Hi Matt
Please accept the following article for possible
publication in 'HealthandFitnessFanatic',
or wherever you feel may be appropriate.
Title: Fibromyalgia, CFS, and the Alexander Technique: Part 3. Implementing
the Four Concepts.
Word Count: 1175
Author: Mark Shaw
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You have permission to publish this article electronically
or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are
included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be
appreciated - send to mikeearnsh@yahoo.co.uk.
Best regards
Mark Shaw
http://www.BeatFibroAndFatigue.com
Fibromyalgia, CFS, and the Alexander Technique: Part 3. Implementing the
Four Concepts.
Alexander's 4 concepts of good use
1: Allow your neck to release so that your head can balance
forward and up
2: Allow your torso to release into length and width
3: Allow your legs to release away from your pelvis
4: Allow your shoulders to release out to the sides
What exactly do we mean by release?
Try this exercise while you are reading this.
Pick up a cup as though you are going to drink from it.
Hold the cup close to your mouth and release as much
tension from your neck, shoulder and raised arm as possible
without moving the cup.
Can you feel the tension releasing?
If so, and the cup is still there then it can be seen that
any extra tension you had before "the act of release" was
in fact totally unnecessary.
You were still doing enough work for the cup to remain in
position. The muscles were not "relaxed" because this
implies that they are doing no work at all and this
obviously cannot be the case as the cup stayed in situ.
Similarly you can apply these techniques when you are
sitting at your desk working.
Sit at your desk and write something undemanding.
As you write think of releasing the tension in your neck
and shoulders. Feel how your shoulders drop as you release.
Feel how the tiredness evaporates with the tension. Notice
how you are holding your pen, can you grip it and write
with less tension in the fingers, you will find that you
can.
While you are still writing notice any extra tension in
your legs and feet. Consciously release this tension with
your feet on the floor, with ankles crossed.
At first, as soon as you think about something other than
releasing the tension notice how the tension actually
returns. Do not let yourself be discouraged as your body
will quickly learn to stay in a state of reduced tension as
it will innately "feel" that it is a more attractive state
for it to be in.
Some people like to think of tension as "noise" and
releasing as "quieting" that noise.
The first two concepts of good use are interdependent
An effect of the combination of these 2 concepts is that
they encourage you to maintain length in your spine.
Alexander proposes that the spine, being a curved and
flexible structure, can either be posturally compressed
which is harmful, or lengthened, which is beneficial.
Concept 1: Allow your neck to release so your head can
balance forward and up
The well being of the spine depends ultimately upon correct
head balance.
When your neck muscles are held tight your head presses
down on your neck and compresses the entire spine.
Therefore it can be seen that you have to first eliminate
the incorrect use of your head before you can practice
Concept 2, the lengthening of the spine.
Head forward and up; you allow this to happen by freeing
and releasing your neck muscles enabling your head to
balance and poise easily on the top of your neck.
In accomplishing Concept 1 we need to understand and feel
the difference between 2 bipolar positions namely;
• head "back and down"
• head "forward and up"
Place a hand gently on the back of the neck with your
little finger under your head. Now tighten the musculature
under your hand. Note how the curve in your neck changes
and the back of your head comes closer to the bottom of
your neck. This position is "back and down".
Now release the tension in your neck muscles so the head
actually rotates forward.
Your face will lower slightly, but the overall effect is
that your head will ease up off your neck; your neck will
simultaneously lengthen as it is no longer compressed. This
position is "forward and up"
Concept 2: Allow your torso to release into length and width
When you sit in a slumped posture the actual distance
between the top of your head and the bottom of the pelvis
is decreased. The spine is actually being compressed.
Similarly if you sit up straight as you might be ordered to
at school with your lower back very arched. The torso is
again compressed.
If you sit in such a way that normal curves in your spine
are maintained with your torso muscles working only so much
as to keep you upright, your torso will achieve its proper
functional length.
Torso widening is a similar concept to torso lengthening.
To prevent "back arching" think of your lower back widening
as your release muscle tension. Similarly with the
shoulders, to avoid shoulder rounding think of widening
across the front of your torso.
Pulling the 2 concepts together:
Sitting without Back Support
A good training exercise combining the first two concepts
is to practice sitting correctly without back support.
This will be uncomfortable at first. Like anything worth
doing in life the Alexander Technique takes time and
patience to master and time for your body to build the
endurance it needs to remain lengthened after years of
incorrect use, muscular atrophy and a degree of ligamental
shortening.
Sit on a firm chair close to the edge
Place both feet on the floor about 12 inches apart. You may
initially be tempted to slump, but do not give in.
Think of your head leading up and your torso lengthening
and widening as you "think" your back muscles into adopting
their true spinal length.
To determine when you are sitting correctly, the sitting
bones, "ischial tuberosities", 2 bony prominences at the
very base of the pelvis will be pointing directly downwards
into the seat of your chair.
If you are slumping they will move forward, if you are
overarching they will lift off the chair.
As I discussed in Part 1, Alexander proposes that we are
largely victims of the society we have created for
ourselves.
As humans we have evolved a beautiful upright posture over
millions of years.
But, as in many walks of modern life we have grasped defeat
from the jaws of victory by designing furniture that
encourages us to simply collapse into it, and also by
granting ourselves the luxury of thinking it is fashionable
to adopt chronic incorrect posture as the habitual norm.
The skeletal muscles work in opposing partnership with each
other. Take for example sitting with your torso fully
lengthened and widened. All the pairs of muscles
surrounding the torso do their job in a balanced efficient
way. The muscles are working in equilibrium.
In the same fashion when you slump in a "comfy" sofa, the
posture that the furniture is imposing on your spine
requires that the back muscles are overstretched, while
those in the front are over shortened. I.e. they are both
strained in different directions to maintain the position
the furniture has imposed.
Neither are working efficiently to give good support.
In part 4 of the series I will be discussing Concepts 3 and
4 in detail and also "Inhibition", an essential adjunct to
Alexander's four concepts.
----------------------------------------------------
Mark J Shaw.
Mark is the author of a new digital book and training
manual "Beat Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"
http://www.BeatFibroAndFatigue.com
Mark also publishes in a regular blog at:
http://www.BeatFibroAndFatigue.blogspot.com
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