Portland, Oregon Sunset
While teaching, sharing, and studying the work of F.M. Alexander we teachers and our students become aware and react to the challenges about us in different ways. Without exception we are changed profoundly, whether it be mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually or all four. In the end, these parts all work together and must be in balance. In my writing I often express how Alexander work, as well as breath use, help me cope emotionally with day to day challenges. A few times, though, I have had students react spontaneously exclaiming how spiritual the work is. It seems that this aspect of the technique is not discussed much. It certainly is not a possibility that I bring up, but have thought about from time to time.
Several years ago I worked with a friend, an Episcopal priest, who was wanting to improve her singing of liturgy. In my studio singing lessons always begin with Alexander lessons. After a couple of lessons she spontaneously exclaimed to me, “This work is spiritual!.” At that time I had not given the idea much conscious thought. Recently I had another rather profound experience with a student after only one lesson. I was fortunate to work with a woman who is rebuilding strength after a serious illness. A personal trainer who specializes in these cases and I worked with her several times during the week she was visiting. Before this week she required a cane for stability; after only one day of very gentle exercise along with an Alexander lesson she became more balanced, stood upright and exclaimed, “I feel light.” When I met with her the second day she told me she had spoken with her sister by phone and explained about the work she was doing. She reported her sister asked if it was like yoga. My friend emphatically replied, “NO! It is spiritual; it is about the mind.” I love how very clear she was about this!
After some research on the Alexander Technique and spirituality, I found the following quote by Brian John Tracey, an Alexander Technique teacher in Australia. He wrote in an essay titled, “The Alexander Technique as Foundation for Spiritual Practice”, (1996) “In spiritual work we are engaged in the process of increasing our capacity to perceive, tolerate, and eventually celebrate the energy in our systems, and the systems at large.” Patty de Llosa, an American colleague and journalist wrote about spirituality in the Summer 2007 issue of the American Society for the Alexander Technique’s Journal. In the article, “The Spiritual Dimensions of the Alexander Technique”, she wrote, “As many spiritual disciplines tell us, a major stumbling block to living a more present life is the very remembering to return to ourselves… So, the search for where my attention rests, in space and in my body, can be a simple reminder to wake up to the present moment or much more – a call to reexamine the meaning of my life on earth.” (Patty de Llosa is also the author of The Practice of Presence: Five Paths for Daily Life, Morning Light Press. Her website is www.practiceofpresence.com.)
As we increase awareness, stop, listen, and breathe in the breath of life, we no doubt are engaging in a deep practice of experiencing mindfulness and as a result we often do examine the meaning of our lives here on earth (spirituality). One dictionary defines spiritual as “of or relating to the mind or intellect.” Without question, in our pausing, we become more human, less reactive, and certainly more open to life about us. There is improvement and change – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually! Think about it!
Pause-Breathe-Onward