again, particularly on such important aspects of our lives, as being happy and positive.

Go to www.darlaontheradio.com There is a link on the top right where you can livestream it using Media Player. Also, on Monday the show is uploaded so it can be heard on the computer, See you there....

A client today was saying how his golf swing left something to be desired, despite managing to play a good game. He described that during his swing, his right hip and leg did something strange that caused a slightly erratic movement. He had been told by another specialist that he had a preference towards his right side, so he was imbalanced and that his Psoas muscle on that side was over developed. I agreed with this, but also added that if a muscle is over developed on one side, then that is because it is being used more than the other side; it doesn't happen by accident. The muscles on one side are often worked more than the other, so they become more developed; it's cause and effect. If he uses muscles less, then they will reduce in strength according to the amount of use.

I watched his golf swing during our session today and could see clearly there was a tendency not to remain even on both legs and also to straighten his right leg and pull ihis hip backwards during the movement. We looked at how he should think to overcome this tendency.

He commented that he may be able to change his stance and swing, but he was concerned that the ball may go wild and fly off in wrong directions. I explained that when we change how we 'use ourselves' during something so precise as a golf swing (or playing the violin in my case, or any other instrument or sporting activity) we not only change our movement and use, but also we upset everything we have relied upon over the years, to do what we do. The new way will feel wrong and there will be a large amount of readjustment of all the parts of his body that come into use during his swing. It is most likely that the ball will go wild and his accuracy will be affected, until such time as the new way of 'use' becomes familiar and established.

When we think about one thing such as changing our stance and swing, our mind is taken away from other aspects of the swing that we have previously relied upon to get the ball in the hole. Nothing is familiar any more. However there are very great problems with trying to just 'get the ball in the hole' and not attend to the manner in which we do it, or the 'means whereby' as FM Alexander called it. By 'end gaining' we can get into all sorts of trouble. It is much better to work on the fundamentals of 'use' and let the 'end' take care of itself.

If we can give ourselves some time to work on such principles, without worrying about 'getting the ball in the hole' then we can change our manner of use so it will be more reliable. However, repetition of faulty use or a faulty swing in his case, ingrains the tendency more and makes it even more pronounced over time.

It is really worth while to practice small parts of a movement of a swing and give absolute attention to such things as keeping our neck free, remaining balanced on both feet, maintaining freedom across the shoulders and the arm pits etc and moving fluidly, without worrying about the end result. Repetition of 'good use' gets into the muscle memory and system so that we will be better off once it's established as a norm. The only way we can eradicate faulty 'use' or actions is to give absolute attention to the situation, millisecond by millisecond. It will soon become more second nature and our accuracy will return and become even better as all of the working parts become more integrated.

Yes, his accuracy may be affected by changing his swing, but with due care and attention to 'how' he is doing it, I believe he can change his swing ant it will be much better as a result. We've just got to give ourselves a bit of time to work on it.

One of my first clients this morning told me that she's going to Annecy in France for a holiday next week. How wonderful I thought, remembering the times I've been to Annecy, beside its lake of the same name near the Alps. She explained that the hotel wasn't actually in Annecy itself, but in Talloires, nearby. "You're not staying at Le Cottage, Talloires, by any chance, are you?" I asked. "Why yes, actually we are!"

Sometimes the world seems very small, very small indeed. My first visit to Talloires was in 1965 when I was a spotty adolescent. We went as a family of four; my brother and I, Mum and Dad. We swam in the lake, fished for the small local poisons, made rafts out of old timber logs and went walking in the mountains behind. In those days Le Cottage was a humble house of no grandeur or finesse, whereas now it is a very smart lakeside hotel and more expensive than we would have afforded in 1965.

We'd had the most amazing three week holiday touring France by car, taking a week to drive down to the Cote D'Azur staying at small Relais Routiers en route. We'd had a week of Mediterranean sun, sea, sand and fun. The return to the UK was gentle drive north again via the French Alps and one of the places we stopped for a couple of nights was Talloires, so we could have fun on the lake and visit the neighbouring town of Annecy with its pretty riverside houses with flower baskets and its stunning castle on the hill. Roads in those days were quiet D or N roads as it was before Autoroutes had been thought of, so pottering around by car was a great adventure.

I returned to this region of France just a few years ago when doing small tour with my partner; 5 days in the Ardeche further south where shrubs and trees are stunted and the ground is bleached ochre by the sun, then a week in Le Chartreuse, a mountainous region where the Maquis resistance fighters hid from the Germans during the second world war which now is a National Park and wonderful walking country (not to mention the delicious green Chartreuse liqueur produced at the secluded monastery....a beguiling tipple capable of blowing your head off). And finally we had a week in the lower reaches of the Alps, just above Talloires and Annecy. We drove specially to Talloires as I remembered the name of the guest house that my family had stayed at almost 40 years before and I wanted to renew the memory. And there it was; grander, larger, but still in the same location. My raft had disappeared and there are now more sun loungers and waiters around, but it's the same place. On this return, I pictured my Mum and Dad there, sitting beside the water as my brother and I played. How strange it seems to revisit a place where memories and history tell you that events have occured and lives lived, and here we are again....living the same life, but now moved on. That was then. Now is now.

