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Friday, April 24, 2009
End Points, 5 Fundamental Movements and Alexander Technique
We began this class with an exploration of our end points: the top of our heads, our pelvic floor, fingertips and toes. Using the idea of the starfish, we focused on the idea that we developed neurologically around these endpoints.
Next, we explored the five fundamental movements: yielding, pushing, reaching, grasping and pulling. We felt these five fundamental movements physiologically as well as emotionally in a variety of ways. We yielded the weight of our arms into the arms of partners. We pushed away what we did not want and reached and pulled what we did want to bring into our world. On Thursday, we explored the Alexander Technique. What exercise will you remember most clearly from this class? Which learning would you most like to integrate? How do you think you might achieve this goal?
Of the five fundamental actions I found the exploration of yielding to be the most powerful; “yielding underlies our basic relationship to the world,” (Aposhyan, 65). This action is the foundation for all other actions to follow. How successful can other actions manifest if this one is not experienced fully or if it is out of balance? Each of these actions collectively makes up our existence, affect our behaviors, interactions and define how we engage with the world. What results if the actions are imbalanced? My guess would be imbalanced emotions, desires, needs and physical ailments. Through this study I recognize that I need to practice yielding into others more intentionally; I consider myself an open person, a lover in many respects, though I find that I do not ask for support as often as I could, nor do I easily let others do things for me. I believe that this stems from me valuing my autonomy and independent nature. Aposhayn writes on page 65, “Our ability to yield is the basis for our ability to take effective action in the world. As a collaborator in many aspects of my personal and professional life, understanding that yielding translates into letting go, this practice is essential to working/being effectively with others. I have begun to observe other people in my life who effortlessly yield into others and appreciate their ease. In noticing myself at times in which I feel comfortable yielding and times when I hold back, as means to find out what triggers the “letting go,” vs. the holding back, I can become more attuned to my behaviors and evolve my actions. I so appreciate how the explorations in this course can apply to different aspects of my life, they encourage intra-personal growth and development which in turn affects interpersonal relations.
Finally I felt so joyful during the two free-dances during class on Tuesday. Focusing on movements sequencing through my endpoints was liberating I felt like I was truly a fluid being.
The Alexander Technique… “It teaches you how to bring more practical intelligence into what you are already doing; how to eliminate stereotyped responses; how to deal with habit and change. It leaves you free to choose your own goal but gives you better use of yourself while you work at it” (Jones, 2). The simplicity of this methodology moves me. Last quarter the introduction of this technique shifted my relationship to the “chronic” pain I experience in my neck and shoulders. The life that I lead calls me to carry stuff around all day and into the evening…that weight invites tension into that area of my spinal cord…I have found that the simplicity of telling my head to move forward and up, to bring breadth into my chest invites necessary opening and space into an area of my body where it seemed as though no space was possible! “The Alexander Technique opens a window onto the little-known area between stimulus and response and gives you the self-knowledge you need in order to change the pattern of your response – or, if you choose, not to make it at all” (Jones, 4). Even with self-knowledge of one’s patterns, it is quite something to see yourself in somebody embodying your patterns. Watching my pattern walk as me brought up so much emotion and nervous anxiety; I am still sitting with what that means… Finally in assisting my partner by gently holding her head and moving it over and around the top of the spinal cord while she exercised negative heavy thoughts for me sense, it was incredible the tension I sensed in her surges of “thinking.” This really drove home again the connection between our thoughts and physical well-being. I can only imagine how being in a constant state of stress or thinking negative thoughts could affect one’s brain health and overall sense of self. May we find healing in the simplicity of this technique and free ourselves from unhealthy patterns of the mind and body.
Alexander technique. What I find most intriguing about this way of moving and living is that it never goes away. Completely existent at all times, I can never be free of thinking about how I move - a simultaneous blessing and annoyance! When I read the chapter from Body Awareness, I was most drawn to the explanation of the technique. It is described as “a method…for expanding consciousness to take in inhibition as well as excitation (“not doing” as well as “doing”)…” The notion of doing while simultaneously doing is a concept I have been working on for some time now, in relation to my performance on stage, technique classes, daily life movements, and even in my relationships to those around me.
Knowing that while I merely sit I can be engaging too many muscles and therefore might be straining certain areas excessively completely opened my eyes to my bodily patterns and habits. I am so much more aware of how my neck and back feel, am I straining forward to look at something, or letting the image of my head floating upward and forwards relieve the overworking muscles?
While learning phrases in technique classes, I am finding that when I concentrate on moving from the distal parts of my body, I am experiencing the movement in a new way. The idea of your center core being a foundation has been drilled into my brain, creating a never-ending awareness of my pelvic alignment. It seems that while putting too much focus on this specific core area I have forgotten about those distal areas of my body. Now with the concentration being placed upon my endpoints, I find that because I have the muscle memory to hold my core, I can merely check in with that area and then turn more attention to this new experience. I am finding that some movements become simpler, and others more clear. I am working to allow this awareness of distal edges into my presence while I dance, so that I can come further out of myself and strengthen the connection between audience and dancer.
The sensation of yielding was the most enjoyable for me. I tried yielding with myself and thinking internally about a pain in my knee to yield with. It was easier for me to understand yielding in once we yielded with other objects and people in the room. Pushing and pulling with another person allowed me to feel a sense of yielding with the other person as well as with myself. After experiencing yielding kinesthetically, I felt like I had a greater sense with my environment and thought differently about every object or person I passed in the room. Besides experimenting with the five fundamental movements with other people, I also enjoyed experimenting with objects. I used the floor as an object to push against. I felt my body become denser and stronger as what it said would happen in the readings. In lengthening the muscles, we worked with reaching. Not just reaching in open space, but also reaching for what you want. I then tried reaching into the floor, and I noticed this difference in muscle actions with lightness in my hands. I enjoyed following what the readings said to experiment with in class on an object, and I used the floor to experiment with these five fundamental movements as a full bodied experience. In studying the Alexander technique in class, I noticed that the correct posture is up and forward, when I always thought it was just up. I enjoyed learning about how you tell yourself what different body parts should be doing to help adjust them. I also notice how reaching with the distal ends has helped in ballet class already! After my ballet teacher telling me to think about my arms moving like a mosaic multiple times, I just had to hear another method of how to make my arms look more fluid in movements. I have already begun to integrate this idea of arm movements into class and they have been successful. But to further improve I must keep telling myself to lead with my distal end and have rays of energy coming from my hands to create more fluid arms. The most memorable exercise from class would have to be the seat exercise where we told each other different thoughts to process and it changed the way we got up out of the chair. I was surprised how different each response from my partner was. I also hope to integrate the Alexander technique walking posture to my everyday life.
