In this class, we repeated the brain dance and then began our work in the Alexander Technique. We began by doing un-Alexander which was to draw our heads down onto our necks. We explored the concept of the importance of the head and spine relationship by saying our names and making a gesture, circling ankles, wrists, and spines. We noticed what was different when we allowed the head to move forward and up from the spine. What did you notice?
Next, we worked with the head and spine joint. The atlas upon which the head rests is actually in the center of our heads. We gently manipulated our partners head around this pivotal point in order to feel the actual joint and to allow an outside force to show us this point.
Then we took a walk through the space with our newly experienced head /spine connection. For homework, you were given the image of a conehead. How does your head feel differently with a conehead? What else did you experience in this introduction to Alexander?
Next, we worked with the head and spine joint. The atlas upon which the head rests is actually in the center of our heads. We gently manipulated our partners head around this pivotal point in order to feel the actual joint and to allow an outside force to show us this point.
24 comments:
When I imagine my head as a conehead rather than as the head I actually have, I take more care of where I'm placing the top of my head. Rather than just whipping my head around to give my focus to something, I move it slower because I don't want to hurt my little cone up there that I can't see. It's like I don't want to run it into anything. And I can almost imagine the sensation of that extra weight on top of my head and it makes me move my head on a more flat, horizonal axis than what I do naturally.
My experience of walking around after the partner exercise in class was really awesome. By focusing on letting the point in the middle of my head where my spine actually meets my skull lead the rest of my body, I got the sensation of almost isolating everything from my shoulders up from my natural walking movement. I got the image that I might have looked like I was trying to balance books on my head while I walked - that's what it felt like anyway.
Also in the beginning of class, when we played with "what not to do" it made me realize my movement patterns and normal posture that may be restricting me. Such as my shoulders slouching forward and in, holding my neck too far forward and down. So now I have things to focus on throughout my everyday life to try to help me improve my movement efficiency.
~Desirae Lexa
When I think of having a cone head it makes me straighten up my spine. It feels like a pole runs all the way to the top of my head. This makes me feel taller. When I was outside, though, I almost wanted to scrunch down because I imagined my cone being a resting spot for a bird.
The partner work with our heads connected was interesting. I kind of feel silly sometimes, but other times I feel physically connected. It made me listen to their movements and follow them. It gave me a simple example of how it would be to be a Siamese twin.
Doing un-Alexander made movements surprisingly difficult. I felt very restricted in my movements when my head was pushed down onto my spine, I felt as if my spine became stiff and harder to bend. This was especially apparent when I tried to twirl my hips with my head scrunched down. I had to bend my knees in order to get any movement that even resembled “twirling.” When we allowed our heads to move forward and up, a pressure and a tension was removed. I felt more freedom in my movement and I felt more at ease.
Focusing on the head-spine joint as being in the center of my head gave me a very different perspective on how I move my head. I feel like my head can move more freely when I focus on this joint instead of on where my neck meets my head. I also feel like my head feels lighter when I focus on this point.
When we partnered up and had our partners move our heads for us, I found it very difficult to submit when my eyes were open. When I closed my eyes though, it was much easier to let her have control of my head rather than me trying to follow what she wanted my head to do. Then, once released to walk about the room, I felt as if my head was just floating atop my spine, as if it could just float away. As stated in Body Awareness in Action, “the feeling of pleasure in an everyday movement [took me] by surprise, and [my face broke] spontaneously into a smile as [I noticed] it” (pg. 6). I truly was amazed at the sensation that I was feeling and could not help but smile.
Furthermore, imaging myself as a cone head made me immediately readjust my head to balance out the new extension. I felt I had to keep my head in a more upright position in order to keep it from falling over. I really had to focus on keeping it balanced.
