When Does Technique "Fail"?
You don't need to feel defeated!
Right after new year’s day, I spotted all of the Valentine’s chocolate out at the drugstore. I thought it was major overkill and there really isn’t any need to put out decorations for a made up corporate holiday 6 weeks in advance. Turns out, I blinked and the day came and went!
For those of y’all in Brooklyn, I’ll give a plug to Have & Meyer. Anytime I’m in an Italian restaurant with a nice grappa selection I’m pretty happy. Having some ridiculous pasta never hurt either!
Why Do Things Fail?
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the dreaded “Snap Back”. Sometimes when we’re learning the Alexander Technique we can have experiences that feel like an injury but are really a normal part of recovery after muscles have been exercised or stretched. It can be a very confusing experience because it can feel like so little actually happens in a lesson.
While the snap back is an example of what can happen after tension is released, there are also just days or moments in our lives when we feel our muscles and joints lock, our breathing get shallow, and our stress levels go through the roof. These moments could happen because we slipped on the ice, or had a family reunion with ALL THE PEOPLE, or because we had a nightmare after seeing Alien Romulus and dreamt that we had to run through David Rumph’s house while holding a facehugger in a death grip - desperately trying to shove it into the freezer.1 These moments can leave us feeling like:
we have to get EVEN BETTER at the Alexander Technique
we haven’t learned ANYTHING
we’ve completely regressed and have to start at the beginning!!!
These “setbacks” are just called LIFE; there’s no way that we can prevent them from happening. There may be some minor things we can do to prevent them (like not watching scary movies late at night and staying in when the weather is horrible), but we can’t control the world. It’s perhaps better to talk about what you can do AFTER sh*t happens.
After the Fall
After life has thrown a little curve ball our way, it’s important to NOT PANIC. It’s intelligent to go to a doctor if you think you’ve broken a bone, but - assuming you haven’t - it’s MOST important to not pull on yourself to force that strain out with aggressive stretching or try to vigorously exercise. Slow walking is almost always cool, but a lie down and a STOP is always a damn good idea.
At first glance, it can look to an outsider like you are lying down and being lazy. But these are really opportunities for you to STOP and allow yourself to rest. I think it’s important to remember that the Alexander Technique is NOT about living life free all the time. That would imply that you have destroyed the concept of stress.
Instead, the practice of the Alexander Technique allows you to tend to have less strain on your joints and an ability to more rapidly shed the stresses of life and cultivate more quiet. In the best of times, it allows you to come very upright in stature. With time and dedication you can sustain the upright for greater periods of time. But falling along the way will happen.
So take all the time you need to get back up! If you rush and try to force things to be right, you will only stiffen yourself up and make matters worse!
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.
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I absolutely woke up in a sweat with pulled muscles in my head, neck, and back as I had been strangling this alien in my sleep…