Stand Tall, Feel Great!

Could the Lumo Lift be used to support Alexander Technique Students?

According to the Lumo Lift marketing department, “Lift was built based on scientific research showing that when you hold yourself in an upright and open position, you actually get a surge of hormones that make you feel and become more powerful.”

I bolded the word “hold“, because anyone who has tried holding themselves in good posture knows how uncomfortable this is. Within minutes, you are back to the comfy relief of slumping. Take a look at the models in the Lumo Lift video:

Did you notice that they are all arching their backs to achieve their new “good” posture?

But what if there’s an effortless way towards good posture?

Yes, it’s called the Alexander Technique. Alexander Technique students learn how to change their posture by thinking. And, I think the Lumo Lift could be a great biofeedback support for Alexander Technique students.

What if every time you crunched over your cell phone, you got a little buzz? What if instead of arching your back and holding yourself upright, you stopped and thought:

“I have time,”

“Neck free,”

“Do less,”

“Head floating up,”

or even…

“I don’t have to pick up my phone!”

What if you had learned in Alexander Technique lessons how to turn these pleasant thoughts into real physical changes?

That could amount to an extra 1,500 practice sessions per week*.

You might find that you were learning how to “Stand Tall and Feel Great,” effortlessly.

References:
*”How often do you look at your phone?” Daily Mail, Oct 7, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

What is the Alexander Technique?

“The Alexander Technique is more about reducing than increasing, more about subtraction than addition. It is a set of skills, and a strategy, for reducing or eliminating stress, strain, compression, pain, tension, pressure, worry, rigidity, anxiety, and smallness of mind and body. It has profound and positive emotional, psychological, and physical effects.” — Mark Josefsburg

For the complete article, The Alexander Technique-It Is What It Isn’t, visit Mark Josefsburg’s blog

 

Is learning anatomy helpful?

Jessica Santascoy (who once upon a time came to me for Alexander Technique lessons because I gave an introductory talk in high heels…but that’s another story) asks, “What do Alexander Technique teachers think of teaching anatomy?”

I think it’s helpful. Anatomy helps a directional thought (like “head forward and up”) arrive at the right address. Understanding the reality of structure can free up a lot of tension. It allows us to trust our bones to hold us. At the same time, anatomy can be a chimera like anything else. It’s helpful to remember that seemingly solid structures like bones, are teaming with life, movement, electricity and elasticity. Anatomy is crucial, but don’t get hung up on anything that looks like a platonic truth.

Jessica recommends the iphone ap: Muscle System Pro III for $3.99 – which offers 3D visualization of anatomy.

And she comments:

“I remember my AT lessons with you, when you would bring out the skeleton and use it to show me how the body works at its optimum. It brought such clarity.”