Thinking with every muscle

The Thinker

I went to Tate Modern to see ‘The Making of Rodin’ exhibition. This was the first time I had been to a Gallery for some time, because of Covid restrictions. It was so good to see art again! Rodin’s plaster models in the exhibition show him experimenting with how to portray movement and form. He even explores how a man can be thinking with every muscle in his body.

‘The Thinker’ by Rodin illustrates the concept that bodies express our thoughts and feelings, that our mind and body work together as one unit. This concept underpins F M Alexander’s technique that we still teach today. Many people just associate the Alexander Technique with issues such as reducing back pain, which it has been proven to do. But AT work goes far deeper than people realise. For instance, when we react to stress, we often tighten our necks and backs, thereby contributing to painful problems there. We can learn how to avoid doing that….

Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ at Tate Modern 2021

I was interested to see a great quote from Rodin on the wall. This reveals how Rodin made the Thinker think with his whole body:

‘What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back and legs, with his clenched fist, and gripping toes‘. Rodin.

Alexander would have appreciated this statement as he believed we tend to ‘translate everything, whether physical, mental or spiritual, into muscular tension’ (Aphorisms). However Alexander realised this tendency can be modified by our conscious control. We can re-educate ourselves to respond differently.

Psychophysical Re-education

Alexander used the term ‘Psycho-physical‘ to express this mind-body unity:

‘The term is used…. to indicate the impossibility of separating “physical” and “mental” operations in … the working of the human organism’ . Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual 1923.

Alexander said he was forced to use the words ‘psycho’ and ‘physical’ because there is no other word that expresses the amalgamation of both concepts.

If Rodin’s Thinker was having Alexander lessons his teacher could explore how much pain he experiences in those scrunched up feet, neck, shoulders, wrist and back. How often does he assume that position? Is it a habit, or a one-off expression of internal turmoil? Can he re-educate himself, let go of his habit and learn to change the way he reacts to situations? If so, he can learn how to continue his thinking but without reacting in that way and creating more pain.

Psycho?

Unfortunately Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘Psycho’ has greatly contributed to ‘psycho’ being associated with mental instability and psychosis. This can create a misunderstanding when AT teachers use the word psychophysical! But the AT is not to do with mental illness.

Alexander described his work in a rather heavy-handed Victorian style. Unfortunately, this also includes some passages that are considered offensive and racist today. Thankfully, at the end of his most popular book, ‘The Use of the Self‘, Alexander states he deplores prejudice, ‘racial or otherwise’. Teachers are searching for a new vocabulary to express Alexander’s ideas and his books are gradually being edited to make them easier to read and more acceptable for all audiences. The essence of Alexander’s discoveries is still valuable today, so it is well worth reading his books, with an understanding that present day teachers do not hold his Victorian views of the world.

All Aspects of our Being

An important part of Alexander lessons is when pupils begin to understand this concept of psychophysical unity, of how our minds and bodies work together. When we accept and embrace this fact, changes can take place. This can be very healing, as can be seen in this testimonial:

‘Having someone remind me how to connect with myself again and to be aware of how I use all aspects of my being was exactly what I needed’

The Jigsaw Challenge

Leave a Reply

So Why am I Talking About Jigsaws?

It’s Christmas (2020). Out comes my new jigsaw and now I have some challenges. The most important one, I realised a bit late, was how to do the jigsaw and avoid getting neck pain! The next was to decide if the table should be covered with jigsaw pieces. With the Covid 19 lockdown in place there will be no visitors, so yes, the table can hold the jigsaw.

Another challenge is to find all the edges and line them up where they might fit. I’ve started hunting and I gently rummage around in the box. I explore carefully, so I don’t break any of the jigsaw pieces. I’m already confused because the corner pieces are different colours from the image on the box! Unfortunately, I’ve not being paying enough attention to my body use.

How do We do Jigsaws and Avoid getting Neck Pain?

