Stiff Lower back?
Tight Jaw? Tension between your shoulder blades? Landing heavily on your heels when walking?
Make sure your rib cage is not lifted up! The cue I use in Alexander Technique lesson is to drop the xiphoid process, which is the little bony point at the end of the sternum. If you look at the image to the left, the xiphoid process is highlighted in gold. You can imagine it like a pendant hanging straight down, or joke with yourself that it’s rude to point your xiphoid process at someone.
If the xiphoid process is sticking out, it will cause you to lean back. If it is dropped towards the ground, you will find your weight centered on your feet, and that your arms and shoulders are freer to swing when walking.
If the xiphoid process is sticking out, it will prevent you from exhaling fully, and of course, inhaling fully. Observe how letting the xiphoid process hang affects your breathing. It’s a very tender spot in the body. It lives in front of the heart, lungs and diaphragm. You might even experiment with feeling a bit like you are burying it inside your body on the exhale.
Even though you feel more relaxed, you might suddenly start to worry that you are slumping! Go ahead, lift your xiphoid process back up to see what your habit of good posture is. Does this feel super stiff and tense? Go back and forth until you can feel the difference between your idea of good posture and the reality of efficient body mechanics. If the head drops when you drop your xiphoid process, that’s just information that you’ve been lifting your chest to keep your head up. Instead, imagine a tiny laser pointer on the crown of your head pointing to the ceiling. Use imagery, not your ribcage to lift your head.
In lessons, I work with my students to understand how correcting a local “part” of the body affects the whole to create better posture, balance and breath.
Body Project Blog ~ Where Thought is the Active Ingredient, by Elyse Shafarman
As one friend on Facebook commented:
“Good stuff. How much of low back pain do u think might be a result of being too sympathetic in the nervous system (fight/flight/freeze)?”
And my reply:
“Probably quite a lot. And lowering the xiphoid process automatically allows for more “diaphragmatic breath” which could easily lower sympathetic reactivity. Thanks for your comment. It’s all super connected.”
I love this. As a dance teacher we or I see many over correct the lift from the front. I cringe. I recently have emphasized not doing this and have had amazing results from 8 year olds!! The Ziphoid idea will come in play for my teaching now. Thank you.