Remembering to use Alexander Technique while working and playing

The most profound learning of Alexander Technique does not happen during a lesson: it happens when pupils take the skills and sensitivity they are working on and apply these in ‘real life.’ Alexander Technique is designed to be used in action, whether at work or play. Yet when we are active - especially when it is an engaging or stressful activity - this is the time when students find it most difficult to remember to use the Technique.

Use it when it counts the most

The times we are under pressure, or in which we are wholeheartedly engaged in something we care deeply about, are often the times when we are most prone to misusing ourselves. Our investment in the outcomes of our activity may be overwhelming and make us feel as though we need results at any cost. There may also be times when we are engrossed in our activity and simply forget to think about the way we are using ourselves.

Listen to the sensations - choose to use

Sometimes, without any conscious effort, we notice something awkward in our movement or poise. At these times, the body’s coordinative intelligence can guide us spontaneously into graceful coordination. What we notice in these cases is an interference (such as excess tension) and our bodies may intuitively know how to deal with it. Unfortunately, we tune out from bodily sensation much of the time and instead attend exclusively to the task at hand. If this becomes habitual, we effectively desensitise ourselves.

Improving sensitivity is part of Alexander Technique training, and in the case of the student’s independent practice, it is important is to choose to attend to a sensation when it arises. Since we are so often insensitive to our coordinative needs, it is useful to have some strategies to bring attention to how you are doing your activity.

Set intentions

The first step is to decide that you really do want to include Alexander Technique directions in your work, and your vision of the kind of worker or player you want to be will help you with this. Invariably, students recognise that Alexander Technique practice is aligning them with their ideals, and that the skills Alexander Technique cultivates are consistent with what we view as artistry, mastery or craftsmanship in a given vocation.

If you find yourself losing sight of your long-term vision, then reading, reciting or writing your life intentions and daily intentions regularly may help you to create a context for your practice. In the times when you are under pressure, knowing that commitment to the Technique is aligned with your greater goals helps you to hold to your intention to use Alexander Technique in moments of need.

Internal triggers

Most of us are aware of some little things that tell us when we are about to abandon our noble plan and abuse our coordination. It may be a feeling, maybe something niggling, or a small sensation that you have come to recognise precedes more serious irritation. It might be something you habitually choose to ignore. Sometimes there is some self-talk that is a giveaway: maybe pushing to ‘do that extra bit,’ or ‘just do this and then take a break.’

In all these cases, there is something already going on which, if we identify and choose to address it, can become a stimulus to improve our ease, performance and sustainability. Right from the first lesson, Alexander Technique students learn some fundamental remedies and prevention processes to practise in these moments. (For more detail, see the article in this blog entitled “I Don’t Have Time to Use Alexander Technique Right Now.”)

Program triggers

Any activity has components we can choose to set as a trigger to renew an intention and prioritise good coordination. For a musician, a page turn, or perhaps a phrase-end, might be a good cue to refresh. For those working at computers, some actions – for example, pressing the send button on an email or opening a new file - might be an appropriate opportunity. In other professions, a moment between clients or patients, a change of location, or the picking up of a new tool are all things that one could choose as a special time to use Alexander Technique.

Every individual will have certain triggers which work in his or her particular job or situation. The practice requires some discipline, but the more we adhere to intention, the more momentum builds and the easier it becomes to remember.

Novelty

The brain is wired to be more responsive to new or changing stimuli than anything it perceives to be ‘business as usual’. While this is part of the reason we might become insensitive to our bodies, we can also use this brain function to our advantage by creating novel situations that throw us out of habit and give us pause to attend to our Alexander Technique process.

For example, if you turn your chair backwards while taking a break, you are faced with a novel situation when you return to the desk. You can then take this moment to think about how you are going to sit and renew your intention for improved coordination throughout the next session. Other novel ideas students have used include putting a watch on the non-usual wrist, brushing teeth or using a mouse with the non-dominant hand, and placing sticky notes or messages in the diary or on the fridge.

As soon as the novel situation becomes normal, it ceases to serve its purpose. It may be constructive in the short term, but would require perpetual creativity (like finding a different way to leave the chair each time) or complete reprogramming (like training yourself to use a non-dominant hand, but building attention to good coordination as an integral part of the activity).

Students who use standing desks have sometimes reported they help for a limited time: initially, the situation is so unusual that they are very aware of how they are using their whole bodies to work, but once it becomes normal to stand, symptoms similar to those associated with the sitting desk sneak back in. Those who find the standing desks sustainable often move between sitting and standing, and in doing so they create more movement in the body, as well as a variety of positions and greater short-term novelty.

External triggers

We can use technology to help us remember, too. Break programs are readily available for computers and devices, and depending on the product and user settings, they can prompt us to bring attention to ourselves with a message or a chime. Some have functions that enforce breaks by blanking out the screen at defined intervals. Away from a computer, a smartphone mindfulness app, timer or alarm can serve a similar purpose. The critical thing is to use the cue effectively. If you start to object to your programmed break, check in with your big-picture intention and see whether taking the break is more consistent with your goals than skipping it.

Although it might be a little imposing at first, most students find that if they use the break effectivity, it does not actually interfere with a flow of thought or reduce the time it takes to complete a task. More often than not, students report they are clearer of mind and more comfortable in body after renewing their intentions and that doing so results in more comfortable and efficient work. Sometimes there may be a feeling that one is working more slowly, but if the output is consistent, this is encouraging. A sense of having time is the opposite of feeling pressured, and is more conducive to comfort, sustainability, and quality output.

Aside from the contrived triggers described above, one can also use environmental triggers. If you choose to, you can make a ringing phone (yours or anyone else’s) an invitation to renew coordination. If you associate a bird call or dog bark with positive coordination, the sounds from your environment can also support your practice.

We can cultivate a positive response to things like traffic lights if we reframe them from ‘nuisance interruptions’ to ‘opportunities for practice.’ Even television or radio adverts can be turned to our service.

Regaining sensitivity

The more we interrupt the cycle of lack of awareness creating poor coordination and vice-versa, the more we cultivate sustained ease. Every time we practise, we bring ourselves closer to the ideal state of heightened sensitivity where deviation from good poise is so obvious that we think nothing of correcting it.

Dedicate time, get fresh input

The more practiced one is at generating positive coordination, the easier it is to sustain awareness. Dedicating some time to practice helps keep up the momentum. Regularly doing lying-down practice is an accessible starting point, but you don’t need to lie down to have dedicated practice: you can use the time you spend sitting while you computer boots up, or dedicate five minutes to sitting mindfully before work, with the same intention.

Fresh input can also give new insight and inspiration. Checking in with your teacher is great, but in between sessions reading, research or podcasts might be useful. It is partly for this reason that this blog has been written, hopefully it is offering some inspiration.