Astrid, the audience had no prior knowledge. My talk was born of a desire to share this work and make it accessible, known and available to all. Alexander discovered the importance of the RELATIONSHIP between the head, neck and back, not the Atlanto-Occipital joint itself . I decided to make it a participatory session and many people were able to notice where they were unbalanced. Amazing what some mindful attention can bring into your awareness. Thanks for your good wishes too :)
Hi, Angela Loved your talk, and it has inspired me to have Alexander Lessons. So, thank you very much. I also loved your Mind Map, and I would be extremely grateful if I could have a copy of it. Please keep up the good work, as I sincerely believe it will be helpful to so many people.
Thank you so much, Ms Bradshaw, for sharing your interpretation of the Technique! I'm so glad to see AT appear as part of the TEDx series. It's about time!
What a brilliant presentation! Everyone should be exposed to this. The Alexander Technique is definitely something that should be taught in school. Thank you so much for uploading this video.
This was really great. Thank you for making it participatory too. I got a real rush when I began to rebalance especially as I have realised I have pretty much been standing on one leg all day.
Thank You Angela for a Fantastic Talk, Everyone should know about this natural technique, I just hope you had more time as I am sure you have a lot more to say on this topic. Do you have any more videos about Alexander Technique ? No wonder you were named Angela as you are an Angel. Many Blessings .....
Angela - a lovely demonstration, inviting a whole audience to participate! M. Jones, I am glad you recognise this video demonstrates some of the techniques that can be available to you. I wish you well in your explorations and practice. Best wishes, Alex
I had back pain that kept me off work for 5 weeks in 1984. Nothing worked till I had Alexander lessons from John Naylor, and I have never had a day off work with back pain from then till now...33years later!
This is the best AT video I have found on TH-cam, yet I NEED MORE! lol. The cues she gives are powerful yet so simple. Can anyone suggest more resources on this? THANKS! :) :)
I play piano and struggle greatly with middle/lower back pain as well as shoulder pain. This is my first video on Alexander technique and truly hope it can helps continue my music.
So delighted to see this back online - a great talk and it was a real pleasure working with Angela in producing the drawings for this and her other Alexander Technique adventures! Definitely recommend trying AT - and Angela's approach - regardless of your situation :)
Is Angela scanning again? (Working in Ultrasound) How do you keep your equilibrium doing a repetitive job that requires a constant off balanced, one sided reach and push? A posture with your arms extended away from your center of gravity.
Really interesting I will add the Alexander technique to my practice in meditation I'm sure this new knowledge will be very beneficial towards the sessions in the future
Hello Ms Bradshaw. I have a question. You have referred to "The base of the large toe and small toe", along with the heels as the three points of contact on the feet. I was wondering that when you say "The base" of the large and small toe, are you talking about the bony part of the foot behind the toes, or do you mean the very front part of the large and small toe? Please clarify this. I have recently purchased your book and I was unsure of this
you can't really show the so many useful insights of alexander in such a short time. the somatic tradition is worthy studying (don't forget gindler etc.)
gwho sure. the presentation/exercise of mrs. Bradshaw is of course way to fast to be able to follow. but, remember, mr. Alexander himself did for his own health mostly solowork.. (standing in front of the mirror, making all his own mistakes etc.), so reading his work and maybe, if necessary find ones own teacher could be smart. at least an as important pioneer in the field was mr. Jacoby. unfortunately no work of him is translated.. this one in particular Jenseits von ‚Begabt’ und ‚Unbegabt’: Zweckmäßige Fragestellung und zweckmäßiges Verhalten - Schlüssel für die Entfaltung des Menschen. Einführungskurs 1945. Hrsg. von Sophie Ludwig. Christians Hamburg. 2004/6. Auflage. is worth reading some German for; Bone Breath and Gesture is a good read too. bye now
@@marcovanheugten1387 Absolutely. I love aspects of Alexander Technique, but can't stand this tendency for practitioners to immediately tell people how what they just learned is never enough. The information here and each suggestion she gives can take months or years to process! I think this stuff should be taken little by little. If it's actually allowing greater freedom each time, then why steal that freedom with cultish negative reinforcement?
