Practices

August 2007

This practice is a way to gain more awareness of yourself in your environment. It is simple and can be done almost anywhere... at the computer, on a plane, at a stop light.

Take a moment to stop what you are doing.If you're sitting at the computer, place your feet flat on the floor and your hands on your legs, palm side down. Notice what you sense with your hands, the texture of your clothing, and the temperature of your leg. Notice the weight of your hands, arms, shoulders and head.

Now bring your attention to wrists. Allow your wrist to be a little lighter, release any holding there and bring a sense of energy to your wrist if it's collapsed. Continue to bring your attention up your arm to elbows. Allow your elbows to have space in the joint, allow them to release way from your body slightly. Notice how your shoulders follow in a release away from each other, each releasing slightly to the left and right.

Continue to allow for a gentle release away from your center. Send a gentle thought of release to the muscles of your torso to release away from the spine. Think of the muscles of the front of your chest releasing out away from the center out to under your arms. Think of the muscles of your upper back releasing out away from the center out to under your arms. Now bring your attention to the rest of your torso, gently thinking of expansion, up and out away from the spine. Notice if you're holding at your hip joints and allow them to move freely. This in turn will help the muscles in your torso find their full length and expanse.

Now tell your elbows to move out and away from your body. Think of your center-upper back muscles engaging slightly to help this movement. Your forearms and wrists remain released. Notice if you start tensing here and let that go. Now think about your pinky fingers on both hands moving towards the ceiling. As you continue to release away from your center, you want your pinky fingers to lead your arms up toward the ceiling. Take care not to go too quickly and not to lose your width across the upper chest and shoulders. You do not need to extend your arms so far that your elbows lock. They can remain slightly bent.

Notice how your ribcage is raised, along with your arms. Now continuing to allow your ribcage to remain open, expanded and slightly higher than it is normally for you, slowly bring your elbows down and your palms to your upper legs, near your hip joint.

Notice how your ribcage remains light and you have more space in your upper torso. Notice how your shoulders and back stay wide and open to help support the openness of your ribcage. Notice how your breath can be fuller.

This is a great practice to use as a short break while working at the computer. It brings an openness and gentle energy to your arms and torso. It allows you to keyboard with more support from your back and with more freedom and less tension in your arms.

Lessons with Amira in the Alexander Technique provide hands-on guidance to help you to become aware of your patterns of holding and tension. She can give you a individualized experience of this practice to teach you how to work through your unconscious habits of muscle contraction.

Enjoy!

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Amira Alvarez, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor
Berkeley, California
510-528-3109
amira.alvarez@gmail.com