From this week, the exercise that I will remember most was one of the last ones that we did where we had a partner and had to feel different emotions as they pulled us out of the chair. It was very interesting to me because I realized how powerful one’s thought is in how they feel. For example, last week I did not get much sleep most of the days, but did not let that impact how I was feeling throughout my day. When I was instructed to feel lethargic and tired, however, I let all those feelings take hold of me and believed that I was truly tired. In addition, when instructed to think about being excited when getting out of the chair, I really believed that I was excited to stand and let my body believe what my mind was telling it.
The other exercise that was very memorable to me was experimenting with the connection between the movement in our hands and feet and how open our necks and spines were positioned. I had never thought that these two body parts had a strong connection with each other, but in experimenting with the movement of my wrist, for example, when my spine was shortened clearly showed the effects. As Frank Pierce Jones notes in the Sensory Evidence chapter in Body Awareness, “the neck was merely the distribution point at which the increase in tension began and from which it spread like a net to other parts of the body” (page 10). Jones also continues to talk about the freedom one can feel when such observations are taken into consideration because “the immediate result of Alexandrian inhibition is a sense of freedom, as if a heavy garment that had been hampering all of your movements has been removed” (page 11). Even though our exploration with Alexander technique was brief, I have already thought a lot about the theories presented in class and have adapted the idea of elongating my body into my daily life.
The exercise that I will most remember from the Alexander Technique class is the partnering with the head and neck and at the end, when we used our emotions to get out of the chair. The head and neck exercise was interesting- I didn’t know how much tension I had and how hard it was to release it, into the natural way. We become so accustomed to our habits that we forget how to let our body be in its natural state. As stated in the article on Alexander Technique, “Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it,” (4). I didn’t know how tension filled my back and neck were, which then led to my head not being as expanded and free to move. One of the goals of Alexander technique is to provide “the knowledge and freedom to change, but it is change within a developmental model. There is no “must.” Changes take place when you are ready for them and can permit them to happen” (14). This technique allows you to progress at your own pace. I am definitely trying to notice my endpoints more and trying to release my neck from the tension, so my head and spine can be more lengthened and expanded. I also liked the last technique, because it showed how much our thoughts and mind play a role in how we react to situations. When we embody certain emotions, even as simple as a act of getting out of chair can go from easy to hard. It was interesting to see how the different thoughts played a role in how easy it was to lift your partner or be lifted. I also enjoyed the moments of free dancing at the beginning of the week. It was interesting to explore the five fundamental actions. In the book Natural Intelligence, “As adults, the extent to which we are able to push reflects our internal sense of support, individuation, confidence and ability to propel ourselves” (69). It was interesting to read this as I never thought the act of pushing or for that matter any of the other actions had so much meaning behind them. To me they were just actions but they build our other actions and how we react to the world. It was definitely interesting to explore these 5 actions.
This week was a really interesting week! What stood out to me the most was our experience in Alexander Technique. I thought that this was really interesting because we are unaware of our tendencies as we live our lives everyday. I really liked our experiment of watching our partner walk and trying to copy their exact walk. This was really cool. I did not know that I actually had walking issues that may put my body in more stress then it should be in. I was unaware that I tense my shoulder when I walked and that I also walked homo-lateral instead of contralatteral. Learning about Alexander Technique made me aware that I did have habits that puts my body in more stress than it should be. I need to focus my energy on these habits in order to rid myself of the extra stress in my muscles. "Alexander Technique teaches you how to bring more practical intelligence into what you are already doing; how to eliminate stereotypical responses, how to deal with habit and change. It leaves you free to choose your own goals but gives you a better use of yourself while you work toward it." (Jones pg 2). I really enjoyed Alexander Technique because I feel like it can impact my body everyday.
After learning that I had odd tendancies, Alexander Technique really opened up my eyes about my habits and the little things I do to my body. I found it really hard to then try to copy my partner without adding my own habits in since Im not even aware of what my habits are. Being unaware sucks:(
On a last note, I also really enjoyed playing around with our endpoints. Focusing on lifting our hands through our fingers was really interesting. The amount of effort and the feel of power was light and free and I never really realized how movement can be so much different with different awarenesses. Also, I enjoyed ranting to our partners while staying distant yet present. It was good to rant. It's been a stressful week:( But also, it was difficult for me to stay aware yet not really getting sucked into the negativity. I found myself going in and out of presence while listening to my partner.
As I sit here typing my blog for the week, the phrase “think of my Alexander” pops into my head and I strive to sit straighter, elongating my neck and reaching from the top of my head. After the day of Alexander introduction, my neck felt tingly, like it had been rubbed with a peppermint balm. In contrast, after Tuesday's class with the endpoints, and somewhat during the class, I felt extremely lightheaded. I thought these were both interesting possible effects of attempting to unblock pathways through my body and out of my endpoints. On Tuesday's class I was keenly aware of the both effort and effortlessness of movement initiated from the endpoints. From Natural Intelligence I glean the perspective that “Overall movement initiated at the endpoints is more sensitive to the environment and fully coordinated within the body” (64). When we were dancing on our own I felt that my movements resonated more with my body and lead to natural movement. I also felt that this connection made it easier to connect with a partner while dancing and playing with the yielding, pushing and pulling. At the same time, however, it took a lot of effort to overcome habitual movement and especially to feel the initiation of movement through the top of the head. I also found that moving in this way made me extremely light headed and “nauseous” feeling. Maybe nauseous wouldn't be the right word, it was more a feeling of a hollow stomach. I'm not sure if this was an effect of pushing against the ground as I danced while initiating the movement with my end points or if it was a product of the extremely intense increase in circulation that seemed to be occurring. My hands and feet seemed to be pulsing with blood, to the point that it was uncomfortable, usually my circulation is rather poor. It seems that in my habitual movements I tend to cut off the pathways of circulation. When we worked with yielding with a partner, while my hands were resting on my partners, I was struck with a memory of being bundled in the stroller as a baby. This is one of my earliest memories and the exercise with the partner connected that memory with the feeling of yielding that I was experiencing. I enjoyed flashing back to a point in my memory when the aspect of yielding was probably my most dominant of the fundamental actions. When we went through the room pulling others toward us I really liked the conceptualization of “you reach for what you want, you grasp it, and you pull it in to you because now you have it.” For me, it was an excellent illustration of the connections that these fundamental movements have with ones relationship to the world between the mind's process and the body's correlated process. Breaking down these movements and connecting them with the basic desires they fulfilled re-enlivened these primary processes with more purpose and gratification. With the Alexander technique I had another experience of unblocking body pathways. I had always envisioned the hinge between the head and the neck at the node at the back “connecting” the two. Envisioning my spin extending through my head changed my visualization of the connection in a way the really helped me to relax my neck to facilitate elongation. The most memorable part of the lesson, for me, was when my partner and I connected heads while on all fours and pushed against one another. The sensation of where the top of my head was and the idea of having an elongated spine stuck with me for the rest of the class. When we attempted the arm raise, toward the end of class, in the circle the feel of the elongated spine and neck and the concept of engaging from my end points hollowed my arm. However, this sensation of an almost disembodied arm, insomuch as I felt no force of struggle in trying to lift it, only remained as long as my goal was to not actually raise my arm. From the reading on the Alexander technique the author provided the insight that “It was the indirect effect of a psychophysical process and could only be obtained by not trying for it” (10). Once I thought ahead to moving my arm up, my neck automatically tensed in response. “The neck was merely the distribution point at which the increase in tension began and from which it spread like a net to other parts of the body” (10). The focus of the exercise on only the arm and the neck made me physically experience the tenseness that emanates from my neck. When we shifted to the exercise with a partner “pulling” us from the chair, the focus and immediacy of the exercise allowed my to feel more of an effect of what an application of the Alexander technique could have on my whole body. Because I was focused only on my one motivation, I was not thinking about the movement that would arise from it. So in the instances when where my psychology was in a positive gear toward getting up, I flew right out of my seat. Overall, I would like to work on incorporating more movement through my endpoints and keeping the Alexander technique in mind. Already, throughout the rest of the week I would try to incorporate a more elongated neck and a shifting of my head and have found it very reliving in some of my repeated stances and postures while I study and walk. I hope to look get a chance to experience more Alexander technique in the future.
