If desktops go on your desk, then laptops must go on your lap, though desktops on your desk are favorable to a laptop on your lap.
While using the Alexander Technique helps greatly, having a computer on your lap puts you in a very challenging position. Your eyes are way up there but the screen is way down
here.
One of the easiest and most common ways to look down is to collapse your chest and jut your neck forward, a perfect example of bad posture. This potentially harmful position could be called laptop neck, joining ‘computer neck’, ‘text neck’, ‘blackberry neck’, ‘cell phone neck’, and eventually ‘life-neck’. This forward neck posture and concurrent spinal compression often leads to back pain, or neck pain, or headaches.
Alexander Technique principles help greatly when we have to look down for prolonged periods.
The Alexander Technique and computer posture
Make use of the freedom of your eyes. Our gaze can be rigid and fixed just as our neck, shoulders, and breathing can be rigid and fixed. As you look at these words right now, peripherally see what is around the screen. Notice the range of your vision without even moving your eyes.
Move your eyes and notice how wide your vision can be both vertically and horizontally, without using your neck and moving your head.
If you put your index fingers in your ears parallel to the ground and imagine a rod connecting them, you’ve identified the height at which the spine and head meet. This is the place from which to pivot the head to assist in looking up or down. It’s much higher than we think. If it doesn’t seem like a normal motion for you, it probably isn’t. But, developing the habit of looking down at laptops, cell phones, tablets, food, and drink in this way might spare you unnecessary discomfort, pain, and trips to the medicine cabinet or doctor.
Mark Josefsberg-Alexander Technique NYC
(917) 709-4648
Nice post, Mark! I’d like to offer this suggestion for laptop users: I have a laptop which I have set on a stand on my desk, plus a separate keyboard in front of it. This allows the screen to be raised to eye-level at a normal distance from my face, and it is more comfortable for my hands. I don’t know why it took me so long to discover this setup, but I am SO much happier with it this way. I also have an similar alternative set-up which is on a high shelf opposite my desk, so that I can move my laptop over there sometimes and stand while I type. I love that option, as it gets me out of the chair. I find that when I stand at the computer, I am more likely to leave it when my body is telling me that I need to.
Great suggestions, Jennifer. In a way you’re making the laptop into a desktop! Great idea. I also use it standing up.
“I am more likely to leave it when my body is telling me that I need to.” Yes!
“it gets me out of the chair”… I know what you mean.
Hi mark,
why we need to run around the specific things while leaving the general things?
If we travel in a railway compartment, there is no special provision for laptops, comfortable chairs even toilets.
Then what is the use in using ergonomic setups which has no reliability?
I think these SPECIFIC scenarios makes us specific but not GENERAL, and leads to alexander ‘end-gain’ principle.
Why cant we sit in a bloody chair of any type while working on the laptop, and make our own use and arrangemen using alexander preventive directional sequence of head spine(torso) limbs?
Hi Boss, or Jagadish,
You’re absolutely right about this. The Alexander Technique is not about specifics, but can be applied to specifics. This post is not about ergonomics, which is why I spoke about freedom of the eyes, the neck head relationship, the atlanto occipital joints for when we want to look down for any reason, compression of the spine etc etc. Sorry you didn’t get the main focus of this post, but I’ll certainly make sure I’m clearer in the future.
“Why cant we sit in a bloody chair of any type while working on the laptop, and make our own use and arrangemen using alexander preventive directional sequence of head spine(torso) limbs?” Well said! I couldn’t agree more.
Hi Mark,
I agree with Jennifer, a laptop stand is the way to go for working more than a few hours at the laptop.
I find that if I just want to type out a few emails, then sitting on the sofa with the laptop on a couple of cushions helps. It’s quite comforting too.
Hi Kevin,
Yes, I agree with Jennifer also. I think she has some very practical ideas about this, and about the Alexander Technique in general.