Great Expectations

AKA How to STOP While Moving

Welcome to another Mr. Blue-less blog! :(

Stairs are Hard!

I’ve been writing short essay after short essay these past few months - slowing compiling sketches for the little book - and somewhere in the mix I still haven’t touched upon that all elusive thing… What exactly does movement (or anything really) feel like with the Alexander Technique?

In an in-person lesson, the teacher will place hands on the student’s head, neck, or back and gently move them about. You can see a bit of what I’m talking about in this video:

Now in this video, Walter Carrington is working with a few students. At 7:32 he says

So, what I always ask of people first of all - the most important thing - is to think of doing nothing.

To think of just standing here and looking out.

Using the eyes. Very important.

And just to stand.

What I find interesting in this quote is that Walter Carrington seemingly contradicts himself! How can you simultaneously think of doing nothing AND think of just standing and looking out? Are these not two different things entirely?!?

How is this possible!!!

Well, I haven’t had a lesson from Mr. Carrington, but I did happen to have a bunch of lessons with many teachers* and the feeling of these seemingly disparate ideas -[{nothing}, {standing}, {looking out}, {balancing up}] - is the feeling of removing expectation. This removal of KNOWING is fundamental to the Alexander Technique. It is what makes each moment feel full of possibilities and it is what allows us to free ourselves of habitual tension and try something NEW.

The interesting thing with the Alexander Technique is that this concept of removing expectation is not isolated to sitting into a chair. It could happen while you get out of bed or score a genius goal against Newcastle. It is something we ask for as often as we can and is an inherent part of all supple movement.

This elusive IT factor in thinking and moving is perhaps best understood by learning about the difference between a deterministic and stochastic equation in math.

Geez John… this sounds waaaay too complicated. Please don’t make me learn math again!!

Your Math Lesson

Don’t worry folks, this is actually quite simple!

A deterministic equation (or variable) is one where you absolutely can guarantee an outcome. Let’s take a very basic deterministic equation and talk through the possibilities.

y = x+2

And that x is a number.

For every number that we pick for x, we always know the outcome y. If x is 1, then y is 3. If x is 2, then y is 4.

In this world, there’s no risk. Every x we pick gives us a dead certain outcome. And while this is a terrific type of equation for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, it is a terrible equation for guiding your butt into a chair or guiding your foot in that next step.

A stochastic equation is one that involves a random variable. I’ll give you a simple example and talk you through how it works.

y = z + 2

where z is the roll of a 6-sided die.

The big difference between this equation and the one above? Well, in the deterministic equation, I let you pick a number. Now, I let you roll a die which could take on any of the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. The best guarantee you can give me is that y is a number between 3 and 8 and you will never know what y is until after you have rolled the die.

OK John, You Win.

I Learned Math.

WTF Does This Have To Do With

Thinking About DOING NOTHING!!!

Well yes, maybe this example has gotten out of hand… But if you are going to sit in a chair, do you really know exactly how far away it is from your butt? Or do you discover the distance in real time? I think most of us adults have a general sense of how far down a normal chair is (19”), but think about those times when you’ve gone to sit on a low couch.

Typically, most folks at one time or another in their lives will be taken by surprise at how low a seat is and PLOP into the seat with a bit of a laugh. The surprise came about only because they were very accustomed to sitting at a particular depth. They KNEW what should happen.

In this imaginary case, no one was seriously injured. But a more reliable way to sit into the low couch without the PLOP would be to

1. Look before you sit and

2. Remove your expectation about what should happen exactly.

The first instruction is to give you a sense of where you’re going. The second is to help prevent bracing on the way down to the low couch.

Removing Expectation to Make the Perfect Goal

First off… just look at this Dutch genius in action!

This goal has been dissected time and again by fans for the sheer SURPRISE of the moment. As the ball is passed to Denis Bergkamp’s feet, he absolutely intends to flick the ball to one side of his defender and run around the other side of him to shoot.

He talks about his decision making process in interviews and is rather explicit that he KNEW his only chance of beating his defender was to try a flick like this. So where exactly is the removal of expectation that I’m talking about?

For starters, Denis doesn’t know when the pass is coming to him until it’s hit. TIMING is out of his control. He MUST wait and be ready for anything.

Next, he has to assess the speed of the pass and measure his touch. These are highly educated guesses. He may be more machine than man, but he still is estimating.

After his flick, he is automatically balancing with his feet, fighting a defender for possession, and racing towards a ball that is bouncing.

There’s simply TOO MUCH randomness happening for Mr. Bergkamp to operate with a deterministic sense of self. He MUST have a stochastic way of assessing his surroundings.

OK Weirdo. What do Stochastics and Thinking About Doing Nothing Have in Common?

The common thread here is expectation. When you think of doing nothing, you are removing expectation from yourself - to the extent that you can - and allowing events to unfold around you. Notice that thinking about Doing Nothing is Walter’s first set of instructions. His second set of instructions is to think about standing and looking out to balance.

This is step-by-step guidance from Walter to STOP and be in the moment as best you can. The students NEVER know when they will be guided into the chair. And when YOU move on your own, you should always be open to the idea of changing your mind and NOT sitting down.

This is the exact game that FM Alexander played with himself while working out the technique on his own. He would stand, play the balancing game, think about speaking, and then either speak, NOT speak, or do something else entirely.

If FM can play that game on his own, then we can too!

OK… But WTF?

If you’re waiting for the bus, don’t plant your feet in place with boredom and become a statue! Let yourself feel how your weight is always balancing!

Get In Touch

If you’re in NYC, you may learn more about my private teaching practice at johndalto.com.

If you’d like to book any lesson time with me, you can find my booking link here.

* including Ruth Murray teaching in the background