I was initially going to just watch Thursdays class as I was not feeling very good, but I am glad I ended up participating anyway. There were two exercise that struck me in particular, the first being the walking with our partners. It was interesting to see my walk mimicked by someone else and strangely see that my shoulders, which had been feeling stiff, actually looked stiff. Imitating her work was its own challenge as I knew (like Louis said!) I would not be starting off from a clean slate. I think one thing that made it interesting is that our bodies were not radically different, so her walk didn’t feel unnatural as much as just unfamiliar. In other words this could have been my walk, if I had different habits, in this case my feet slightly further apart and less movement of the hips. This feeling went well with the retraining the body idea that is part of the Alexander technique, also it made me aware that to change we have to consciously tell ourselves to do a movement rather than just relying on our body to send us a message that something feels right. The second exercise was the rocking with heads touching, this for me was very important I rarely move from the top of my head, when correcting my own posture I tend to use the rolling balls method, but seem to frequently omit the head for some unknown reason. So the sensation of my partners head and the pushing forward were good to remind me of my head and neck.
The other part of last week was the “Pathways of Life and Pathways of Movement”, dealing with both the pathways of the endpoints as well as the five fundamental actions. Of these following the exercise on page 64 (Natural Intelligence, Aposhyan) about yielding was the most challenging. I think partially this is because unlike the other four actions it was the least obvious and I wasn’t sure if my attempts were actually successful. Which just go to show I need to make it to class even when sick, so I have a better idea what is going on.
& a quick additional comment as I was reading others entries and noticed what ChuberinA said about sitting straighter, I have myself found myself more aware of the need to sit up straight!
The reading on the 5 fundamental actions got me thinking and imagining more and more. What a great movement study or theme for a dance! I had never thought of the movements that we do from the point of view of a hierarchy like she lays it out. The simple breakdown makes a great deal of sense though and can really help me in understanding and giving meaning in more of my own movements and expression in general. I do also believe that one cannot separate the mind and the body, as the Alexander work talks about, and therefore that our movements come from within and they are have meaning. For our own protection and comfort I think that we often disregard this and pull back to a state of insensitivity that can very easily become toxic and deadly to ourselves and those around us. The Alexander technique work that we did in class was very revealing how connected we are to our thoughts. By just thinking that I didn’t want to leave the chair that I was sitting in it was much more difficult for my partner to lift me up and I could feel more tension in his pull. I could also feel the different in my bodily reaction to the movements when I was moved with each coinciding thought. The reading on Alexander technique was enlightening especially in its explanation of how the technique allows the participant there own recognition and changes to patterns or habits in contradiction to a forced change such as realignment or even massage and such. If find this mode of change particularly interesting because of its relationship to communication between humans. It is so common in our times today to see people wanting and expecting a quick fix or some “expert” to be able to diagnose them with some “disease” and then prescribe some kind of “cure.” Most of the time I find this thinking to be outrageous, irresponsible and cowardly. Of course, it’s easier than doing one’s own work to figure out an ailment, but then again it’s our own bodies and our own lives. It relates to Alexander technique in that it provides a “means whereby” someone can change themselves if they so desire. This is FABULOUS! I love this work and I can’t wait to see what comes of it and how it continues to open my mind and my body and their connection and their connection to the world around me.
The exercise that I most clearly remember is the one when person A closed their eyes while person B put two fingers on their forehead and two at the base of the head. Person A was supposed to release their head and allow person B to manipulate it. After a moment person A was told to clench a fist or a foot (I think) and then to relax and then to think of a really hard dance move and then to relax. Person B was to notice the difference in tension in the neck. I thought that the results were interesting. When person A was told to clench a fist, the mobility of the head was just slowed down. When person A was told to think of a really hard dance move, the movement of the head became slower and more choppy. There was definitely a difference in the motion of the head between the two actions of the body.
I find Alexander Technique fascinating, even more so since I read the assignment from Thursday. This simple, yet extremely difficult, technique can applied to almost all areas of one's life. For example, in the reading by Frank Pierce Jones, in chapter 2 on pages 13 an 14 he speaks of mind wandering. He says that "Mind wandering was a problem that in my case was beginning to get out of hand. When I was following a line of reason, listening to a lecture, or trying to reach a decision, I was continually being diverted by some association of ideas and floating off on a stream of thought without direction or control, often ending up in an emotional reaction that was unwanted and unproductive." Sometimes these reactions would end up in anger. Jones decided to try a new approach. He goes on to say "This time instead of trying to control my anger I turned my attention to my neck and shoulders. I found that I could inhibit a further increase of tension and allow the muscles to lengthen; and that as long as I did this I could carry on a rational conversation in spite of my inward agitation." Alexander would term this "keeping in touch with your reason". When I read this I was amazed! What if everyone could redirect their anger and emotions like this!! I think that this is a great goal for me to work toward. I would love to apply this technique to my whole life in general. I really like the idea of controlling your emotions with Alexander Technique though. I believe that the only way to accomplish this is to be consistent and remind yourself of the commands constantly. I really enjoyed the class on Alexander Technique. Here is one more quote that just stood out to me: "Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it. Having an unconscious response pattern pointed out to you by someone else is not the same thing as perceiving it for yourself while it is happening."
