A philosophical moment.

I have been listening to a series of talks led by Pema Chodron entitled “Making Friends with Yourself” and noticing that Buddhist philosophy has much in common with aspects of the Alexander Technique.
Pema speaks of looking for the gap between “getting hooked” and “acting out” …. Of breaking up the longstanding habitual patterns that interfere with us being conscious human beings. She speaks of becoming familiar with the bodily sensation of “grasping” and of shifting the attention, for example to the toes for when the intensity of the emotions is overwhelming. Also of being gentle with ourselves when resting in and accepting uncomfortable feelings. Becoming gradually more and more intimate with the way our minds work.
In the Alexander Technique, we speak of training ourselves to make a momentary pause between intention and action. This shift of attention (we call it ‘inhibition’) is another way of creating space both in the dimension of time and physicality. With well directed thinking, we can bring about a calming of the nervous system and the space thus created offers the opportunity to take time to choose the next step, rather than leaping in with a habitual or less conscious reaction.
Within this momentary pause (even for just a fleeting few seconds), it is also possible to make subtle, fluid adjustments of postural alignment, so that ongoing movements are balanced and poised. Clarity of intention and “direction” then become naturally integrated with physical action.
We are so intimately connected with our thoughts that our bodies respond instantaneously to our shifting moods and inner conversations. That said, we frequently go about on ‘automatic pilot’ with very little thought of how we are doing anything!
The Alexander Technique is one way in which to become more aware of the effects of our thoughts and the wonderful ways in which we can then harness our thinking to release unhelpful habits and assist and support us in our activities.