I’ve not done a jigsaw for a long time and I need to get my eye in. It’s hard to find what I’m looking for. I notice my shoulders and upper back are beginning to ache a little – that didn’t take long to happen! So what was I doing to cause that?

I had got lost in the activity and I had begun curl down over the table to see the jigsaw. So I’d started getting a bit tense and then achy. How easy it is to lose awareness of our body use when we get engrossed! It’s not surprising I was a bit achy, when you remember that our heads weigh approx 5 kg or 11 pounds. Our heads are so heavy, if we don’t support them with an easy poise and balance, the weight will drag us down. Then we can get neck pain and stiff shoulders.

My grandson is a good teacher! See how freely and easily he looks down

My grandson is a good teacher for me and when I see how he moves, it reminds me to come back to myself and think of my own body use. He has such a lovely easy way of moving. Here he is looking down, yet he is not dropping his head and neck forwards as I had just done. He is folding forwards from his hip joints and his muscles are working together in a quiet and balanced way – just as I teach people to do in Alexander lessons. (Teacher teach thyself!) You can sense the connection from the top of his head, along his spine and down to his coccyx and sitting bones.

So my most important challenge is that when I do jigsaws, I will to do so with more awareness. I will avoid getting neck pain by using the Alexander Technique. I’ll hinge forwards from my hip joints so that I can see what I’m doing and take frequent breaks – as I do when I’m working at my computer. Maybe I don’t need to play so intensely (in-tensely – got it?). Just because I’m having fun and supposedly relaxing, it doesn’t mean that I don’t need to look after myself.

If you would like to discover ways of looking after yourself whilst performing daily activities, contact me here and try an Introductory Alexander Lesson. This can be face to face in Harringay, or online if you live far afield.

Contact Hilary King

Teaching the Alexander Technique Online

Leave a Reply

Adapting to the Challenges of Covid-19.

I’ve been teaching face to face Alexander Technique classes for 33 years and I’m now including online work. Adapting to the new Covid-19 way of life, I’m on a course that aims to improve my online teaching. Primal Alexander, the brainchild of Mio Morales, makes the AT more accessible online, where we cannot use traditional hands-on procedures.

Hilary King experimenting with movements on Mio Morales’ Course

The 12 week CPD course also extended my range of teaching procedures which I use in face to face lessons. Another benefit is that I connected with international AT teachers during this time of limited contact with others, which is great.

An Expanded Alexander Technique Vocabulary

Mio has developed a new vocabulary for online work, to explain the concepts of the Alexander Technique. For instance Mio talks of allowing ‘Ease’ in ourselves, as an alternative to the traditional wording of allowing movements to be ‘Free‘. This extended vocabulary expands our ability to communicate the Alexander Technique to students, particularly online.

Mio’s also created a series of ‘etudes’ in which movement patterns can be explored whilst thinking about how we perform them. I look forward to creating some etudes for pupils – and for myself, with which to explore my own body Use.

Interview for Hackney Magazine

Leave a Reply

Hackney Magazine Article

I was honoured to be interviewed by Hackney Magazine, who published an article about how the Alexander Technique can help people during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 17 2020). I’m not alone in finding the AT a great self-help tool that we can utilize in many ways. It helps me keep calmer and more positive; I use it to reduce discomfort and tension; it recharges my batteries and helps me manage stress.

Active Rest Procedure in Semi-supine

The lying down procedure is the easiest way to start using the AT, even if you haven’t had lessons. It’s more effective than relaxation exercises – the AT reaches the parts other disciplines just don’t reach! You can find more info about how to practice the Active Rest procedure here. The Alexander Technique has many more applications than I was able to mention in the article, that can aid us during this stressful period.

There is a positive gift to be found within lockdown: STOP

Many of us have to stay home, to stop our usual activities and very often our work. So we have to stop living in our habitual way. Despite the hardship and trauma, this stopping can be a gift, as it allows us to experience living differently and see the world afresh. For instance, many people appreciate the fact that there’s less pollution now, plus enjoy having more time with their children – and they are spending less money.

