11/14/10

Sitting Longer, More Easefully and Without Pain

When my students arrive for their lessons each week I often ask them to share with me how they are integrating the Alexander Technique into their everyday lives. This question acts as a gentle reminder to keep alive what they've learned between lessons. My students share questions, observations and new experiences of being in their body.

Not infrequently students notice positive changes in their experience of sitting. Many of those I teach are professionals or academics who spend much of their day sitting in an office, traveling, sitting in conferences, and doing research on their computers so this change is very very important for them.

After a long period of traveling for work, a student recently noticed that sitting was now easier and that she could do it for much longer periods without discomfort. She felt she had gained the tools to deal with fatigue when sitting and now slumping felt like work! Instead of going into her slumping habit when tired she was able to access a more balanced way to sit that put less stress on her system and kept her back from aching.

Another student reported succinctly she was now able to sit longer, with more ease and less pain.

Click Here to read a recent feature from the New York Times Opinion Pages about the dilemma of too much sitting in our lives. The first contributor, Galen Cranz, is an Alexander Teacher!

Click Here to see a video on the Alexander Technique from the Mayo Clinic. Although it doesn't address the activity of sitting directly, I'm posting this video again because it talks clearly about Alexander Technique's effectiveness in dealing with poor postural habits, ones that can get in our way of sitting comfortably!