"The energy of life is flowing through us all the time.” – This statement from Susan Aposhyan’s book “Natural Intelligence” spoke most clearly to my understanding of endpoints in class. I particularly liked the way it related to our exercise in which we tried to raise our arm using only our endpoints. Though I may not have been as successful as I may have liked, I could feel such a distinction in the relaxed lightness of leading movement with that endpoint. For me, endpoints are a critical aspect of my dancing life. I wish to improve the connection that reaching and endpoints have to every movement that I may have, even if it is as simple as a plie.
Continuing this idea, I found a quote from Aposhyan particularly meaningful when she says that, “We are constantly giving and receiving through our endpoints – giving and receiving objects, information, love, energy, anger…” This idea of reaching and being conscious of our endpoints should affect our dancing as well as our relationship to the world. If our endpoints are not open and subsequently stop the flow of energy in our bodies, we are limiting our dancing fully in space and we are inhibiting our abilities as humans to love, give and receive in day to day life.
One of my favorite aspects of the 5 ways to move was yielding. I love the feeling of release and transfer of trust to the ground or another person. Aposhyan asserts that “healing our relationship to yielding brings up a great deal of fear,” and I would agree that it is scary to trust and let go of yourself sometimes.
In the Thursday class on Alexander technique, I was struck right away by the similarities it shares with my piano technique. Both strive to release unnecessary tension and allow the body to “lengthen and become lighter” as Frank Pierce Jones explains in “Body Awareness in Action” in regard to a demonstrator’s reaction the subject’s change in body.
The specific places that I found tension and a need to bring focus in my body were the top of my head and back of my neck in relation to not sticking my chin up and out, which is a body habit of mine. And, it is these habits which I was able to relate to our reading Jones’ article when he explains that he entered back into his habits once he was instructed to stand up from a chair – I found my body reverting to old habits and it’s almost astonishing that you cease to notice those things which have become so second nature. I am still finding myself relaxing my chin down and trying find that natural place for my body to go to even as I type – it feels like a constant struggle with my body’s habits. And, Morgan and Monique were totally right – my neck was sore later that night in places it never gets sore after those small adjustments I made in class!
I would say that my biggest revelation from the reading had to do with something which we did not discuss much in class. Jones asserts that “you find that you like other people more when you become more relaxed about yourself” and he also cites an example of being purposefully angered by Alexander to illuminate where his tension was held in anger and how it positively affected his actual mood to release those areas. I think that this is a remarkable gift and I will be thinking about it and will continue to work on it (especially when I get tense in traffic or things like that ☺ ). It’s truly amazing that how we treat our body and hold ourselves affects so much of our behavior and others around us. I’m glad that my awareness is gently being brought to these things and I hope that I can even more positively try to affect people around me because of it.
The hand yielding exercise showed me that even the simple act of yielding my hands has to be consciously directed. This just highlights how ‘unyielding’ I can be. I am always trying to do something, instead of just being in contact (Aposhyan 65). While exploring the Alexander Technique, I somehow get the feeling that we are yielding our neck onto our body, instead of tensing it up as a separate entity by itself. I would like to integrate more of this yielding, relaxing ideology in order to feel lighter and more natural. Already, I am becoming increasingly aware of the tension in various parts of my body and am making an effort to release them.
The exercise that allows us to discover where our skull sits on our spine was particularly memorable as well. I find myself turning and twisting my head to play around and feel this point throughout the week. Having the correct notion of how the body works aids greatly in realigning it to its natural position.
Louis, I was really glad when you mentioned focusing on the process instead of the sensation. I really needed to hear that, because after class on Tuesday I felt rather euphoric. I wanted to linger in all moments, hold on to those feelings. I wanted to shine through my endpoints; I tried to utilize all of my toes on my way to my next class. I couldn’t help but smile reminiscing on the exercises we did regarding energy, turning and on off, releasing the flow, directing it, and then stopping the flow, and feeling the sensations in our own bodies. I really enjoyed the sensations I felt during our movements, with yielding, pushing and reaching and shining through our endpoints (Aposhyan, pg.64-70). I think these sensations are very intense because this is a side of my awareness I have never explored directly and purposefully before. I can see how much this idea of mind-body dualism has been structured into my life and has really isolated my experiences in ways (Aposhyan, pg.3-8). My goal is to take steps to restructure my previous ways of thinking and moving. One exercise that really stuck with me was the one using the Alexander technique to lead with our fingertips to lift our arm. I remember the example out of our reading and not understanding how one could get out of a chair and all of a sudden be standing (Jones, F.P., pg. 7). I got a glimpse of that situation when lifting our arm via fingertips; my fingertips truly did lead my arm. It was when I lowered my arm, that I engaged my arm muscles again. My fingertips lost the lead at that point. I want to use this rewiring of how I approach movement in the future, I feel like I would just need to keep practicing and applying that way of thinking to movement. I can see that I must set up a process in order for me to experience a somewhat deeper sense of self. I must arrive to this place before I can have that type of experience. Additionally, I really want to integrate energy flow and mental images into my dancing. I tried this on Wednesday last week during a combination in ballet class. I kept thinking of myself as a flower spinning through the air during “pk” turns, I really felt like it made my movement more free and gentle. Taking my mind to a higher place made my movement flow along with my thoughts instead of thinking in a more mechanical way and breaking a turn down into sections. It was much easier to turn; it almost took the difficulty out of the movement. Much more flow was alive in my dancing, and much less mechanics. In order to reach this higher state of awareness, of consciousness, of openness, I need to give myself more time to be alone with my thoughts before movement and maintain this during movements.
During our exploration of the five fundamental movements: yielding, pushing, reaching, grasping and pulling… I finally came to realize how essential these movements are to our body. It creates stability, force, resistance, and life but yet, it is so simple. The different exercises that we underwent during Tuesday’s class were original, basic, and it clearly illustrated the essential understanding of these five fundamental movements. The exercise in which we “complained” to our partner and our partner slowly disengages from the dialogue. This will become much easier through practice and time.
As quoted in Alexander Technique, “Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it” (4). This quote is evidently practiced during Thursday’s class. As we put perception and conscious into our actions, we achieve it in different light. During our partner exercises where we explored head and spine connections and exercised consciousness into our actions and gained a more effective use of the body and mind simultaneously working. I think I would integrate something like this into my everyday life, especially during dance classes (ballet). If I can imagine the skeletal body of my movements, I could better move them to where I want it to be and to do so efficiently.
The simple act of awareness to our body can go a very long way...
We began this class with an exploration of our end points: the top of our heads, our pelvic floor, fingertips and toes. Using the idea of the starfish, we focused on the idea that we developed neurologically around these endpoints.