And here I am today, now in my Alexander Technique teaching practice giving an Alexander Technique lesson to a client who will be at Le Cottage, Talloires, next week. Memories are fun. Planning and looking forward to future events is also fun. But really there is only one time to be in and that is 'Now'. And 'now' is fun too..... That's the place to be. The more we are 'present' the more fun and enjoyment and depth of experience we get at this moment, which in turn will provide stronger memories for some future time when we press the pause button on the 'present' to remember an occasion once more. Ah, Talloires, I remember it well....

Apparently wild garlic is not so readily available to chefs unless they have access to a vegetable garden or some in the wild. But as we went on our Sunday walk from our door across the Dorset countryside we came across such vast amounts of Wild Garlic growing at the sides of the paths, it's clear why Mat Follas chose it as the name for his restaurant. One path we took from Beaminster over the hill towards Mapperton had a half mile of its borders covered with the typical white flowers and broad slender leaves. I'm sure we smelled of garlic after the walk, without even eating any. We will soon be experimenting by chopping the leaves (not the bulb) into our own cooking. It smells slightly sweeter and more gently than normal garlic. We'll try it this weekend as we receive our first guests at our new home.

Further on the walk on the hills above Maplash the path meandered through some woods with the most wonderful bluebells. It was like an enchanted garden. There is nothing to lift the spirits more than such a quiet and beautiful spot, with sun glinting through the leaves, to reconnect with the soul and enjoy nature. I freed my neck, smiled and walked on through....

In my work as an Alexander Technique teacher I help people overcome postural habits, where muscles and co-ordination have got into a set pattern of habits that characterise our posture and govern how we move and how much effort we make in doing the simplest of tasks. But retraining our muscles and co-ordination in Alexander lessons we can get out of habits that in the worst situations can cause a great deal of pain, discomfort, anxiety and loss of ability and reduced performance in all fields of activity.

But here I am with post-project blues missing my daily interaction with Russell who has expertly steered us through to completion, and I realise that my brain 'muscle' is just as prone to get into habits as my physical muscles! Habits of thought are just as powerful as habits of posture and physical tension. So it's time to move on; to move out of the mode of house renovator and to recommence all those activities that can give me immense pleasure, but it takes a certain amount of mental switching over. For instance, my violin has barely seen the light of day for weeks, my photography has come to a complete standstill, but now I have a brand new darkroom at our house (yes, old fashioned darkroom for camera film development and printing pictures in wet chemicals!) I am almost ready to get back into it. But how rusty I feel!

The violin almost feels strange in my hands; I'm clumsy and less proficient with the minimal practice I have afforded it in recent months. Goodness knows how my darkroom skills have fared but I shall challenge those at the weekend, I hope and do some inaugural prints with my new facilities.

Also, after a rather lengthy spell away from writing blog entries, I hope to settle back into the pleasant occupation of writing some musings and drivel, mainly for my own amusement, but if you're at all interested, then please do drop by occasionally. I'm sorry for the recent lapse in writing, but I hope you don't hold this against me!

So with spring well and truly budding, the weather most pleasant and a garden at our new home flourishing, I can reflect on all this in between my clients for Alexander Technique. So as another person is about to arrive for her lesson to improve her posture, I'll must go and get on with the day in hand. See you soon. :-)

I am always happy to hear how people's lives have changed beyond the obvious 'getting rid of back ache' or 'reduction in headaches' or the 'knees that don't ache any more' or the 'better confidence and improved speaking voice in meetings'. When they discover something else that was not the reason for taking lessons in the first place, then you know it's getting into their system; it's improving their life on fundamental levels. I think of the entrepreneur lady who came for back and neck problems and found her acidity and digestion improved, and the chap who came with a bad back but who had broken his elbow 30 years previously and had been 'permanently bent ever since, now finds it is straightening.

I've been playing the violin for around 4 years and my recent endeavours have been much improved by a step back from playing music to really working on my own poise, balance, ease of movement. For the last eight months I have been absorbed in such fundamentals as freeing my neck more, paying attention to my balance, so I don't lean, going 'up' within myself so I lengthen and widen in stature as I play. I had found one or two habits creeping in that I wasn't too happy about. Hence the 'step back' to work on fundamentals. My last violin lesson was in August last year...eight months ago. I told my teacher (who is wonderfully understanding) that I was going to do this and he let me go, to go and work on it. I returned just two weeks ago for another lesson and he said that he'd never heard me play so well, that every aspect of my playing had improved. I was chuffed. Thank you!