Overall, I find the Alexander technique very interesting and I look forward to work with it more this next week. ~ M. Schmidt
By doing the un-Alexander I really seemed to notice how much easier it was to move freely when we were standing with our heads reaching up and forward from our spines. It seemed that when I hunched my neck down into my spine it was a lot harder for me to do even simple movements. I especially noticed this when I was trying to move my hips in a circle. The range of movement became a lot greater once I had allowed my head to pull up and away from my spine. My favorite part of the class however, was when we had a partner move our head for us. It became a lot easier to find the actual center of my head when someone else was doing the movement for me. I probably wouldn’t have noticed the difference very much if we hadn’t had the opportunity to walk around afterwards. I felt as if my head was somehow lighter and I also noticed that I stood up straighter. Throughout the rest of the day (at least whenever I remembered) I tried to walk and even sit like this, and it actually seemed surprisingly way more comfortable that how I normally stand or sit (which seems to be slightly hunched over).
-Emily Stromme
The Alexander technique we explored regarding the head/spine connection was very interesting. I had never felt that particular joint before, or if I had I didn't know what I was feeling. For the rest of the day my neck felt longer and more released.
Imagining a cone on my head brings my awareness to smaller tilting motions in my neck. It makes me think about if I'm tilting my head inadvertantly when I am turning my head.
Mairi Holtzner
When scrunching my head and neck down and back, I experienced a lot of not-so-good things. Other than simply being uncomfortable, my range of motion was immediately limited, and I felt stiffer. I felt a kind of ripple effect through my body: my whole spine seemed to lock up, which lead to my whole body becoming less mobile. I now had to concentrate on the movements that had come so naturally before.
Having my partner move my head around felt almost like a mini massage. It was very relaxing to have someone else maneuver that heavy thing. I never really realized how much of a burden my head is until someone else took manual control of it – no wonder I have such neck problems.
It’s interesting that when we were actually pulling our hands up to illustrate our coneheads, I felt my neck shrink and myself shorten. If I just imagine being a conehead, I feel the extra length but not when I do the action. When imagining my conehead, my head feels lighter, despite the imagined added head height, and I feel my head rising off of my neck.
I think even this little introduction to Alexander Technique could be helpful for me in the future not only with my dancing, but when singing and acting, as well. I plan on reading up on it a little more…maybe after I’m done with this quarter.
~Marcee Wickline
In the Alexander Technique that I had to draw my head down onto my neck, I really feel uncomfortable. I really feel like something which was too much weight was on my neck. It was really hard for me to say a word loud. However, when I allowed the head move forward and up from the spine, I can feel my voice was quite louder and more powerful. I felt like I release my tension during my say out loud.
After worked with the head and spine joint, it was really hard for me to turn my head to the side. When I want to turn my head, my body goes with me-but not my head. This might sound weird, but it really happened. I can feel the weight on my neck that only tells me to look forward.
With a conehead, I feel even worse than the above experiment. It was too hard for me to move with my conehead. I just feel really uncomfortable because I always thought that there is sometime tall and heavy on my head. And I have to be careful not to hit my head on the ceiling. It’s really tough time imagine I have a conehead
Pitchaya N.
Alexander Technique was very new experience for me and I found out some amazing things about my body. When we had our head and neck down, it was really hard for me to move any parts of my body. I felt like my joints are all rigid and cannot move freely. That was very exciting experience and I really felt all part of our body and brain is connected to each other and it moves in a same manner.
Partner activity was fun and very relaxing for me. I usually think that my spine is not straighten up. Like what Mr. Gervais said, I use computer almost all day long and my position is almost like I will be sucked into the computer. Therefore, when my partner touched my hairline and behind the neck, I felt really good and relaxing. I really wanted that more.
On that day, I tried to pretend like I had a corn head like the Simpsons, it was really hard but I again felt that my spine is stretching out to the sky. Overall, it was a very unique experience.
The Alexander technique has informed a big part of the last couple of days. I am acutely aware of my head tail relationship and the benefits of creating space in my upper spine, neck, shoulders and chest.
Typically I carry a lot of energy in my neck and shoulders; my life as an active grad student and young professional entails a heavy backpack and time spent in front of my computer takes its toll. The simple act of talking to my body, to my head and shoulders easily invites space into the areas where I chronically feel a lot of pressure.
