Move more easily through your world! Access your natural coordination, build confidence, and connect the dots between thought and action using the ideas of Integrative Alexander Technique.
Hey Vertebrate!
|
Hi Reader! How's your November going so far? Here in the PNW, the time change feels dramatic. Dark came early last night. One of our kittens, Maurice, is all-black except for one white whisker. He’s hard to photograph. He absorbs light very, very well. When we’re looking for him, we have to remember to scan for nothing. It’s counter-intuitive to look for an absence. When clients first start working with me, “nothing” can play a pretty big role. Let’s say they’ve been holding tension by scrunching up their shoulders. If they’ve been using this inefficient movement pattern for a long time, their system might not be broadcasting a signal from that area. What do they notice? Nothing. ¯\(ツ)/¯ I imagine their system giving its own shrug, saying, well, if you insist on keeping that up, I’ll save on signal reporting resources this year. Here’s the thing, though. The savings don’t last. An inefficient movement pattern in one area takes its toll elsewhere. A rogue pain, an inability to do something you want to do, fuzzy thinking – all can be related to a holding pattern somewhere in the body. In last month's newsletter, I asked, what’s working well? This month, my data-gathering question is: Where is there nothing? Where do you not notice? Invite movement there and see what happens. And… No news can also be good news. As happened for a client just last week, when things are going really well, when there’s no friction in the system, when you're moving in harmony with your own personal design, your system might also have nothing to report. Freedom can feel like nothing at all. Read on for final Lab dates of the year, a community shoutout, and the latest blog, where I explore navigating role shifts easily. Here for you, Crispin PS - What questions do you have about Integrative Alexander Technique? I’d love to answer you directly, and to use your question to shape future blog posts. Hit reply and ask away!
Who do you know that would benefit from working with me? Click here to read this email in a browser. I honor your time and attention! |
Hey Vertebrate!
Move more easily through your world! Access your natural coordination, build confidence, and connect the dots between thought and action using the ideas of Integrative Alexander Technique.
Hi Reader! Do you know the phrase, “People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones?” As a child, this was very serious instruction. My family lived in a house with large windows. On some level I knew the phrase included a teaching metaphor, but also, with a child's understanding, I thought the lesson was meant especially for us. We had to be very polite or our windows would break. It can be easy to take metaphors literally, because that's how metaphors work. This = that. Sometimes,...
Hi Reader! How are you doing? An answer I've been hearing recently is "scattered." Back in my office admin days, every so often the computer would get slow, and in the 90’s, that was reeeeally sloooooow. The IT guy would come to my desk, open up a secret window and type in "defrag C:"– system defragmentation – to gather all the little bits of information that were cluttering the system. My very non-technical interpretation of what was happening is that the defrag tidied little remnants of...
Hi Reader! Do you remember playing Simon Says? That game where "Simon" gives you permission to move but also tells you to move without permission and if you move without Simon saying so, you both lose and are humiliated at the same time? Was that game fun? You tell me. Maybe it taught self-control? Compliance? In my memory, it also added nervous system confusion. It’s no surprise, the things we experience as children become part of our very structure, and affect how we operate throughout our...