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Resolve to DO LESS This Year
What if you could do less each day and yet not stop doing any of the things you love or need to do? What if you could even accomplish more while doing less? If this sounds improbable (after all, when was the last time someone asked you to do less?), it’s only one of the benefits of studying the Alexander Technique, a practical way to make our daily tasks easier, simpler and pain-free. We can learn to function more efficiently and intelligently, we can learn to move, sit, exercise, speak and even breathe with less effort. We’ve learned how to solve a math problem, read a newspaper, and find our way through the subway, but most of us never stop to consider how we use our selves as we carry out the daily functions of our lives. When studying the Alexander Technique you will learn a process of identifying, and then undoing, the harmful habits that can perpetuate pain, and decrease mobility, flexibility and function. F.M. Alexander made a discovery over 100 years ago that the relationship of the head, neck and back is critical to our whole body’s functioning. Most of us compress the weight of our heads (a heavy 12-15 pound weight!) onto our spines by overusing the powerful neck muscles. This creates extra strain and pull that impacts not only the neck and back – creating very common neck, shoulder and back pain – but also decreases our ability to use our whole body well and efficiently. It’s as if we’re moving through life with our emergency brake on, doing more work than necessary. The Alexander Technique teaches us how to unlock the brake – treating our bodies to less stress, strain and compression. By studying the Alexander Technique we can learn to balance our muscular effort so that it is appropriate to each moment. We have all seen young children move with ease, from walking and running, to squatting to get a toy or leaning over to grab a Cheerio – never compressing or straining to get done what they need to do. We each have this innate ability within ourselves, and this can be re-developed into a lifelong skill. Not by just mimicking the unconscious movements of children, but by making our movement choices conscious and informed. The Alexander Technique teaches how to do everything we love and need to do while doing less within ourselves. Join Nobel Prize winner Nikolaas Tinbergen, Aldous Huxley, Lynn Redgrave, James Earl Jones, Hillary Swank and Sting, as well as countless others and discover the Alexander Technique. There are over a hundred Alexander Technique teachers in the New York metropolitan area, offering the opportunity to discover this rich and rewarding method of self-care. In addition to private lessons, many instructors offer group classes. The American Society for the Alexander Technique (www.alexandertech.org) certifies highly-qualified teachers of the Technique. Check it out and learn to do less!
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