For the last eight months I have been standing between two mirrors, angled so I can see different sides of my self as I play. This way I get to see what's really going on. This is the way that F.M. Alexander worked in the 1880's when he evolved his technique to help himself. He found he couldn't trust his feelings as the mirrors clearly showed that he was not doing what he thought he was doing. These days, Alexander Technique teachers guide their 'pupils' with their hands, so they get the new experience; the teacher acts as a mirror. But I have been using the mirrors in F.M.'s manner to help myself.......and I've learnt so much! You may think I'm mad, standing between mirrors for eight months, but it's only a fraction of the time that Alexander did for himself; his experimentation lasted many years and I am blessed with a little knowledge of how he did it whereas, he worked it all out for himself!

Mirrors never lie. You see what is.....if you have the eyes to notice. You've got to not look at the balding head, the moles on the face, the belly that's had too many dinners. You've got to be objective and see what is truly happening. Then by using Inhibition to avoid just pulling your shoulders back or sucking your guts in, to use Alexander Technique directions to change how you are. It's an indirect approach where we use a process, rather than aiming for the end result.

So, like my tennis playing pupil who has experienced changes beyond her expectations in another field, I am using the technique that I teach to others to help myself improve at my own chosen activity of playing the violin. It's helping so much..... It does take time, but by giving it plenty of time it pays huge dividends.

If we change our manner of 'use', in our poise and movement, we change how our body functions. This helps us internally with breathing, digestion, circulation, reproductive organs as well as personal confidence and sense of well being. It also helps with everything we do.

I'm very pleased that my violin teacher tells me that I've improved so much...not by practicing the music, but by practicing how I 'use' myself when playing the instrument. He simply said...."Carry on, it's great." So I shall.

Soon I will return to learning more music and I will bring to the task a better performing Noel and I'll do a better job at it, as my own 'use' is improved during the activity.

"Pull your shoulders back, man....and stand up straight!" Can't you hear a Sargent Major shouting this? And haven't we heard our parents tell us similarly when we were young (or even not so young!)...to stand up or sit up straight?

We all know that upright posture is supposed to be better for us, but sadly just pulling your shoulders back, sucking your guts and bracing yourself is just not the way.

When we pull ourselves up 'straight' like this, we use a whole lot of muscles in ways that are not intended for upright poise. We use the wrong muscles and wrong muscle fibres in our endeavour to straighten out our banana shaped posture, but after a short while we begin to collapse again into our slouch as we become tired. We're back to 'Square One'.

And looking at this gentleman on the left, he may think he's standing up 'straight', but look at him in more detail. His back is arched, so he's bent in the middle, his head is severely pulled back, there is masses of tension between his shoulder blades, in his lower back and legs and it's painful to look at.

However if we were to observe a 3-4 year old child we would see an example of upright poise that appears effortless and causes no strain or discomfort; it can be sustained all day without tiring. Now why is that?

All vertebrate mammals, including horses, dogs, lions, cheetahs, cats and the Meerkat motif at the top of this page have a natural instinct for poise. It's in their genetic make up after millions of years of evolution. Humans have a very similar instinct that gets us on our feet as a child and we learn to balance with upright stance. We also have a very free neck, relaxed shoulders. It's all instinctive and working naturally. This instinct is with us until we die.

But if we look at the chap in the photograph, he certainly is not doing what a child would do; he is using a vast amount of effort and is distorting his poise too.

As adults we have probably developed a lot of postural habits, that may stiffen us and also cause collapse at the same time. If we were able to get rid of our postural habits we could allow our natural instinct for poise to help us. This is what we do with the Alexander Technique. Someone having lessons in the Alexander Technique is never shown 'how to stand or sit', but is helped with the hands-on work from a qualified teacher, to learn how to let go of the habits we have. "If we get rid of the wrong thing, the right thing will look after itself.", said FM Alexander.

The Technique does not involve making effort to hold ourselves up. Far from it. We learn to not stiffen, to let go of tensions. But by thinking in the right way, we stimulate our bodies natural response to gravity, to take us upright to our full height. We only need to think it and our muscles will oblige. The Meerkat sitting at the top of my page is only wishing to see into the distance and his 'postural muscles' oblige him by bringing him up tall without any sense of effort.

Improving your posture should not involve making any particular effort, but to overcome our habits we do need to use our mind. We learn to think the right thoughts that encourage our body to come into better balance, tall and broad. We let our body sort itself out. We are actually doing exactly the same as what is happening in nature with vertebrate mammals; animals such as cats, horses and lions.....as well as our own children. The only difference is that they are doing it instinctively (without harmful habits that interfere with their poise) and we are doing it consciously by tapping into our instinct. We think, but we DO NOT make effort. We'll leave that to the old fashioned military school.

:-)