Alexander Technique Awareness Week is 1st to 7th April, and this year it wraps around ‘Sustainable Healthcare Day’ which is on 6th April.
Stress causes a variety of negative effects on our bodies, mood and behaviour. The Alexander Technique can help to manage stress in various ways such as by:
- reducing unnecessary muscle tension
- improving breathing
- improving mental clarity
- enhancing sleep
- preventing excited fear responses
Scientists have suggested that improvements to postural muscle tone are likely to be behind how the Alexander Technique rebalances our emotions. They give three possible explanations:
- adaptable or reduced tension in the chest, abdomen and back leads to deeper, slower breaths, which in turn downregulates the sympathetic (‘fight or flight’) nervous system;
- activating postural patterns associated with being calm, alert, and confident facilitates these feelings;
- axial motor regions (ie head and torso) are central to the Alexander Technique, and may have a strong influence on the regulation of the adrenal response to stress.
To get a feel for how the Alexander Technique can help you right now, here are some self-directions which you might like to experiment with:
I am not compressing myself
My neck and pelvis belong to my spine
My bones are sending me up
Let my head float on top of my spine
To go deeper, you can read more about the Alexander Technique or delve into my recent blog on Alexandrian Direction.