Next, we explored the five fundamental movements: yielding, pushing, reaching, grasping and pulling. We felt these five fundamental movements physiologically as well as emotionally in a variety of ways. We yielded the weight of our arms into the arms of partners. We pushed away what we did not want and reached and pulled what we did want to bring into our world.
On Thursday, we explored the Alexander Technique. What exercise will you remember most clearly from this class? Which learning would you most like to integrate? How do you think you might achieve this goal?
F. M. Alexander
Remember to include citations from your readings.
Of the five fundamental actions I found the exploration of yielding to be the most powerful; “yielding underlies our basic relationship to the world,” (Aposhyan, 65). This action is the foundation for all other actions to follow. How successful can other actions manifest if this one is not experienced fully or if it is out of balance? Each of these actions collectively makes up our existence, affect our behaviors, interactions and define how we engage with the world. What results if the actions are imbalanced? My guess would be imbalanced emotions, desires, needs and physical ailments.
ReplyDeleteThrough this study I recognize that I need to practice yielding into others more intentionally; I consider myself an open person, a lover in many respects, though I find that I do not ask for support as often as I could, nor do I easily let others do things for me. I believe that this stems from me valuing my autonomy and independent nature. Aposhayn writes on page 65, “Our ability to yield is the basis for our ability to take effective action in the world. As a collaborator in many aspects of my personal and professional life, understanding that yielding translates into letting go, this practice is essential to working/being effectively with others. I have begun to observe other people in my life who effortlessly yield into others and appreciate their ease. In noticing myself at times in which I feel comfortable yielding and times when I hold back, as means to find out what triggers the “letting go,” vs. the holding back, I can become more attuned to my behaviors and evolve my actions. I so appreciate how the explorations in this course can apply to different aspects of my life, they encourage intra-personal growth and development which in turn affects interpersonal relations.
Finally I felt so joyful during the two free-dances during class on Tuesday. Focusing on movements sequencing through my endpoints was liberating I felt like I was truly a fluid being.
The Alexander Technique… “It teaches you how to bring more practical intelligence into what you are already doing; how to eliminate stereotyped responses; how to deal with habit and change. It leaves you free to choose your own goal but gives you better use of yourself while you work at it” (Jones, 2). The simplicity of this methodology moves me. Last quarter the introduction of this technique shifted my relationship to the “chronic” pain I experience in my neck and shoulders. The life that I lead calls me to carry stuff around all day and into the evening…that weight invites tension into that area of my spinal cord…I have found that the simplicity of telling my head to move forward and up, to bring breadth into my chest invites necessary opening and space into an area of my body where it seemed as though no space was possible! “The Alexander Technique opens a window onto the little-known area between stimulus and response and gives you the self-knowledge you need in order to change the pattern of your response – or, if you choose, not to make it at all” (Jones, 4). Even with self-knowledge of one’s patterns, it is quite something to see yourself in somebody embodying your patterns. Watching my pattern walk as me brought up so much emotion and nervous anxiety; I am still sitting with what that means…
Finally in assisting my partner by gently holding her head and moving it over and around the top of the spinal cord while she exercised negative heavy thoughts for me sense, it was incredible the tension I sensed in her surges of “thinking.” This really drove home again the connection between our thoughts and physical well-being. I can only imagine how being in a constant state of stress or thinking negative thoughts could affect one’s brain health and overall sense of self. May we find healing in the simplicity of this technique and free ourselves from unhealthy patterns of the mind and body.
-Love
Lindsey
Alexander technique. What I find most intriguing about this way of moving and living is that it never goes away. Completely existent at all times, I can never be free of thinking about how I move - a simultaneous blessing and annoyance! When I read the chapter from Body Awareness, I was most drawn to the explanation of the technique. It is described as “a method…for expanding consciousness to take in inhibition as well as excitation (“not doing” as well as “doing”)…” The notion of doing while simultaneously doing is a concept I have been working on for some time now, in relation to my performance on stage, technique classes, daily life movements, and even in my relationships to those around me.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that while I merely sit I can be engaging too many muscles and therefore might be straining certain areas excessively completely opened my eyes to my bodily patterns and habits. I am so much more aware of how my neck and back feel, am I straining forward to look at something, or letting the image of my head floating upward and forwards relieve the overworking muscles?
While learning phrases in technique classes, I am finding that when I concentrate on moving from the distal parts of my body, I am experiencing the movement in a new way. The idea of your center core being a foundation has been drilled into my brain, creating a never-ending awareness of my pelvic alignment. It seems that while putting too much focus on this specific core area I have forgotten about those distal areas of my body. Now with the concentration being placed upon my endpoints, I find that because I have the muscle memory to hold my core, I can merely check in with that area and then turn more attention to this new experience. I am finding that some movements become simpler, and others more clear. I am working to allow this awareness of distal edges into my presence while I dance, so that I can come further out of myself and strengthen the connection between audience and dancer.
The sensation of yielding was the most enjoyable for me. I tried yielding with myself and thinking internally about a pain in my knee to yield with. It was easier for me to understand yielding in once we yielded with other objects and people in the room. Pushing and pulling with another person allowed me to feel a sense of yielding with the other person as well as with myself. After experiencing yielding kinesthetically, I felt like I had a greater sense with my environment and thought differently about every object or person I passed in the room.
ReplyDeleteBesides experimenting with the five fundamental movements with other people, I also enjoyed experimenting with objects. I used the floor as an object to push against. I felt my body become denser and stronger as what it said would happen in the readings. In lengthening the muscles, we worked with reaching. Not just reaching in open space, but also reaching for what you want. I then tried reaching into the floor, and I noticed this difference in muscle actions with lightness in my hands. I enjoyed following what the readings said to experiment with in class on an object, and I used the floor to experiment with these five fundamental movements as a full bodied experience.
In studying the Alexander technique in class, I noticed that the correct posture is up and forward, when I always thought it was just up. I enjoyed learning about how you tell yourself what different body parts should be doing to help adjust them. I also notice how reaching with the distal ends has helped in ballet class already! After my ballet teacher telling me to think about my arms moving like a mosaic multiple times, I just had to hear another method of how to make my arms look more fluid in movements. I have already begun to integrate this idea of arm movements into class and they have been successful. But to further improve I must keep telling myself to lead with my distal end and have rays of energy coming from my hands to create more fluid arms. The most memorable exercise from class would have to be the seat exercise where we told each other different thoughts to process and it changed the way we got up out of the chair. I was surprised how different each response from my partner was. I also hope to integrate the Alexander technique walking posture to my everyday life.
