Alexander Technique Slant on Covid-19 Prevention

Elyse Shafarman

Elyse Shafarma

Practice the Alexander Technique pause to prevent touching your face. Research* shows that people touch their face 23 times per hour. The most common reasons for face touching are:

  1. A desire to focus
  2.  A desire to self soothe
  3. An itch.

See if you can identify the urge and use your mind to STOP. Stopping does not need to involve muscular tension. It’s a simple decision. Instead of touching your face to focus or soothe, invent an alternative gesture. Try pressing your finger tips together when thinking. Place a hand on your chest to comfort yourself.

You can also use hand washing as a moment to relax and align. It takes about 20 seconds to say FM Alexander’s Directions  three times: “Let my neck be free, to let my head rotate delicately forward and release up, to let my back lengthen and widen.”

May you be healthy!

References

Kwok, Yen Lee Angela, Jan Gralton, and Mary-Louise McLaws. “Face touching: A frequent habit that has implications for hand hygiene.” American journal of infection control 43.2 (2015): 112-114.

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