As I sit here at my computer typing this, I am a bit slumped, resting on my forearms, legs crossed, breath somewhat shallow. Before I rush to change position, I am finding a bit more inner space. I loosen tension in my face and jaw, and realize I want to raise my desk chair and sit closer to the edge. Phew, that’s better!
As I take myself through this process, I imagine one colleague in particular sitting in judgment of me for slumping in the first place.
That’s one scenario about how my desire for “good use” backfires.
What is “good use?”
Alexander referred to the interplay of physical, intellectual and emotional behavior and action as “Use”. He understood that we are holistic beings. We do not have distinct, separated functions.
Alexander referred to the interplay of physical, intellectual and emotional behavior and action as “Use”. He understood that we are holistic beings. We do not have distinct, separated functions.
Alexander referred to the interplay of physical, intellectual and emotional behavior and action as “Use”. He understood that we are holistic beings. We do not have distinct, separated functions.
Example: My arm doesn’t function and exist in a vacuum from any other aspect of myself. My arm moves with different quality depending on my overall state and the context of movement. When I am dancing, I have a different context for my arm movements that when I am bringing a bite of food to my mouth. In either activity, I may be unaware of inefficient action.
Alexander discovered how the poise of his head affected his overall stature, poise and behavior - his “use”. When his head was poorly balanced, he experienced a cascade of difficulties, and his most pressing symptom was chronic hoarseness. When he was able to optimize poise, starting with the quality of his thinking, to find a more advantageous balance of his head, his difficulties began improving.
He spent his teaching career applying that discovery to himself, and sharing that discovery with others.
“How do I get “good use”?: Start by allowing for “better use”
Alexander did say that if my use is better today than it was yesterday, that is improvement, and if I am to continue to use myself well, I don’t want to hold on to yesterday’s baseline, I want to allow for continued change.
The Alexander Technique does have a value system, which includes efficiency, coordination, and congruence in our selves. This can include an appreciation of accuracy, subjectivity, personal preference and values, to allow the individual to choose more effectively in the moment. The skill includes not turning those values into dogma.
Perhaps “good use” includes an attitude of awareness, curiosity, flexibility, space to change, and taking the time to explore what is so and how would I like it to be. I do want to have good use, but I don’t want to be trapped, limited or confined. How I approach my attainment of good use gives me clues as to whether I am using myself well in the endeavor.
©2019 N. Brooke Lieb