Have you ever noticed how effective it is when someone yells at you,
“Sit up straight!”
Maybe for one minute – two? – you might look like you’ve got this “posture” thing down pat.
But after that, you (and these long-ago students at Jefferson Junior High school down the street from me in Washington, DC) will start noticing how uncomfortable you feel. And you will start the slow drift back to whatever posture it was that prompted the “Sit up straight!”
It doesn’t really change anything, right? But most of us still hold on to this idea that our brains need to somehow constantly tell our bodies to conform to this idea of what’s “right” no matter how uncomfortable it is. Some of us get really good at overriding our sensations of discomfort with our big old brains and we get chronically tense.
Most of us have also developed bodily habits that get our daily activities done quickly, without consulting the body for what’s best in the long run. It’s like having a fabulous new Mercedes that you drive by burning rubber at every acceleration and slamming on the brakes at every stoplight. For a while it gets to where you’re going ASAP – until it starts to mysteriously break down.
When you aren’t valuing HOW you do things, your body – who faithfully has been doing your brain’s bidding – starts having problems.
I used to be an expert at overriding what my body needed. I was a physical therapist and knew what exercises and manual techniques to do when this was tight and that was weak, but I wasn’t considering why problems arose in the first place. I was great at going without sleep, coming to work sick – making my body do what my brain wanted. I decided I wanted to start running, but by telling my body what alignment I wanted rather than listening to what was easiest on my body, I got painful shinsplints unless I compensated with custom orthotics (arch supports). I ran several marathons and half marathons this way, on the edge of overuse injury.
What’s more, I was also an expert at not valuing the most important thing in my life – music. I would practice at the last minute or not at all, and the only thing that was important was the performance. I ended up “muscling” my way through techniques on violin, voice, and piano – with what I thought was how I had been taught by my music teachers. When I was a music teacher full time, I knew what it was like to reach the end of the day and try to work on my own music – nearly impossible. I had depleted myself so much with my daily activities that I didn’t have much time or energy for my own practicing, and so my music and how I did it got ignored.
What changed? Well, studying the Alexander Technique became the key to even starting to notice all of these habits I had, and to develop an attitude of friendly curiosity about them. I was so amazed by the changes it started to bring about in my walking and running (no more orthotics) and playing the violin and singing (greater ease, better sound with less effort) that I started the long process of becoming an Alexander Technique teacher. It’s been three years now, and I learn more deeply the more I study.
I also started to really value and prioritize music in my life, as I realized that music is the real center of how I interact with the world. I’m studying voice with Kathryn Armour, learning the Mendelssohn violin concerto after buying the sheet music 22 years ago, accompanying on piano and guitar for fun, teaching violin and piano lessons, and attending amazing workshops and conferences.
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to bring together all my loves, because there’s nothing better than sharing what I’ve learned. My first love, the love of music; with my love of science, physics, and anatomy in the profession of physical therapy; and my love of teaching as an Alexander technique soon to be teacher.
So much better than “improve your posture”, right?
Shall we get in touch and get started?
