An evening with Chris McDougall

An evening with Chris McDougall from Terra Plana on Vimeo.

Getting out of my own way

I find myself wanting to revisit an older post, "Who are we really and what are we doing?" Here is an excerpt of what was written there:

• Thoughts and actions
• both useful and not useful
• Notice choices
• Awareness of making choices 
• conscious choices
• unconscious choices 

I can't help but be reminded of Buddhism here and ask, "Who or what is it that is doing all this noticing?" Noticing choices and actions is much like mindfulness meditation. Which leads to the next point that reminds me of Buddhism. 

 "Who or what is it that is doing all this noticing?" 

• Where does mind end and body begin? 
• Are they an inseparable pair influencing and affecting each others functioning? 
• How much does my tense, crooked body affect my thoughts and decisions? 
• How are choices made if my body is overwhelmed and frozen? 
• What choices do I have and how many of these am I actually aware of?
• How much of Alexander Technique is doing and how much is non-doing? 
• What is added and what is simply left undone?
• How will I know to get out of my own way if my choices and thoughts are so conditioned by the habit patterns instilled by a culture of sensory/information overload?
• How will I know to get out of my own way if my choices and thoughts are so conditioned by a "modified startle pattern?"

Backyard Dance 2- candlewood

Backyard Dance 2- candlewood from Gabriel Olivares-Todd on Vimeo.

egg shaped beings full of giblets and lungs

Crazy week, just like all the other weeks, only this one has wiped my discursive thought right out. Along with them thoughts go any kind of following of homework. I guess that the noticing of habits is pretty easy. I was in a few good car wrecks that have left my spine unhappy. I am constantly playing with how to have good posture. I know what I am supposed to do, I just don't or can't do it. Not sure why.

I suspect that I don't keep good posture in part due to what is being called in the Body Learning book, unreliable sensory appreciation, debauched kinaesthesia, and stuff. So my habitual misuse crates a bit of a problem as far as me correcting my posture and Use goes.

I sit a lot unfortunately, and I am sure this causes a huge part of the problem.  I have taken to sitting on an exercise ball as a chair. I googled this phenomena and found that I'm not the lone nut . . .

 

Check out these kids, they know whats up . . .

 

and here are some models in case you have to be thought of as "normal" at the office or where ever . . .

An interesting article on why not to use a stability ball for an office chair, and interesting comments as to why you should. Interesting debate that has me asking, which chair company these authors are getting kick downs from, I am still all for it.

http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=1091

Links

http://freestylemind.com/exercise-ball-office-chair

http://sammamishreview.com/2009/10/27/new-%E2%80%98chairs%E2%80%99-help-carson-students-focus-on-work

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-reasons-to-use-an-exercise-ball-as-your-chair.html

http://fitnessblog.projo.com/2008/08/in-my-last-blog.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/exercise-ball-office-chair.html

Expereince Yourself as a Whole Person

Whenever someone asks me to experience myself as a whole person, I immediately take a deep breath . . . all the way to my finger tips, and down to the tips of my toes. I breath into my body as if it were a balloon. Eventually this breathing flips over to breathing in through my fingers and toes and into my center.

This is usually enough to relax any tension, but if tension remains, I breath into it. That is my experience of my self as a whole person, physically speaking. There are other aspects of my whole person hood that come into the picture, but that is a whole other exercise.

Muscling In On Awareness

I am really hooked on the idea and concept of Non-doing with Alexander Technique. I know that this isn't exactly part of our homework per say, but it is the direction from where I am come to this way of awareness that we are learning. I can really relate to not muscling in on this process, getting out of my own way and letting it happen. Letting my body teach me maybe is another way of saying all this.

There is a video that I saw that illustrates this in one way. This in in regards to posture. I am hooked on my posture especially, because my back hurts. Car accidents and various injuries have made my back very unhappy. If I don't try, and if I am not constantly aware of my posture, I will find my shoulders up around my ears and my lumbar in a knot.

As I was doing last weeks homework, I just couldn't get comfortable. I shift between sitting in a chair, an instability ball and lying on a couch. Once I saw the fellow in the video (at around 26:00) something clicked. Flow and use. I was thinking of posture in a static sense, which of course isn't a good idea. I hadn't given that much thought obviously.



Sitting on an instability ball is actually the most comfortable for me. I can sit for longer, because I am constantly shifting and in more of a flow. I didn't know this until now, though I did notice I was always moving around ever so slightly. There is so much to be aware of and so it is easy to drift off.