Katie Boulanger
From this week, the exercise that I will remember most was one of the last ones that we did where we had a partner and had to feel different emotions as they pulled us out of the chair. It was very interesting to me because I realized how powerful one’s thought is in how they feel. For example, last week I did not get much sleep most of the days, but did not let that impact how I was feeling throughout my day. When I was instructed to feel lethargic and tired, however, I let all those feelings take hold of me and believed that I was truly tired. In addition, when instructed to think about being excited when getting out of the chair, I really believed that I was excited to stand and let my body believe what my mind was telling it.
ReplyDeleteThe other exercise that was very memorable to me was experimenting with the connection between the movement in our hands and feet and how open our necks and spines were positioned. I had never thought that these two body parts had a strong connection with each other, but in experimenting with the movement of my wrist, for example, when my spine was shortened clearly showed the effects. As Frank Pierce Jones notes in the Sensory Evidence chapter in Body Awareness, “the neck was merely the distribution point at which the increase in tension began and from which it spread like a net to other parts of the body” (page 10). Jones also continues to talk about the freedom one can feel when such observations are taken into consideration because “the immediate result of Alexandrian inhibition is a sense of freedom, as if a heavy garment that had been hampering all of your movements has been removed” (page 11). Even though our exploration with Alexander technique was brief, I have already thought a lot about the theories presented in class and have adapted the idea of elongating my body into my daily life.
The exercise that I will most remember from the Alexander Technique class is the partnering with the head and neck and at the end, when we used our emotions to get out of the chair. The head and neck exercise was interesting- I didn’t know how much tension I had and how hard it was to release it, into the natural way. We become so accustomed to our habits that we forget how to let our body be in its natural state. As stated in the article on Alexander Technique, “Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it,” (4). I didn’t know how tension filled my back and neck were, which then led to my head not being as expanded and free to move. One of the goals of Alexander technique is to provide “the knowledge and freedom to change, but it is change within a developmental model. There is no “must.” Changes take place when you are ready for them and can permit them to happen” (14). This technique allows you to progress at your own pace. I am definitely trying to notice my endpoints more and trying to release my neck from the tension, so my head and spine can be more lengthened and expanded. I also liked the last technique, because it showed how much our thoughts and mind play a role in how we react to situations. When we embody certain emotions, even as simple as a act of getting out of chair can go from easy to hard. It was interesting to see how the different thoughts played a role in how easy it was to lift your partner or be lifted. I also enjoyed the moments of free dancing at the beginning of the week. It was interesting to explore the five fundamental actions. In the book Natural Intelligence, “As adults, the extent to which we are able to push reflects our internal sense of support, individuation, confidence and ability to propel ourselves” (69). It was interesting to read this as I never thought the act of pushing or for that matter any of the other actions had so much meaning behind them. To me they were just actions but they build our other actions and how we react to the world. It was definitely interesting to explore these 5 actions.
ReplyDeleteHi Louis!
ReplyDeleteThis week was a really interesting week! What stood out to me the most was our experience in Alexander Technique. I thought that this was really interesting because we are unaware of our tendencies as we live our lives everyday. I really liked our experiment of watching our partner walk and trying to copy their exact walk. This was really cool. I did not know that I actually had walking issues that may put my body in more stress then it should be in. I was unaware that I tense my shoulder when I walked and that I also walked homo-lateral instead of contralatteral. Learning about Alexander Technique made me aware that I did have habits that puts my body in more stress than it should be. I need to focus my energy on these habits in order to rid myself of the extra stress in my muscles. "Alexander Technique teaches you how to bring more practical intelligence into what you are already doing; how to eliminate stereotypical responses, how to deal with habit and change. It leaves you free to choose your own goals but gives you a better use of yourself while you work toward it." (Jones pg 2). I really enjoyed Alexander Technique because I feel like it can impact my body everyday.
After learning that I had odd tendancies, Alexander Technique really opened up my eyes about my habits and the little things I do to my body. I found it really hard to then try to copy my partner without adding my own habits in since Im not even aware of what my habits are. Being unaware sucks:(
On a last note, I also really enjoyed playing around with our endpoints. Focusing on lifting our hands through our fingers was really interesting. The amount of effort and the feel of power was light and free and I never really realized how movement can be so much different with different awarenesses. Also, I enjoyed ranting to our partners while staying distant yet present. It was good to rant. It's been a stressful week:( But also, it was difficult for me to stay aware yet not really getting sucked into the negativity. I found myself going in and out of presence while listening to my partner.
Cougar
As I sit here typing my blog for the week, the phrase “think of my Alexander” pops into my head and I strive to sit straighter, elongating my neck and reaching from the top of my head. After the day of Alexander introduction, my neck felt tingly, like it had been rubbed with a peppermint balm. In contrast, after Tuesday's class with the endpoints, and somewhat during the class, I felt extremely lightheaded. I thought these were both interesting possible effects of attempting to unblock pathways through my body and out of my endpoints.
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday's class I was keenly aware of the both effort and effortlessness of movement initiated from the endpoints. From Natural Intelligence I glean the perspective that “Overall movement initiated at the endpoints is more sensitive to the environment and fully coordinated within the body” (64). When we were dancing on our own I felt that my movements resonated more with my body and lead to natural movement. I also felt that this connection made it easier to connect with a partner while dancing and playing with the yielding, pushing and pulling. At the same time, however, it took a lot of effort to overcome habitual movement and especially to feel the initiation of movement through the top of the head. I also found that moving in this way made me extremely light headed and “nauseous” feeling. Maybe nauseous wouldn't be the right word, it was more a feeling of a hollow stomach. I'm not sure if this was an effect of pushing against the ground as I danced while initiating the movement with my end points or if it was a product of the extremely intense increase in circulation that seemed to be occurring. My hands and feet seemed to be pulsing with blood, to the point that it was uncomfortable, usually my circulation is rather poor. It seems that in my habitual movements I tend to cut off the pathways of circulation. When we worked with yielding with a partner, while my hands were resting on my partners, I was struck with a memory of being bundled in the stroller as a baby. This is one of my earliest memories and the exercise with the partner connected that memory with the feeling of yielding that I was experiencing. I enjoyed flashing back to a point in my memory when the aspect of yielding was probably my most dominant of the fundamental actions. When we went through the room pulling others toward us I really liked the conceptualization of “you reach for what you want, you grasp it, and you pull it in to you because now you have it.” For me, it was an excellent illustration of the connections that these fundamental movements have with ones relationship to the world between the mind's process and the body's correlated process. Breaking down these movements and connecting them with the basic desires they fulfilled re-enlivened these primary processes with more purpose and gratification.
