7/5/00
In Alexander lessons, we talk about allowing the spine to lengthen, but not doing anything muscular to make it happen. That is why we say allow it.
Walter Carrington writes:
"Alexander was seeking to bring about what he described in The Use of the Self as lengthening in stature. And lengthening in stature means lengthening the whole of the body, from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head.
...So lengthening in stature means the whole lot. When Alexander said he wanted to lengthen in stature, that was just a concept he had. Having decided that that's what he'd like to have happen, he then had to find a way of actually making it happen.
...When thinking about lengthening in stature, it is important to remember that the postural mechanism is as much a part of the reflex apparatus as the heartbeat or the circulation or anything else.....if the mechanism is freed from interference, then of course just as the heart will beat freely, as the breathing or breath will flow unimpeded, as the digestion will work correctly, so the postural mechanism will work correctly, and the body will be poised and free and, of course, lengthening in stature.
...The basic thing is up, and up is built in."