I think this is an example of non-doing. It is a case of "the tighter you clinch, the more it gets away." In my case I am after relaxation, economy of movement, and awareness. All of these are so easy to lose without constant mindfulness.

The Key Muscles of Yoga: Scientific Keys

I found the website that goes along with that anatomy book we have in class, "The Key Muscles of Yoga: Scientific Keys, Volume I" by Ray Long and Chris Macivor. 


http://www.bandhayoga.com/index.html

Dig around in there, I found some great images and animations.

Star Wars and the Alexander Technique

I just couldn't resist posting this.

Recieving support from the ground, marshmallow feet, barefoot running, and stuff

I hate running!!! Yet, the greatest discovery so far this week for me has been barefoot running. I have never in my life been motivated to run, but I have tried  this barefoot running and am pretty hooked. It is slow going for sure at first, but it confirms so many other things that I have been learning in my life, Alexander Technique being one of them.

Of course I am just beginig to learn about both of these ways of living and moving, and they seem to compliment each other beautifully. I find that with just a little bit of barefoot running, one's alignment begins to fix itself immediately. Pretty amazing!

I ran for about ten minutes one day, and a little less the next day, and have taken off a day to let my feet recover. My hips, spine, hands and feet have woken right up and have been sore in ways that I have never been sore. It seems to be a combo of my feet waking up and moving all around,  all the sensors on my feet sending new sensations and connections to new places all over my body, and the actual technique and structure that your body begins to take by running barefoot on a hard surface. It is nearly completely backwards from running in shoes.

As per barefoot running as related to Alexander Technique, the running starts turning your feet in to what we learned is a more helpful alignment, which continues its way up the skeleton, adjusting hips and things along the way. It definitely throws a wrench into your usual habit patterns, parking places, weight distributions and stuff like that.

So I am now even more aware of my parking places, weight distribution, habit patterns, tensions and collapses, and am hot in pursuit of chasing them out of my structure/posture. I love the idea of a relaxed posture and to receive support from the ground. It ain't happening yet! My days are to distracted and filled with busy madness. It comes Wednesday and I just now begin to think seriously about my homework and I remember how simple it really is and how much it could help me to chill. One of these days!

One last thought while reviewing class notes, "I wonder what is meant by communicating with your body to release tension."

Here's another barefoot running video:



and here is a video of a guy barefoot running, and everything else through the wilds!

Top ten ways to become a better runner and a better person. Simultaneously.

What has barefoot running to do with Alexander Technique?

I don't know, but since we are studying the feet and legs right now, and since this looks cool to me, I am posting it.

Top ten ways to become a better runner and a better person. Simultaneously.

via http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/09/10-spiritual-lessons-from-running-barefoot-angela-raines/

1. Get naked. Big, padded, expensive running shoes often cause more problems than they solve. We run best when we let our bodies operate in as natural a condition as possible. It’s all too often that we let our remedies become our maladies. Starting from a more natural, authentic place is usually the best way to go, in your exercise routine, love life, or spiritual pursuits.

2. Have fun. The Tarahumara, a tribe of legendary ultramarathoners, smile huge during the hardest parts of the race. We all do our best when we’re having fun. Notice and nurture what you enjoy, and pour a little whimsy into the hardest parts of your day.

3. Get devotional: The Hopi and Navajo do ritual running as a prayer to give their own strength to those in need. What greatness could you achieve if you were devoting yourself to something greater, if you weren’t doing it all for your own ego?
4. Get compassionate: While marathoners are often cutthroat, ultramarathoners, who run four times that distance, are shockingly generous, often helping eachother along the way. We seem to actually perform better when we’re cooperatively, not combatively, competitive. Compassion is far better fuel than greed.
5. Get egalitarian: While men trounce us ladies in sprints, longer distances completely equalize this difference. Aging also impacts distance running far less than it does most other sports. According to the theory that we evolved in running packs, it was important that women and elders kept up with the group on a hunt. Elders were given particular respect since they had the know-how to track animals, something that takes the better part of a lifetime to master. We post-moderns cherish the ideal of equality and respect for all — isn’t it stunning to consider that this respect might be an ancient birthright, that even helped us survive as a species?

6. Speak your mind: Communication was essential between members of the hunting pack to ensure they were tracking the right animal. Our ability to relate to each other is nothing without our willingness to communicate. What can you contribute to your tribe by speaking up?