With the Alexander technique I had another experience of unblocking body pathways. I had always envisioned the hinge between the head and the neck at the node at the back “connecting” the two. Envisioning my spin extending through my head changed my visualization of the connection in a way the really helped me to relax my neck to facilitate elongation. The most memorable part of the lesson, for me, was when my partner and I connected heads while on all fours and pushed against one another. The sensation of where the top of my head was and the idea of having an elongated spine stuck with me for the rest of the class. When we attempted the arm raise, toward the end of class, in the circle the feel of the elongated spine and neck and the concept of engaging from my end points hollowed my arm. However, this sensation of an almost disembodied arm, insomuch as I felt no force of struggle in trying to lift it, only remained as long as my goal was to not actually raise my arm. From the reading on the Alexander technique the author provided the insight that “It was the indirect effect of a psychophysical process and could only be obtained by not trying for it” (10). Once I thought ahead to moving my arm up, my neck automatically tensed in response. “The neck was merely the distribution point at which the increase in tension began and from which it spread like a net to other parts of the body” (10). The focus of the exercise on only the arm and the neck made me physically experience the tenseness that emanates from my neck. When we shifted to the exercise with a partner “pulling” us from the chair, the focus and immediacy of the exercise allowed my to feel more of an effect of what an application of the Alexander technique could have on my whole body. Because I was focused only on my one motivation, I was not thinking about the movement that would arise from it. So in the instances when where my psychology was in a positive gear toward getting up, I flew right out of my seat.
Overall, I would like to work on incorporating more movement through my endpoints and keeping the Alexander technique in mind. Already, throughout the rest of the week I would try to incorporate a more elongated neck and a shifting of my head and have found it very reliving in some of my repeated stances and postures while I study and walk. I hope to look get a chance to experience more Alexander technique in the future.
I was initially going to just watch Thursdays class as I was not feeling very good, but I am glad I ended up participating anyway. There were two exercise that struck me in particular, the first being the walking with our partners. It was interesting to see my walk mimicked by someone else and strangely see that my shoulders, which had been feeling stiff, actually looked stiff. Imitating her work was its own challenge as I knew (like Louis said!) I would not be starting off from a clean slate. I think one thing that made it interesting is that our bodies were not radically different, so her walk didn’t feel unnatural as much as just unfamiliar. In other words this could have been my walk, if I had different habits, in this case my feet slightly further apart and less movement of the hips. This feeling went well with the retraining the body idea that is part of the Alexander technique, also it made me aware that to change we have to consciously tell ourselves to do a movement rather than just relying on our body to send us a message that something feels right. The second exercise was the rocking with heads touching, this for me was very important I rarely move from the top of my head, when correcting my own posture I tend to use the rolling balls method, but seem to frequently omit the head for some unknown reason. So the sensation of my partners head and the pushing forward were good to remind me of my head and neck.
ReplyDeleteThe other part of last week was the “Pathways of Life and Pathways of Movement”, dealing with both the pathways of the endpoints as well as the five fundamental actions. Of these following the exercise on page 64 (Natural Intelligence, Aposhyan) about yielding was the most challenging. I think partially this is because unlike the other four actions it was the least obvious and I wasn’t sure if my attempts were actually successful. Which just go to show I need to make it to class even when sick, so I have a better idea what is going on.
& a quick additional comment as I was reading others entries and noticed what ChuberinA said about sitting straighter, I have myself found myself more aware of the need to sit up straight!
ReplyDeleteThe reading on the 5 fundamental actions got me thinking and imagining more and more. What a great movement study or theme for a dance! I had never thought of the movements that we do from the point of view of a hierarchy like she lays it out. The simple breakdown makes a great deal of sense though and can really help me in understanding and giving meaning in more of my own movements and expression in general. I do also believe that one cannot separate the mind and the body, as the Alexander work talks about, and therefore that our movements come from within and they are have meaning. For our own protection and comfort I think that we often disregard this and pull back to a state of insensitivity that can very easily become toxic and deadly to ourselves and those around us.
ReplyDeleteThe Alexander technique work that we did in class was very revealing how connected we are to our thoughts. By just thinking that I didn’t want to leave the chair that I was sitting in it was much more difficult for my partner to lift me up and I could feel more tension in his pull. I could also feel the different in my bodily reaction to the movements when I was moved with each coinciding thought. The reading on Alexander technique was enlightening especially in its explanation of how the technique allows the participant there own recognition and changes to patterns or habits in contradiction to a forced change such as realignment or even massage and such. If find this mode of change particularly interesting because of its relationship to communication between humans. It is so common in our times today to see people wanting and expecting a quick fix or some “expert” to be able to diagnose them with some “disease” and then prescribe some kind of “cure.” Most of the time I find this thinking to be outrageous, irresponsible and cowardly. Of course, it’s easier than doing one’s own work to figure out an ailment, but then again it’s our own bodies and our own lives. It relates to Alexander technique in that it provides a “means whereby” someone can change themselves if they so desire. This is FABULOUS! I love this work and I can’t wait to see what comes of it and how it continues to open my mind and my body and their connection and their connection to the world around me.
The exercise that I most clearly remember is the one when person A closed their eyes while person B put two fingers on their forehead and two at the base of the head. Person A was supposed to release their head and allow person B to manipulate it. After a moment person A was told to clench a fist or a foot (I think) and then to relax and then to think of a really hard dance move and then to relax. Person B was to notice the difference in tension in the neck. I thought that the results were interesting. When person A was told to clench a fist, the mobility of the head was just slowed down. When person A was told to think of a really hard dance move, the movement of the head became slower and more choppy. There was definitely a difference in the motion of the head between the two actions of the body.
ReplyDeleteI find Alexander Technique fascinating, even more so since I read the assignment from Thursday. This simple, yet extremely difficult, technique can applied to almost all areas of one's life. For example, in the reading by Frank Pierce Jones, in chapter 2 on pages 13 an 14 he speaks of mind wandering. He says that "Mind wandering was a problem that in my case was beginning to get out of hand. When I was following a line of reason, listening to a lecture, or trying to reach a decision, I was continually being diverted by some association of ideas and floating off on a stream of thought without direction or control, often ending up in an emotional reaction that was unwanted and unproductive." Sometimes these reactions would end up in anger. Jones decided to try a new approach. He goes on to say "This time instead of trying to control my anger I turned my attention to my neck and shoulders. I found that I could inhibit a further increase of tension and allow the muscles to lengthen; and that as long as I did this I could carry on a rational conversation in spite of my inward agitation." Alexander would term this "keeping in touch with your reason". When I read this I was amazed! What if everyone could redirect their anger and emotions like this!! I think that this is a great goal for me to work toward. I would love to apply this technique to my whole life in general. I really like the idea of controlling your emotions with Alexander Technique though. I believe that the only way to accomplish this is to be consistent and remind yourself of the commands constantly. I really enjoyed the class on Alexander Technique. Here is one more quote that just stood out to me: "Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it. Having an unconscious response pattern pointed out to you by someone else is not the same thing as perceiving it for yourself while it is happening."
