Articles tagged with: bad posture
Here is a post from Psych Central. This is something Alexander Technique teachers have known for years (about 115 years)
It concerns posture and it’s effects on pain. While it doesn’t address the how of achieving good posture, it does speak to the effects of poor posture on pain. There is also another element: poor posture can cause pain. I see it every day when giving Alexander Technique lessons. One of the big culprits for back pain and neck pain is the computer…
The reason most people try to find an Alexander Technique teacher and start Alexander lessons is to improve their posture. Additionally, some may have made a connection between their poor posture and their neck pain or back pain. Having the motivation to fix posture is as good a reason as any to start studying the Alexander Technique. Not too far into the process of learning the Alexander Technique, however…
…the Alexander Technique, however, works differently. Though with Alexander Technique lessons back pain is sometimes quickly and dramatically decreased, Alexander’s simple method gets more to the root of the problem. And the root of the problem, quite often, is us and how we misuse our body. Back pain (and neck pain) is exacerbated by compressing our spines all day and all night long. We slump at out computers (like now?)…
On my subway ride to teach some Alexander Technique lessons at the American Center for the Alexander Technique in Mahattan, I noticed a man who could not have been more stooped over. As an Alexander Technique teacher I was particularly aware of how he was seated, reading the paper, his head not very far from his knees. His face was quite tense, and had a scowl I suspected was habitual. He seemed to ‘have the weight of the world on his shoulders…
What kind of person studies to become an Alexander Technique teacher? At first, I believe, it’s the same type of person who decides to take a few Alexander Technique lessons, and there’s no ‘type’ of person. To become a certified Alexander Technique teacher, you enter an Alexander Technique training…
The Alexander Technique is useful for everyone but especially valuable for musicians.
If you slump in front of you computer, you may ‘just’ cause yourself discomfort, pain or worse. If you slump at your instrument, whether sitting or standing, you may be causing additional difficulties.
When slumping we may not be getting the best sound vocally or instrumentally. The combination of our misuse plus the demands of…
“Stand up straight!” “Pull your shoulders back!” As children, we were told to have good posture. Yet we were seldom taught effective ways to accomplish this. Indeed, we were often not even told just what “good posture” is. The consequences of this information gap can be seen all around us: stiff necks, shoulders hunched forward or pulled tightly back, restricted breathing, and tightness in the thighs, legs and ankles. Backaches, headaches, and other painful symptoms are often the unfortunate result…
…The Alexander Technique is the good news. I teach, show, and coach almost everyone who comes to me how to use the computer without injury. If people are in pain already I teach them how to stop injuring themselves, and the steps to take to allow the body to heal. You could try it right now. See if you can notice any neck tension. It’s there, though you may not be able to sense it at this point. You can learn to let these muscles go. If you release your neck muscles, your head will rotate forward, and move up. You could think this way: I want my neck to be free so that my head will move forward and up. This ‘forward’ business doesn’t mean forward as in your face moving towards the screen…
When speaking of musculoskeletal problems, those are five of the most depressing, disheartening, unintentionally cruel and very often untrue words a health professional can say….as an Alexander Technique teacher in NYC, part of my job is to help people reverse or prevent damage, and I see back pain, neck pain etc. minimized and eliminated all the time, every day. People get better, and better, and better. The power of the human body (and mind, and spirit) to rejuvenate is well known. People start the healing process the minute they stop hurting themselves. The Alexander Technique teaches you how to stop hurting yourself; how to stop the damage, so you can start getting better…
Many times people say to me ‘I did ok this week, Alexander Techniquewise, but I caught myself a few times.’ There can be a negative connotation to ‘catching oneself ‘, but there doesn’t have to be. In fact catching yourself slumping or sitting up rigidly straight is really a positive thing. It’s at those moments where you can employ the principles of the Alexander Technique and make positive changes. As you catch yourself, you’re becoming aware; you’re waking up. Additionally…