7. Get imaginative: There comes a point in tracking an animal, McDougall claims, where following isn’t enough, and you must begin anticipating its next move. This need for anticipation might well have led to our greatest gift of all, imagination. Our ability to look across a plain and envision a city, our ability to listen to silence and hear poetry, is what makes us quintessentially human. This capacity drives all creativity, and propels us into an ever more complex future. Celebrate your imagination, and use it wisely.

8. Get free: It’s awfully hard to run long distances weighted down by physical possessions — or emotional baggage, for that matter. Running light is the way to go, for your finish time and your soul.

9. Get Zen: Jenn Shelton, one of Born to Run’s most colorful characters, explains why she started running ultramarathons:

I thought, man, if you could run 100 miles, you’d be in this Zen state. You’d be the f@#king Buddha. Bringing peace and a smile to the world. In my case, it didn’t work. I’m the same old punk ass as ever. But there’s always this hope that it’ll turn you into the person you want to be. You know, like a better, more peaceful person. And when I’m out on a long run, the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn’t going ‘bleh bleh bleh bleh.’ Everything just quiets down, and the only thing going on is pure flow.

I’ve found a certain clarity during runs when I can get myself to stop resisting the pain and just be. It’s raw and real and just as meditative as anything I’ve experienced in a zendo [meditation hall].

10. Get fearless: We’ve developped a strange phobia about running over the last few decades that McDougall finds preposterous. Running, he claims, “gets the machine operating the way it should be. End the baloney, the hysteria about running, that it’s dangerous — ‘Don’t do too much! Don’t take your shoes off!’ — Regain the use of your legs, get the engine off the block and running how it should be, and your whole bodymind will run more smoothly.” I don’t kow about you, but I make my biggest mistakes when I let fear paralyze or hypnotize me, and I’m at my best when I’m living courageously, heart at full throttle.

Links 

• http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20100127/barefoot-running-laced-with-health-benefits
• http://www.barefootted.com/
• http://trailrunnersoutpost.blogspot.com/2010/01/12-step-program-to-run-barefoot.html
• http://michaelsbarefootrunning.blogspot.com/ 
• http://www.runaddicts.net/tips-tricks/barefoot-running-pros-and-cons

Unraveling Habitual Patterns

It is amazing to find that as aware of your body's  movement you may think you are, there are infinite more levels to be aware of. The idea of questioning all basic assumptions finds a welcome home in what I have been doing for years. The Alexander Technique promises to add yet another level of direction to this lifetime endeavor.

From the book, "Body Learning," by Michael Gelb, I learned that Alexander discovered that to overcome his voice issue, he needed to use his head in a way that he called "forward and up." Due to his habitual patterns he found that he was actually doing the opposite of what he wanted  or intended to do. He came to understand that his patterns of misuse were not just physical, but involved the mind as well.

So when Alexander thought that he was putting his head forward and up, he was actually pulling it back and  down. All this because of what feels right, and what feels right is conditioned by our habit patterns. To remedy this, Alexander decided to leave behind what felt right for conscious reasoning alone.

So what it looks like he did was to do away with doing, and adapt a version of non-doing. In other words rather than physically adopting the postures that he found  to be useful, he simply willed the posture with his mind. Now I could be totally wrong by this, but it seems that this is one of the things he decided to do to get around his habitual physical patterns.

So what does this all mean?

I have no clue, I am merely a student. I don't have to worry about what it all means yet. It does provide another rout of inquiry and practice though. To see what happens if I stop trying and doing physically, and trade that in for simply willing the posture that I find most helpful. It is amazing what affect thinking has on one's physical self.

Who are we really and what are we doing?

• Thoughts and actions
• both useful and not useful
• Notice choices
• Awareness of making choices 
• conscious choices
• unconscious choices 

I can't help but be reminded of Buddhism here and ask, "Who or what is it that is doing all this noticing?" Noticing choices and actions is much like mindfulness meditation. Which leads to the next point that reminds me of Buddhism. 


What is a useful and/or a not useful thought or action? It would seem that the act of becoming conscious makes everything useful for one reason or other. I wonder if Alexander had any insight to share on these questions. Did he have any eastern influences on his research?

Now as I get carried off into thinking and all in the head kinds of reflection, I can't help but think of the first exercise we did where we experimented with how our thoughts affect how we feel. The thoughts one dwells on and holds in mind certainly affect how the body feels. 


How does our state of being (grounded or not, unhurried or not, peaceful or not, balanced or not) ripple out through our bodies and touch those who are around us? Does it leave a lasting impression on our environment? 


Who are we really and what are we doing?

~~~