I appreciate the simplicity of this technique, working in partnership; I experienced a lot of release as my partner moved my skull around. It was nice to have the light pressure on my head and with the release of pressure, the freedom and opening I felt was magnificent!
Over the past couple of days, I chuckled each time I noticed colleagues and friends in front of their respective computers, as I watched them work their way physically into their machines. ;)
Lindsey G.
This class has been such a great gift to my busy week of home work and sitting at the computer and reading books ALL weekend long! I loved your demonstration of being sucked into the computer and how we try to become the same size of the computer instead of being aware of our own being and posture when we work. I am constantly becoming aware of my head, light and bobbling, moving forward and up, until it has a nice cone point reaching for the ceiling.
It has helped my neck and back immensely as I find length and fluidity. I love the awareness it brings not only to my physicality but also brings me closer to the present moment, centers my thoughts and I reset to continue with intention.
The Alexander technique, “teaches you how to bring more practical intelligence into what you are already doing; how to eliminate stereotyped responses; how to deal with habit and change.” After Thursday’s exercise I began to realize the importance of posture on all parts of the body, including speech. Giving presentations in various classes always makes me nervous and sometimes short of breath. After this exercise I began to think about the way I stand and present myself during presentations. Although I don’t think I necessarily push my head against my spine, I am certain I have a type of “stereotyped response” that I am not normally aware of during presentations. This exercise has helped me to remember to be more aware of my posture and my head spine relationship the next time I am standing in front of a large group of people.
Pairing up with another person and thinking about the center of our brains and letting go was a bit difficult for me. I think of my head as the controlling center of my body, and I like to be in control of it all the time. I think I need a little bit more practice with this technique.
Having a cone head is a bit odd for me as well! When I imagine having a cone head, I feel like my head is really heavy and it could fall onto one side at any moment. This makes me appreciate the size and shape of my head.
Right now I am avoiding being sucked into my computer as I type this blog!
Sahar Z.
This class on alexander technique was probably more helpful for my posture, relaxation, and daily movements than all of the chiropractor and massage therapy visits I have ever had. When we closed our eyes and listened to the descriptions of good posture, it made me mold to that description without thinking about it as a command. I wasn't trying to fix myself, I was being myself.
As I pushed my head down into my shoulders and lifted my shouldes up to my ears, I felt like a huge part of the communication from my mind to my body was cut off. I could tell my body whatto do, but not quite how to do it. As my voice sounded wrong and my movement was so constricted and unnatural feeling.
After I allowed my partner to manipulate my neck/head relationship I felt like my head was floating on a cloud and I felt no need to control it or my body. As I walked, my head just went wherever my eyes pointed and my body followed.
These activities as well as remembering the dramatic images of coneheads and people curling themselves up to climb into their computers had me feeling more elongated and relaxed throughout the weekend because I certainly don't want to dissapear into my laptop.
I applied these things as I carried my backpack, sat in lectures, and even while I was doing the dishes. I had always known how much tension I carried in my neck and shoulders but hadn't been able to fix it. Now I look at it in a different way because its not fixing posture for socity or to look good, but to feel more relaxed, less tension and stress, and to make all of our actions easier.
-Jessica J
Wow, I don't think I ever realized just how interconnected the neck and spine are with the rest of the body. My movement in almost any given part of my body was so much more restricted when my head was drawn down and into my neck as opposed to up and forward. Not to mention it felt a bit uncomfortable to begin with to have my body in such a posture that it is not used to.
When my part manipulated and slightly moved my head, I was at first a bit resistant. It was hard for me to give up control of my head, such a precious part of the body that we're taught to always protect, and let someone else maneuver it. However I finally released some of my tension and let her move it for me. At first I wasn't sure how much control I had really given up but as soon as she let go my head felt like it was floating away. I could really feel my head moving forward and up from my spine! I really enjoyed walking around a bit after my partner let go because I felt like my body was following my head, a balloon floating where-ever it pleases.
With a conehead (btw, I love that movie!), I felt like my head had more influence over the direction that my body went. My head was perhaps a bit heavier and lead the rest of my body where it wanted to go instead of being whipped through space by some other part of my body leading. It was an interesting sensation.
