The Alexander Technique: Twelve Fundamentals of Integrated Movement

Description

This book gets back to the core of the Alexander Technique (AT), much of which is not known even to most teachers. This is because Alexander (1869-1955) changed what he was doing at least three times, around 1912, 1923, and 1930, each time leaving key elements behind, unexplained. These lost elements include natural breathing, his biomechanics to alter the body for ourselves, the real thought processes of his directions, how he used inhibition and quiet attentiveness to discover intrinsic movement patterns, and how he used vision as part of his process. There are snippets of AT history throughout, and a potted history of what really happened in the AT, as it has not been told before, but the emphasis is on AT in the context of integrated movement. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Part I. The Basics of Fundamental Movement 1. Introduction, aims, and a tropical tale Visions of free movement – a tropical tale Aims of the book How this book came about Evolution of the Alexander technique, and finding the whole elephant 2. What has been lost, and the twelve fundamentals of movement Integrated movement – WHAT has gone wrong, and WHY Sitting is the new smoking The five senses – one of the great myths Changing our movement habits needs a change in thinking Top-down vs bottom-up processing Left hemisphere for the known, right hemisphere for the unknown An evolutionary perspective puts the body first Whole-body animal movement, the fulfilment of evolutionary potential Introducing the twelve fundamentals of integrated movement Time and space and rhythm Seven new proposals for integrated movement 3. The fundamentals of structure Lesson 1 Waking up proprioception Lesson 2 We are fighting gravity as we move Lesson 3 Making your first changes towards a more mechanically advantageous structure Lesson 4 Understanding the different models of body mechanics Lesson 5 Control mechanisms of body balance and movement – the self-organization of the body A summary of the engineering of the human body in nine layers Appendix: Twelve teaching tips, and further reading 4. The fundamentals of awareness and thinking Lesson 1 Waking up external perception – tracking a visual line Lesson 2 Clear brain choices and “inhibition” – the key to changing brain patterns of body use Lesson 3 Interoception – the internal world of a hundred senses, and our reason to move Lesson 4 Where we think from – mind in the brain, awareness versus feeling Lesson 5 Whole-body awareness and embodiment – “liquid light Lesson 6 Finding our spatial awareness – of our surroundings and of ourselves Lesson 7 Emergent integrated movement – discovering our fundamental bend led by focused vision Lesson 8 Exploring semi-supine – a position of active rest 5. The autonomic nervous system – why we need to work from quiet presence and awareness The three states of the autonomic nervous system The ladder from safety to danger to life threat Maintaining a balanced life with self-regulation Bringing the nervous system back to a place of safety Recovery by climbing down the ladder 6. Finding the innate movements of breathing and walking The evolution of our movement – finding the buried patterns Lesson 1 Natural breathing – finding the natural expansion of the torso Lesson 2 More breathing explorations Lesson 3 Finding our emergent rhythmic movement – walking and bouncing Part 2. Linking brain and body with explorations of physical integration 7. The Initial Alexander technique, and a new model of postural alignment Introduction to Part 2 – exploring Miss Goldie’s model of the structural body The seven steps to a new body geometry The five stages to Alexander’s path of discovery Lesson 1 How well is your body aligned with gravity Lesson 2 Rebalancing the upper body Lesson 3 Making an integrated change Lesson 4 Rebalancing the lower body Lesson 5 Lengthening the back from top and bottom Lesson 6 Integrating directions within the expanded field of awareness 8. Single leg balance Lesson 1 Introduction to balance Lesson 2 The vestibular organs and the three directions of space Lesson 3 Finding our secure base – the ball of the foot and the sesamoid bones Lesson 4 Finding our secure base – the hip stabilizers Lesson 5 Finding our secure base – tilting the foot – the lower ankle joint Lesson 6 Placement of the feet – untwisting the leg spirals Lesson 7 Widening the hips with the breath – opening the femoral triangle 9. Spatial relationships and use of the upper body and arms Coming into relationship with our world Lesson 1 The supportive torso Lesson 2 The shoulders and upper arms – opening the deep back arm line Lesson 3 How safe do you feel? Opening up the chest and armpits Lesson 4 Opening the forearm flexors Lesson 5 Gripping without grabbing – balancing flexors and extensors as we grip Lesson 6 Delicate movements of the hand Lesson 7 Spatial relationships in the arms in everyday life 10. Toned sitting – integrating the core muscles Introduction – why work at sitting and standing Lesson 1 Keeping the legs switched on while sitting, even at a desk Lesson 2 Sit to stand using the new alignment of the legs and feet Lesson 3 The anatomy of integration, finding our core muscles, and active hip folding Lesson 4 Finding the anatomy of integration by inclining back on a chair 11. Walking as you’ve never walked before The standard model of walking Lesson 1 Stability enables mobility Lesson 2 Stability enables coordination – finding fully active feet Lesson 3 Stability and mobility enable torque – finding the power in your walk 12. Alexander’s biomechanics for expansion of the upper body Introduction Active, integrative stretching versus passive, single muscle stretching Lesson 1 Finding the supportive torso Lesson 2 Shoulders and clavicles Lesson 3 Opening, widening, and deepening the chest Lesson 4 Straightening the arms from both ends Lesson 5 Opening the top of the ribcage – the reverse whispered Ah Lesson 6 Classic Alexander technique procedures for arms 13. Precise, springy alignment in sit to stand and “monkey Lesson 1 Anatomy and engineering play Lesson 2 Tilting the torso forwards into “monkey Lesson 3 Balanced sitting – actively upright without bracing Lesson 4 Why the knees need to stay back as we tilt forwards to stand Lesson 5 Squatting and bouncing – testing our elastic resistance and mobility Lesson 6 Constructive conscious guidance and control – using Initial AT for yourself 14. Freeing the neck, and Alexander’s primary directions Lesson 1 Why we need to free the neck Lesson 2 Finding length and adaptive tone in the neck extensors Lesson 3 Primary control and directions revisited Part 3. Living in a flow of dynamic balance 15. Catching a ball – inhibition in action Introduction – discovering the core of Miss Goldie’s work 291 Catching a ball in seven stages Fully responsive action for optimal coordination Discussion points 16. New models of coordination and learning Lesson 1 Coordinating locomotion by using the whole-body intelligence network Lesson 2 Coordination of reaching and grasping in everyday actions Lesson 3 New models of learning a complex task 17. Embodied speaking Introduction Lesson 1 Being present as you speak Lesson 2 Embodying the voice 18. Relating and attuning to people for putting hands on others Introduction – we are not machines but self-integrating systems How is non-verbal information transmitted Five key elements to bring about resonance with a pupil Summary for hands-on work with a pupil or client References Index