**Kali
"The energy of life is flowing through us all the time.” – This statement from Susan Aposhyan’s book “Natural Intelligence” spoke most clearly to my understanding of endpoints in class. I particularly liked the way it related to our exercise in which we tried to raise our arm using only our endpoints. Though I may not have been as successful as I may have liked, I could feel such a distinction in the relaxed lightness of leading movement with that endpoint. For me, endpoints are a critical aspect of my dancing life. I wish to improve the connection that reaching and endpoints have to every movement that I may have, even if it is as simple as a plie.
ReplyDeleteContinuing this idea, I found a quote from Aposhyan particularly meaningful when she says that, “We are constantly giving and receiving through our endpoints – giving and receiving objects, information, love, energy, anger…” This idea of reaching and being conscious of our endpoints should affect our dancing as well as our relationship to the world. If our endpoints are not open and subsequently stop the flow of energy in our bodies, we are limiting our dancing fully in space and we are inhibiting our abilities as humans to love, give and receive in day to day life.
One of my favorite aspects of the 5 ways to move was yielding. I love the feeling of release and transfer of trust to the ground or another person. Aposhyan asserts that “healing our relationship to yielding brings up a great deal of fear,” and I would agree that it is scary to trust and let go of yourself sometimes.
In the Thursday class on Alexander technique, I was struck right away by the similarities it shares with my piano technique. Both strive to release unnecessary tension and allow the body to “lengthen and become lighter” as Frank Pierce Jones explains in “Body Awareness in Action” in regard to a demonstrator’s reaction the subject’s change in body.
The specific places that I found tension and a need to bring focus in my body were the top of my head and back of my neck in relation to not sticking my chin up and out, which is a body habit of mine. And, it is these habits which I was able to relate to our reading Jones’ article when he explains that he entered back into his habits once he was instructed to stand up from a chair – I found my body reverting to old habits and it’s almost astonishing that you cease to notice those things which have become so second nature. I am still finding myself relaxing my chin down and trying find that natural place for my body to go to even as I type – it feels like a constant struggle with my body’s habits. And, Morgan and Monique were totally right – my neck was sore later that night in places it never gets sore after those small adjustments I made in class!
I would say that my biggest revelation from the reading had to do with something which we did not discuss much in class. Jones asserts that “you find that you like other people more when you become more relaxed about yourself” and he also cites an example of being purposefully angered by Alexander to illuminate where his tension was held in anger and how it positively affected his actual mood to release those areas. I think that this is a remarkable gift and I will be thinking about it and will continue to work on it (especially when I get tense in traffic or things like that ☺ ). It’s truly amazing that how we treat our body and hold ourselves affects so much of our behavior and others around us. I’m glad that my awareness is gently being brought to these things and I hope that I can even more positively try to affect people around me because of it.
The hand yielding exercise showed me that even the simple act of yielding my hands has to be consciously directed. This just highlights how ‘unyielding’ I can be. I am always trying to do something, instead of just being in contact (Aposhyan 65). While exploring the Alexander Technique, I somehow get the feeling that we are yielding our neck onto our body, instead of tensing it up as a separate entity by itself. I would like to integrate more of this yielding, relaxing ideology in order to feel lighter and more natural. Already, I am becoming increasingly aware of the tension in various parts of my body and am making an effort to release them.
ReplyDeleteThe exercise that allows us to discover where our skull sits on our spine was particularly memorable as well. I find myself turning and twisting my head to play around and feel this point throughout the week. Having the correct notion of how the body works aids greatly in realigning it to its natural position.
Louis, I was really glad when you mentioned focusing on the process instead of the sensation. I really needed to hear that, because after class on Tuesday I felt rather euphoric. I wanted to linger in all moments, hold on to those feelings. I wanted to shine through my endpoints; I tried to utilize all of my toes on my way to my next class. I couldn’t help but smile reminiscing on the exercises we did regarding energy, turning and on off, releasing the flow, directing it, and then stopping the flow, and feeling the sensations in our own bodies. I really enjoyed the sensations I felt during our movements, with yielding, pushing and reaching and shining through our endpoints (Aposhyan, pg.64-70). I think these sensations are very intense because this is a side of my awareness I have never explored directly and purposefully before. I can see how much this idea of mind-body dualism has been structured into my life and has really isolated my experiences in ways (Aposhyan, pg.3-8).
ReplyDeleteMy goal is to take steps to restructure my previous ways of thinking and moving. One exercise that really stuck with me was the one using the Alexander technique to lead with our fingertips to lift our arm. I remember the example out of our reading and not understanding how one could get out of a chair and all of a sudden be standing (Jones, F.P., pg. 7). I got a glimpse of that situation when lifting our arm via fingertips; my fingertips truly did lead my arm. It was when I lowered my arm, that I engaged my arm muscles again. My fingertips lost the lead at that point. I want to use this rewiring of how I approach movement in the future, I feel like I would just need to keep practicing and applying that way of thinking to movement. I can see that I must set up a process in order for me to experience a somewhat deeper sense of self. I must arrive to this place before I can have that type of experience.
Additionally, I really want to integrate energy flow and mental images into my dancing. I tried this on Wednesday last week during a combination in ballet class. I kept thinking of myself as a flower spinning through the air during “pk” turns, I really felt like it made my movement more free and gentle. Taking my mind to a higher place made my movement flow along with my thoughts instead of thinking in a more mechanical way and breaking a turn down into sections. It was much easier to turn; it almost took the difficulty out of the movement. Much more flow was alive in my dancing, and much less mechanics. In order to reach this higher state of awareness, of consciousness, of openness, I need to give myself more time to be alone with my thoughts before movement and maintain this during movements.
~Rachel Rumiko Bruckman~
During our exploration of the five fundamental movements: yielding, pushing, reaching, grasping and pulling… I finally came to realize how essential these movements are to our body. It creates stability, force, resistance, and life but yet, it is so simple. The different exercises that we underwent during Tuesday’s class were original, basic, and it clearly illustrated the essential understanding of these five fundamental movements. The exercise in which we “complained” to our partner and our partner slowly disengages from the dialogue. This will become much easier through practice and time.
ReplyDeleteAs quoted in Alexander Technique, “Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it” (4). This quote is evidently practiced during Thursday’s class. As we put perception and conscious into our actions, we achieve it in different light. During our partner exercises where we explored head and spine connections and exercised consciousness into our actions and gained a more effective use of the body and mind simultaneously working. I think I would integrate something like this into my everyday life, especially during dance classes (ballet). If I can imagine the skeletal body of my movements, I could better move them to where I want it to be and to do so efficiently.
The simple act of awareness to our body can go a very long way...