Most people put too much effort into everything they do. Here’s a good example from Kristijan around tension in his hands when touching and holding things: Something clicked about inhibition and non-doing (in Alexander Technique), and the strongest effect has been a relaxation of my hands. Like I was| Expanding Awareness
I want to open with a quote from Frank Pierce Jones regarding John Dewey, who was an early proponent of Alexander Technique: (John) Dewey considered that the Alexander Technique provided a demonstration of the unity of body and mind. With progress as a pupil, he reported an improvement in his| Expanding Awareness
Just like computer programs, it seems humans have functions. When functions run, the world can get less vivid while reducing your agency.| expandingawareness.substack.com
Consent lies at the heart of Alexander Technique. I mean two things by this. One person giving permission to participate in some activity. This kind of consent is vital not just when teaching Alexander Technique, but in all domains of life. The experience of giving consent to respond to stimuli.| Expanding Awareness
As a little experiment, I'd like you to 'scrunch' yourself. Consciously tighten a bunch of muscles in your face, neck, shoulders, back, wherever, and hold for a couple of moments. Get a sense of what you're doing to add all this tension to your body and then in a single| Expanding Awareness
I'm fascinated by the felt experience of rushing, because It seems that rushing can be a sneaky two for the price of one type of deal; we may mean one thing by it, but we usually get something extra as well, something that's easy to miss. We usually use rush| Expanding Awareness
I want to unpick a challenge that was presented to me: why do I say non-doing, which can confuse people, instead of something more clear like non-forcing? Non-doing or non-forcing? Indeed, Alan Watts himself preferred the term forcing in translating the ‘wei’ in ‘wu-wei’: “Wu-wei is the principle of not| Expanding Awareness
What does it mean to be truly natural, to have that quality of spontaneity we had as children? Most of us have lost access to that state and would like to have it once again, but there is no turning back now. We can only go forwards and find it| Expanding Awareness