I’ve just moved house and immediately had to self-isolate with lockdown. Fortunately I’m used to living on my own and looking after myself. It’s hard not seeing my family and new grandson and it’s hard asking for help from people I don’t know – but I am very grateful to my new neighbours in Umfreville Road. They are so welcoming, offering help and shopping for me. I’ve had to adapt to new ways of doing things – very abruptly – and the Alexander Technique has helped with this too.

Letting go of old habits allows us to adapt

These are challenging times and we all need to adapt. Psychologists know that change in itself is a major stress factor for most people. Incorporating Alexander principles can help us gain some choice over how we respond to these changes and stresses. Having the AT, a tool we can use, also helps us avoid feeling powerless.

Choosing not to be ruled by old habits is a skill worth developing. Learning the Alexander Technique helps us to stop and let go of unhelpful habits, so we can choose new ways of acting and being. This allows us to be adaptable, which is invaluable, particularly when we’re facing such huge changes in our way of life.

For those of us fortunate enough to avoid the virus, remember what Charles Darwin said:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change”.

Hilary King is teaching Alexander Technique in Harringay N4

Leave a Reply

I have relocated my teaching practice to the North side of Finsbury Park. I am teaching in Harringay, N4. This is part of the London Borough of Haringey – and yes, they have different spellings.

It was with mixed feelings that I said goodbye to my Stoke Newington home where I taught the Alexander Technique for 33 years. I miss my lovely old teaching room but enjoy the new one in Harringay.

Goodbye to my Alexander studio in Stokey

My Alexander Technique studio in Harringay

The Harringay Ladder N4

I now live and work in the Harringay Ladder . The name can be confusing, as Harringay is part of the eastern side of the London borough of Haringey. It is very close to the site of the old Harringay Stadium and Arena, which was a greyhound racing, motorcycle speedway and sports venue. I remember seeing many greyhounds being walked in local parks, years ago now. The stadium was closed in 1987 and is now the Arena Shopping Park. It is possible to get some free parking there, which is useful!

The Ladder is a series of roads that run between Green Lanes and Whiteman Road. On a map, they look very ladder-like. These roads are one way and if you come to me by car, you enter Umfreville Road from the Green Lanes end. There is restricted parking on the road and you need to pay by RingGo

Transport Links

Transport links are very good. My house is only a couple of minutes walk to the Harringay Green Lanes Overground station. This runs east-west between Gospel Oak and Barking.

Also nearby is the Harringay Rail Station with mainline trains running north-south from here.

About 12 minutes walk away is Manor House Tube station with the Piccadilly Line.

The buses serving the area are – 29, 141, 341 and W5.

Further info about my Alexander Technique teaching practice in Harringay:

Contact me for full details of my address, fees, lessons, courses and workshops.

Misha Magidov

2 Replies

Another sad notification, this time for Misha Magidov who died on 28 May ’19 aged 90.

Misha ran the North London Teacher Training Course where I qualified as an Alexander teacher back in 1987. Misha had trained with Patrick Macdonald, who in turn trained with FM Alexander himself. Misha was always so caring towards his students and his valuable teaching gave me a wonderful basis from which to work on myself and to teach the AT to others. Misha ran his course for many years with his lovely wife, Judith, until she went to Israel for cancer treatment but sadly died in 2005. Misha continued to teach in Israel but he visited the UK occasionally to run some workshops for AT teachers. We were always so pleased to experience his work again and he will be missed by many people.

I took this photo of Misha in 2008 when I participated in a Workshop that he ran in London.

Kevin Saunders

1 Reply

It was with great sadness that I learned of Kevin Saunders’ death {2019}. Kevin came to me on and off for many years for Alexander Technique lessons and during that time he trained as a yoga teacher then, I’m happy to say, as an Alexander teacher. Kevin went on to develop an approach to yoga teaching that utilised his AT training and wrote an excellent Blog on the topic.

