stopping, paying attention and doing nothing

"The starting point of the Alexander Technique is stopping" Glen Park


The practise of deliberately stopping by lying down semi-supine for 20 minutes a day is probably the central activity of AT. It's the one thing that an outside observer could point to as you "doing your Alexandering". And its not as easy as it seems.


There are all sorts of reasons why its not easy an easy habit to get into. When I'm out of the habit of doing it, 20 minutes seems a very long time. If I'm struggling to stay still for that long I listen to guided meditations like Glen's accompaniment to the "The Art of Changing".
It brings me back to the first principles of the technique and why this practise of lying down is so essential.



Being still and deliberately allowing the time for tension to leave the body, and for the mind to quiet, is what allows space for the directions to begin working. It allows you to become aware of the thoughts, emotions and physical tensions that form the backdrop of your daily "doings". You need to be aware of something to change it.


Moshe Feldenkrais has a famous quote "When you know what you are doing, you can do what you want". Stopping long enough to observe your habits is the AT way of getting to know what you are doing.

We stop and observe while semi-supine, and we also try to stop or "inhibit" any preparatory or parasitic movements that we make before acting. Stopping the old habit, in order to make way for the new way of doing things that we are directing.

Since I'm lucky enough to have Glen as my real life teacher, I get the extra benefit of a familiar voice transporting me back to previous "lying downs".