The Alexander Technique is About Absence of Conflict

Today, it seems as though the Alexander Technique is about absence of conflict in the body and in the mental-emotional landscape. I suppose I’m thinking about peace, poise and equanimity, but it feels more subtractive than additive. For a short period today, the usual struggle with everything went missing.

My bones were not arguing with gravity. My head and heart were not resisting the world. Absence of struggle did not mean absence of caring. I did not feel passive. I was no longer wasting energy arguing with reality, so I had more energy to make changes.

In the moment, the changes were only in my own use, that is, how I was carrying myself. But it seemed like I might be able to carry this new spacious attitude into relationships or even political acts.

In San Francisco, we are experiencing an eerily beautiful, sunny and dry winter. It’s hard not to worry about climate change. Can I stay internally quiet in the face of an uncomfortable truth? Can I act from that place?

Something like that. Very difficult to explain passing states of consciousness.

Body Project Blog: Where Thought is the Active Ingredient.