Kevin Saunders. Photo: Ron Cox 2003

This lovely photo of Kevin shows him about the time he first came to me for Alexander lessons. Kevin thoughtfully explored many ways to incorporate the AT into his daily life – whilst playing the guitar, working in IT and fine- tuning his yoga.

The only photo I took of Kevin was when he challenged his sense of balance. He performed a deep ‘position of mechanical advantage’ whilst on a wobble board. Not something every pupil is asked to do, or could even think of performing!

Kevin Balancing on a Wobble Board

Kevin came to lessons with an intellectual curiosity and gentle thoughtfulness about the human condition. He discussed theories and explored many different ways of using the AT. He really made it into a way of life, which was great. I always found it stimulating to teach Kevin and in turn, I learned a lot from him over the years.

I miss him and I’m sure Kevin will be missed by many other people as well.

Successful ‘Stress? Take it Lying Down’ event

Leave a Reply

Stress? Take it Lying Down

We ran a very successful event for Alexander Technique Week 2018, the theme of which was ‘Stress? Take it Lying Down’. I am very grateful to The Old Church N16 as they kindly allowed me to use the premises for free, as we were fundraising for the local charity Safaplace. I also want to thank my colleague Jessamy Harvey, for all her help in setting up and running the event.

Over 40 people joined in the lying-down procedure. All Photos: Nell Greenhill

The Church looked beautiful and very atmospheric with all the candles and low lighting! We were fortunate to have two speakers from Safaplace, Sarah Finke and Rose White. They gave moving accounts about the formation of the charity and why it was set up in order to promote the positive mental health of schoolchildren.

I then described how the Alexander Technique can help us cope with stress as well as helping us be more poised. I also discussed how the AT explores the mind-body relationship and helps us unlearn habits we’ve developed, that can interfere with the way our bodies need to work.

Caroline Sears followed with a talk about Alexander in Education. This relatively new organisation has been introducing the Alexander Technique to schools and colleges in the UK plus many institutions around the world. The AT work helps students handle exam and performance stress, plus avoid developing problems such as tendonitis.

Lie-down time

After this, it was lie-down time. The Old Church was full of quiet bodies as Natasha Broke talked people through the Active Rest procedure. All the teachers then gave people an experience of AT hands-on work whilst lying down. All the teachers assisting on this event are registered with STAT and are alumni of LCATT, an AT teacher training course where I am a visiting teacher.

Six AT teachers gave mini taster sessions

Finally, we gave some mini taster hands-on turns whilst sitting and standing, to those that wished to explore the AT a little more.

Many thanks to Janet Foster who looked after the door, the friends who ran the bar and helped out and Nell Greenhill for taking the photos – all of whom, like the AT teachers, offered their time and services for free.

Donations to Safaplace

I am pleased to say that we raised over £423 for Safaplace – thanks to the generosity of all the participants!

If you would like to read more about Safaplace and / or would like to donate to them, you can do so here: https://safaplace.org/

Why I Trained as an Alexander Teacher

Leave a Reply

The Ballet Years

I had lessons in classical ballet from the age of 5 and serious training began from the age of 11 when I became a boarder at the Royal Ballet School. It was sometimes wildly exciting and it was great to visit the Royal Opera House, sitting in the Royal Box during rehearsals! But life was very pressurised and quite lonely and stressful. I was put on diets to slim down and I acquired strains to my Achilles tendon and lower back. I’d tried too hard to increase my flexibility. My body was always under examination and deemed to be ‘lacking’. Looking back, I can understand why it didn’t seem to belong to me.

In my late teens I was accepted into the Sadler’s Wells Opera Ballet (now ENO) where I happily performed for a number of years. I met my opera-singer husband and first heard about the Alexander Technique then – but sadly did not have AT lessons until some years later.

Hilary King performing with Sadlers Wells Opera, Welsh National Opera and BBC TV

Build-up of Stress Studying for a Degree

Later, I gave up dancing so that I could be where my husband worked (as women still tended to do back then). We had children, got divorced and then my ex moved abroad. I needed to re-train so I could earn some money. I studied for a degree majoring in Psychology and was in one of the last groups of people that were fortunate to have grants and were able to study for free.

