We are all the same

I have been travelling again, this time to New York to visit friends. I had a great time there, chilling out, doing lots of things and enjoying the sunshine. I also had the opportunity to people watch while I was walking around and sitting in the parks. I did notice a number of cultural differences between the americans and the brits but it was reassuring that from an Alexander Technique point of view things were exactly the same. People were tense and stressed although the lovely sunshine reduced that! But how people were moving was just as people are elsewhere - some were moving easily, others were noticeably stiffer and less relaxed - especially at the gym where they were "doing their workouts". Whilst we can have cultural divides we are all the same and I found it enjoyable that that was true!!

Being in the moment...

So how do you normally function when you are doing things? Are you one of these people thinking about everything else but the task in hand or do you worry about all the other things that you have to get done today? Or are you staying in the moment when you carry out your to do list?

Whilst I understand that a lot of people are thinking about the all the things they need to do, are you paying enough attention to the thing you are doing now? So, since you are reading this paragraph, is your full attention on reading it? Or do you have the phone in your hand, talking to a friend/colleague, eating some toast or a piece of fruit and putting some more paper in the printer? All this multi-tasking which is supposed to mean we can achieve more isn't really a very calm place to be and it doesn't really enable you to do your best when you are doing the task. And can result in all the individual tasks taking longer and being done to a worse standard.

In a lesson today the student in her activity of "picking up an object off the floor" tried out how it would go if she stayed in the moment during the activity she was doing. Her normal experience was that when she did something that she would be thinking about the next million and one things that she had to be doing and would try to get the task she was doing over as quickly as possible. But she would end up feeling more tense and sometimes having aches and pains that she didn't want. When she tried out the idea of "being in the moment" during the activity the activity was better, all because she allowed herself to give attention to the thing that was most important to her at that point in time.

Being in the moment gives us the opportunity to focus on the task at hand and do that task to the best of our ability at the time. This significantly improves our performance of any task that we do. It also stops us trying to pull ourselves in many different directions at once. This in turn reduces the stress and tension that we experience because we are working towards our goal in harmony. Sounds like a good way to do things to me!! Why don't you try it today?

Do you want to be given a fish or do you want to learn how to fish?

When new students come for their first Alexander Technique lesson it is always a challenge for the teacher and the student. It is an exchange of ideas between the teacher and the student. Both learning about the other and seeing if there is something that they can bring to each other. This leads to new experiences for both and one which brings excitement too.

The student comes with a desire, a reason to be there. They want to feel better, to be better, to get rid of that nagging old problem or that stress they are struggling under. When the student comes in, they see me, the teacher, and they hope that I can help them.

So I am left with a dilemma. What do I do, do I solve their problem for them so he/she can wander off happy that their problem has been solved for them or do I teach them how to solve their problem for themself? It is the same as the saying do you give a man a fish or do you teach him how to fish? Do you go for the quick fix and dependency or the longer solution and empowerment?

I know my preference and I know how I teach. I believe in people achieving their dreams and enjoying their lives. You can't do this if you are having to come back to get your fish everyday. This means I want my students to learn how to solve their own problems and this also means that the route for my Alexander Technique teaching will always be empowerment based. Learning how to solve your own problems successfully is hugely rewarding since not only do you get your problem solved, you can do it again if you need to and you can do the same thing with all your other problems and challenges. Choose "learning to fish" - Choose Empowerment.

Have Fun,

Barbara
P.S. The question from last time is...What am I doing that is causing my problem?