-Lauren Cook
To start, The Coneheads is a great movie. I watched it a lot as a kid. So when you told us to be a conehead, I was stoked. I like how the youngest conehead can eat a Subway sandwich in one bite. But that’s beside the points haha….
The Alexander technique really taught me to relieve the pressure and tension from my neck. I didn’t realize that I carried all of that with me. It was relaxing to pull my neck up and away from my spine. I really felt the alignment coming into place. When my partner had his hands on my temples I immediately felt relaxed. When I got home and I practiced that technique on my boyfriend. He didn’t really get it, but I enjoyed trying to share something new with him.
-Jasmine Boado
I felt my body was very intense as I was pulling my head down towards my spine and doing my name introduction. Even my voice changed a bit. It was hurting my neck and my movements were not smooth. I felt a big relief as I came back to normal. I liked the part where we had to switch back to normal in the middle. It looked so weired and uncomfortable in the beginning and then smooth and pleasent by the end. As it was mentioned in the paper Alexander technique leaves you free to choose your our own goal but gives you a better use of yourself while you work toward it. Alexander's technique gave me a new insight to my movements. It made me improve them and pay more attention to them more often.
The cone on the head was really funny. As soon as we were asked to imagine a cone on our head, I felt this huge heavy object on my head that was messing up my balance and felt my head become bigger and pulled upward. The feeling was there as I was walking towards my next class and it felt weired. It was gone by the time I was done with classes! :)
~Afsoon Fazeli
I really like the quick brain dance. I feel like it really wakes me up and gets me ready for class.
I found it very uncomfortable to move my head down and back. It really had a negative effect on my movement and voice. When we were trying to circle our ankles and wrists I noticed it took a lot of effort when my head was back and down. All of the sudden there was a ton of resistance and it was really hard to move. When we circled our hips I noticed my range of motion and size for my circles shrunk when my head was down. What I thought was so crazy is that it was an instant change when the head moved. At the end when we just allowed our head to lift and our ribs to fall ect. I felt like my neck grew about 6 inches. It was amazing.
Finding my atlas point made me think and feel like a bobble head doll. As a cone head it felt like I moved my head more from the top of my head than my neck. The fact of the matter probably is that I moved more my atlas point rather than middle neck.
-Sandra Viall
I noticed that I had to "think" a little bit to get into "the heads down our neck" position before I could continue my action. It was as if the communication from my brain to the actor (body part performing the action) was cut down for a short time and I had to re-initiate the connection (while buffering the original state and continuing therefrom). Moreover, the action itself was definitely quite difficult and pretty discrete.
With the introduction to the Alexander technique, I kept on feeling my partner's hand on the skull and the back of my neck for a really long time (as an after effect) even after my partner had taken off her hands. While walking, it was the same, as if there was something that was holding my neck straight. While "relaxing" my head, I felt there was a little resistance when my partner changed the movement of the head (apart from the inertia, remember Newton's third law ...).
Finally, imagining as a conehead is bit weird. I probably can't imagine conehead with super shaven head (that's just funny). I have always tied my hair on my head (and covered it)*, and it is going to be pretty awkward on a head shaped like cone. Nonetheless I can approximate that my head feels a lot heavier, my movement is aware of the additional height, and the head tilts to the side faster (heavily). A cylinder will be even more crazier since it has a higher center of mass/gravity (as well as more mass).
*If you are curious why I cover my (uncut) hair, the reason is that I am a Sikh (and Sikhism being the religion).
#If anyone cares: (the increased movement is just because the center of gravity/mass is now higher relative to the one without it, which results in an increased distance between neck joint and the center of gravity point, which results in the same amount of force near the top and almost perpedicular to it producing a larger torque).
Today's class was very difficult for me. When we were in the circle and moving our necks down and back so they sat on our spine differently, I felt a lot of tension and discomfort in my neck. I did not like or enjoy the way this felt at all. I found it interesting thought that moving our neck down and back like that could have such a huge impact on our entire body. It was weird to hear the way other people's voices sounded during this activity when their necks were pushed down. It was also weird to hear how I myself sounded. I did not particularly enjoy this activity because I felt so much tension in so many places in my body.