Studying for a degree was hard as a mature student and single parent with 2 small children. Then my mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Life had become extremely stressful and I was concerned that if I went on my health would deteriorate and I would end up like my mother.

One of my Psychology lecturers, Peter Ribeaux, also taught the Alexander Technique at college, so I dived in and took AT lessons. I began to gain tools that I could use to calm myself down and clear my head. I studied better, my marks improved and was less cranky with my long-suffering children. Using the lying down procedure in particular helped transform me, as it gave me an immediate tool to help myself with. The AT also helped me with my old back injury. I learned to listen to my body and began discovering what it needed, rather than just making it perform for me, as I had done through the ballet years.

Semi-Supine Emergency Kit!

I gained my degree – just missing a first – which was sad but also wonderful. I’d not had any A levels, because ballet dancers were not deemed to need brains in those days (!) I then explored the idea of training in dance therapy and did some psychotherapy training but finally decided to train as an Alexander teacher. I was so impressed by the beneficial changes that had come about in me through having AT lessons.

Alexander Technique Teacher Training

I commenced my Alexander Technique teacher training at the Ribeaux school and completed it at the North London Teacher Training Course run by Misha Magidov, qualifying in 1987. I have had many happy years of teaching and am very grateful that I’ve been able to work in such a wonderful discipline that helps me look after myself in both my my mind and body, as I teach others how to do the same.

Walk With Awareness on Slippery Paths

Leave a Reply

Use the Alexander Technique While You Walk

Winter brings rain, fallen leaves, ice and sometimes snow on the ground, which can make our footpaths very slippery and treacherous. We need to walk with awareness on slippery paths in order to maintain an easy poise and balance.

Icy Newington Green

You can see how quickly snow compacts into slippery ice, here on Newington Green – making it so easy to skid, slide and lose your balance, if you are not careful.

Observe Your Reactions and Walk Mindfully

How do you cope with slippery surfaces and paths? If you are aware, you can notice your reactions as you think of going out into the cold – do you start becoming tense at the mere thought of icy conditions? Perhaps you can say ‘no’ to bracing and choose not to do that, so that you can avoid building up unnecessary tension. Observe how you walk on slippery surfaces and experiment by relaxing and being thoughtful about how you move – and you may well experience a different, easier way of walking on slippery surfaces so you feel more secure and confident.

Try Ice Grippers on Your Boots

Adding ice grippers to your footwear is a practical aid to helping you cope with icy conditions. They make it much easier to balance and to avoid tensing up if you have a fear of falling.

I know from my own experience that it is very tempting to tighten up our legs, feet and ankles, the muscles around our hip joints and even our neck and shoulder muscles when walking on slippery surfaces. Most of the tightening is the result of anticipating a possible fall and this can
be tiring plus restricts our movements and circulation – and it’s a waste of energy!

Say ‘No’ to Bracing!

We really don’t need to brace ‘just in case’ we might slip and fall. This doesn’t serve us. In fact, tightening our neck muscles reduces the information we can obtain about our balance, and locking our ankles and hips also interferes with our ability to fine tune our balance. A recent Research Trial concluded that Alexander Technique lessons aided older people with their balance and fear of falling, so that they felt more secure.

I remember an occasion when I was walking tentatively on an icy pavement and I was gradually getting very tight muscles around the tops of my legs – then a teenage girl sprinted down the icy road in front of me with beautiful grace and freedom of movement. Seeing her easy running skills reminded me to keep freeing up my neck muscles and my whole body as I moved and I felt a lot more comfortable as a result! When we do this, we are able to obtain more information about our balance, not only from the structures in our ears but also from the tiny movements our heads make as we walk and the AT can help us to do this. It is always helpful to walk mindfully but it is particularly important when paths are slippery.

If you would like to try out the AT, 1:1 Alexander Technique lessons are available on a regular basis.