What Exercises Can I Do to Get Better?
AKA Can Alexander Technique and Physical Therapy coexist?
Greetings from New York!
I’ll admit that I had no idea how bad airport security has gotten due to the recent government shutdown. I made it back to NYC without any issues whatsoever, but all of my travel buds had significant issues getting through security in New Orleans. 5 hour TSA lines are possible out there folks!
Fortunately, there are some great forums on Reddit where folks share live updates of the lines at the airports. If anyone in the USA is travelling this week, I’d check there to see if anyone is posting an update on their wait times.
PSA Over!!!!
How Do I Get Better?
Most people who come to me for Alexander Technique lessons are looking to improve how they feel. They might have some form of back pain or they might have a long term injury that they are trying to manage, but they all have one thing in common. They want to move and live a healthy life and ultimately not see me and be able to take care of themselves.
It can be a bit of a shock that during their first lesson I ask them to STOP, think, and resist the temptation to automatically DO something. The particular type of stopping we practice in the Alexander Technique can do wonders to alleviate pain and create expansion around the joints, but it doesn’t feel like something you should do 24/7. And it really flies in the face of every bit of advice folks have heard for the majority of their lives.
Surely, if one wants to feel better, one MUST exercise and get stronger and fitter.
My stock answer for folks is that if they want exercise, they should walk. Some folks can walk longer than others, but as of this publication date I haven’t had a student that cannot walk1. And while I stand by this advice, I am inevitably asked things like:
Are push ups ok?
I’ve heard hanging is good for posture. Is it?
My PT taught me to hold my head back to train my neck. Does that help?
I just want to do some planks to strengthen my core.
So I feel like I should address some of these concerns in a more specific way so that it might at least seem like there is a method behind my madness.
Grinding through Rehab vs. Having Fun
A lot of my students do things like play sports, dance, or do martial arts. I tell each and every one of them to continue with their sports and have fun. They should stop if things feel off (particularly if their neck is bothering them) but I trust that they won’t do anything particularly stupid on purpose to exacerbate an injury.
I think it’s important to keep as much “normal” activity in one’s life as possible so long as we are adding a good dose of rest and thinking into the mix. Sports in particular are a good idea in my mind because they are sociable and fun. This can take a lot of the pressure of “doing a good job at rehab” off of us and let us LIVE A LITTLE.
Living is good.
It is very rare that I meet someone who does push ups and planks for pleasure. The vast majority of gym culture revolves around doing strenuous activities to build strength, stamina, flexibility, and shed those damn lbs from all that crawfish and gumbo. At least in my experience, this means that there’s a lot less FUN going on in the gym and a lot more GRIND. Once we’re in a “grind” mentality, we’re not exactly taking the time to think if something is going to benefit us or if we can actually kinaesthetically feel our necks freeing during an activity. The result is that we end up repetitively doing things that shove pressure onto our joints and exacerbate our injuries.
So there you are doing your gym routine. Maybe you’ve set a fitness goal for yourself and you have fun hitting your goals on your exercise checklist. But is your neck stiff? Is your back hurting? If so, you haven’t gotten the real results you want.
At least for me, this is the definition of NOT fun.
If you’re socializing while working out then you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing and are unable to confidently assess if your neck is free while exercising. So yes, you can be having a fun chat with your friend after work, but you could have had that chat while going on a walk with them and NOT stiffening your neck.
This does not mean that you should not ever do a push or a plank or lift weights. It simply means that until you have the confidence to feel what a somewhat free neck feels like you won’t really be able to do an exercise is a healthy and FUN manner.
OK, but are planks and push ups good?
The majority of folks that come to me for lessons will perform a plank/push up with a very tight neck, an arch in the back, and shoulders that are locked fairly narrow onto the ribs. When we are starting with such a position, a healthy push up is not possible. Not only that, but the tight neck, arched back, and narrow shoulders are still present in walking and sitting.
It is far better to do the less strenuous activity of walking and sitting and figure out how to allow the neck to free during that moment than it is to do the more challenging push up.
But what about hanging my head off of my bed to stretch my neck?!?
When we feel tight, we want to stretch. It’s oftentimes our first instinct and the rehab world is filled with stretching activities that are designed to help you get out of that tight jam. Unfortunately, just because we pull our head to the left doesn’t mean that we stretch our muscles into a state of length. Maybe all we’re really doing is pulling on tendons and getting partial/constipated stretches…
Yaaarrrgghh SO WHAT CAN I DO!!!
Stop. Slow down. Feel your balance.
It takes time to build up the foundation of directions and the sense of kinesthesia to the point where you can confidently self assess what an exercise is and evaluate how you are doing it. I want each and every one to have that kind of confidence if they wish it for themselves, but the process cannot be rushed.
That’s why the Alexander Technique is a process of learning!
Does This Resonate With You?
These blogs are hopefully a way of helping you better understand yourself, how you function, and why things sometimes feel off in a general way. If these posts are helpful, I encourage you to subscribe, leave a comment, ask a question, or check out the archives for my previous articles. I like hearing from everyone and I’ll do my best to respond as I can.
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.
You absolutely CAN learn the Alexander Technique if you can’t walk. If you’re alive and can think, you can learn the Alexander Technique.