It was interesting trying to pinpoint the center or our heads. When my partner had her hands on my head and was moving it slowly, it was hard to give into her movements and stop myself from taking control. After she let go and I had to walk around the classroom, my head felt incredibly light. It was a very odd sensation, but I liked it.
Walking around with the idea that I had a "conehead" was sort of strange too. When i really thought about it, my head felt heavier. It felt as though the slightest movements were amplified ten-fold. I had to be careful about how I moved and my head felt really heavy. To be honest, I did not do this activity for the entire day. However, every so often throughout the day I thought about having a conehead, and my head would feel heavier and my senses would waken up and my awareness would increase.
~Melissa Eckstrom
I had already been briefly introduced to this technique in your modern class but I didn't really understand it until this class. I didn't know where the actual connection of the spin and the head were. Visualizing where the head and spine really meet and combining that with the thought of the head moving up and forward from the spine make so much more sense to me. I try to think about this all the time now. I notice my spine shrink most when I am really cold and when I am driving, and I spend a lot of time driving. When I practice this technique everything just feels better and I am able to move more freely. Your comparison to a cone head really helps me when thinking about my head moving forward and up. I have been trying to apply this to my dancing and it gets hard to remember the steps the timing and to lead from my head, but it can only get easier. Thanks for the introduction to this technique!
*Kali
When reading about the Alexander technique, various notions sounded feasible to me, yet I wasn't sure how their effects would play out for me in reality. It was shocking to listen to the differences in clarity and overall voice projection created by the slightest positional changes of one's head and neck. This idea is something that will definitely reside with me in terms of class presentations (and even just casual conversational) purposes. The "cone head" experiment was also fascinating—I was surprised at how much my mentality concerning my head and neck alignment could impact my actual posture. I noticed that my body position made me feel much more alert in class, and even at the gym, I was able to settle into a much more relaxed rhythm when running. As I sit here typing this, I'm consciously sitting up straight in with my "cone" on, feeling noticeably more comfortable that my usual slouched position, which quickly creates tension in my neck and shoulders. Thanks Alexander! –C. McCoy
The past few days I have been much more aware of my body in space, especially my spine and neck. I have been trying to keep my neck free and loose throughout the whole day. This particular day in class, however, I began to feel incredible nauseous, like I was going to pass out. Just by standing I felt dizzy and unstable. I intended on just leaving the room but (thinking of times like this is a hot yoga class) I decided to just hangout in child's pose. I'm not sure what has been going on in my body lately but I feel all sorts of difficult emotions and anxieties pulling and knotting and squishing me in all kinds of unpleasant ways. I am grateful for awareness in my body but it is very difficult sometimes.
As for the conehead experiment, I didn't participate in this part during class but have been trying it out on my own. It allows my neck to feel more free. I feel a little cautious of my movements so I don't whack anyone/thing with my gigantically awesome conehead. My head feels heavier and lighter all at the same time.
L.O'Neill
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I was a very interesting experience to explore the Alexander Technique. When I think I have a cone head, I feel awkward. But it helped me to straighten my spine. Very intersing! It make me feel taller and look straight forward only. When I try to turn, I feel like my eyes turn before my head turn. And when my head turn, I turn it very slowly like sometime will fall down if I turn it quick.
Another interesting point is when my partner and my hands connect. I feel like I can listen somebody through my hands; I can follow and feel it through the hands movement.
Pitchaya N.
I think I've always thought of my head as a cone. Perhaps not just a huge, unweildly, egg shaped cone, but somehow I've assumed my head is misfigured to be point and a little dangerous. I giggled at first at this exercise, but after imagining my cone head, getting comfortable with this idea, I started to feel drastic changes when the imaginary axis of my new giant head was tilted in any way. I think my neck might have even gotten more tired when I imagined such a heavy delicate head resting on my shoulders.
-Eugenia Prezhdo
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