|
 
Alexander Technique - Articles
Anthea Turner tried the Alexander Technique to improve her riding.
Now it's her cure for stress, she tells Judith Woods.
Turner, 40, has developed a vigilant eye for sloppy posture since she
began learning the Alexander Technique in April. As the word technique
suggests, it is not a form of exercise, but a method of moving that realigns
the limbs and improves balance and co-ordination.
Its benefits, moreover, extend beyond restoring youthful poise to maturing
bodies. By reducing physical tension, the technique helps ease stress
and creates feelings of calmness and confidence. It is used by pregnant
women to help them avoid backache, and some practitioners believe the
Alexander Technique can boost fertility by promoting feelings of relaxation.
Turner's main incentive to work on her balance was in order to improve
her riding. Earlier this year, she acquired a spirited Andalusian stallion
called Caramelo. "I realised everything I did was work-related ,
even my social life," she says. " I found I needed to do something
totally unconnected, where I could switch off completely.
"Riding gives me that feeling, but Caramelo is not the sort of horse
you can leave standing idle in a field. I need to put in some time with
him."
Turner's attempts to school her lively new mount soon highlighted the
flaws in her riding technique. She found she tended to "sit like
a sack of potatoes," on the horse's back, rather than moving fluidly
with him.
Her instructor put her in touch with Noel Kingsley, an Alexander Technique
teacher based in Cavendish Square, central London. After an intensive
instruction period of two sessions a week for 10 weeks, Turner now goes
only for "top ups" when she feels the need.
Central to the Alexander Technique is learning how to loosen the neck
and allow the head to balance freely on the top of the spine. This promotes
natural lengthening of the spine and a change in the body's alighnment
and posture.
"My riding has certainly imporved," says Turner. "The
technique becomes second nature, but, to start with, you become more aware
of your body.
Initially, it made we very conscious of how I was sitting, but, gradually,
that stopped. I didn't think to myself, 'I must walk about with my back
and shoulders straight and my chest out', but I found my posture changing."
"I used to get a lot of stress in my shoulder and back and I realise
that I don't feel that since I strated learning the Alexander Technique,
" says Turner. "I'm relaxed, and yet I'm straight."
Those who don't spend their life in the public gaze can also enhance
the image they project. Business people are drawn to the Alexander Technique
because it can give them greater confidence and poise.
Once the basics of the Alexander Technique have been mastered, a person
can practise it without help. If Turner feels she is slipping into old
habits, she returns for a few refresher sessions, which help her release
tension.
"If I've been off filming, flying in aeroplanes and sleeping in
strange beds, then I will make a point of coming straight here to my Alexander
Technique teacher."
My rather bizarre introduction to the Alexander Technique began when
I was handed a plastic refuse sack containing five 2lb bags of sugar,
which was almost too heavy to lift. This, it transpired, was about the
same weight as a human head.
It neatly served to demonstrate the strain my neck - and the rest of
me - is under, when I hold my head in a rigid, fixed position.
Noel places his hands on my neck. His touch wasn't quite static, but
nor was he pulling me.
With what can best be described as a coaxing movemnt, he told me to think
about loosening my head and letting it balance freely on top of my body.
I was sceptical that the power of thought alone would do the trick -
but sure enough, after a few minutes I experienced a slightly light-headed
looseness.
The he worked on my shoulders and, again, I found the muscles relaxing
and stretching under his hands, as if on command.
Physically, he appeared to do very little. Unlikely as it seemed, his
constant exhortations to concentrate on lengthening my limbs, worked.
By the end of 40 minutes, I was suffused with a feel-good floatiness -
and the backache that had been nagging for several days had gone.
The supple feeling remained for about two days, after which my back
pain returned and my head, presumably was once again locked into position.
I definitely want to learn the Alexander Technique. Not only does the
theory make perfect sense, but the though of those bags of sugar wreaking
havoc with my neck muscles is just too terrible to contemplate.
Back to top of page
To find out more or to book a £10 introductory lession please contact:
Hidemi Hatada Hidemi
practices Alexander Technique at the Haelan Clinic on Tuesdays 4pm - 8pm
and Saturdays 9am - 1:30pm.
For Clinic times, contact details and information about the Haelan
Clinic practitioners see The
Practitioners page.
Back to top
|
Recipes