ok about Alexander technic s foundations. Nothing new to a classisal ballet dancer and singer. Ballet s technic is more than 400 years old and improving forever stance, breathing, flexibility, good health, concentration, focus, grace and elegance. Just what everybody needs
Does the audience have pre-knowledge? AT is not an intellectual process but has a hands-on approach. Alexander has not discovered the atlanto occipital joint. I doubt, that you can identify unbalances in the body, but thinking "where is my unbalance? -and then undo it". AT is very middle class and expensive. AT should be available to all....is this part of yr mission? - good luck with yr endeavours
This in no way detracts from the great importance of his findings, namely Primary Control, or consciousness of bite. Our bite releases cervical pressure, freeing the shoulders and allowing spinal extension; our bite as directed by the shortening of ocular focal range. This is an engagement of the sympathetic nervous system, so often neglected in our consummatory, parasympathetic dominant culture. It amounts to consciously mediated aggression in movement. The left hand path, if you understand your neuroscience, brings us to balance in a right handed world. Balance is the position of mechanical advantage. BTW I don't know if Alexander used opium. I wrote that just to get your attention. Opium, however, was plentiful Down Under at the time and was popular in the theater circles through which young FM surely moved. Doctors were prescribing it. Its effects bring on a state of release perfect for mechanical exploration of the body. Everyone has their secrets.
Elaborate if you wish. I wrote this as I understand it and as I was taught it. The typical work-a-day, sitdown, over-carbed, sex-obsessed, lazy and soft-in-the-middle Westerner is definitely parasympathetic dominant. This is why they handle the ubiquitous stress of western culture so poorly. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_top%E2%80%93down_control_of_physiology#Lateralization Due to the origin of PS fibers in the left-hemisphere, severe right-hand dominance and its subsequent asymmetrical torque on the spine and joints is a common symptom of this imbalance (remember that our nervous system decussates in the periphery, that is, crosses over left-right). There are, of course, sympathetic-dominant individuals we meet on occasion, recognizable from their flexed core and shorter, thicker neck (look at which segments of the spine are effected by the S and PS branches). These people tend toward left-handedness if their autonomic preference was established at an early age. However, since PS is so over-expressed in our culture, most people who have a healthy SNS also have an active PSNS and are relatively balanced between their hemispheres. They tend to be more or less ambidextrous and pen hand choice is more a matter of personality along the axis of conformity/rebellion. Most balanced individuals began PS dominant as children and develop their SNS at the gym or through an intensive workout regimen. There are few occasions in modern life other than exercise that call for a prolonged sympathetic response. Remember, if our stomach is full and our balls are empty, we are PS through and through. A little epinephrine in the blood due to a news story on the Zika virus is not going to change that. It is easy to assume that we are all S dominant due to the aura of insecurity perpetuated by the media, but such a sense of vague and non-present threat, while still able to elicit a mild and chronic stress response that hinders our functioning (Selye), is a far cry from the core contracting, nostril flaring, eye-slit-narrowing and harrowing panic of meeting a mountain lion in the wild, or of having a gun pointed at us, or of starvation and the imperative to eat. Sadly, most inactive and comfort-oriented people only ever encounter their SNS spontaneously at the moment of orgasm, or when falling in love, or maybe from the laughable threat of being late for an appointment or making a fool of ourselves in public. For most, these moments are rare when compared to the time spent sitting down, eating and digesting, relaxing, watching TV/internet, thinking of or having sex, etc. Those who consciously control their autonomic nervous system function at a superior level. For these people, the two selves in their body--left and right, S and PS--are no longer at odds with one another, but rather cooperate under the higher order of the tryptamine pathways and goal-striving conscious willpower. There is historical tradition in the upper classes to cultivate ambidexterity as a mark of pride and superiority, and it is flaunted by brazenly wielding the pen in the left hand. Ever wonder why we keep electing left-handed presidents? Or why left-handedness is so over-expressed in royalty? S dominant individuals have the mental and physical fortitude to perform under stress. We could all be learning from our cultural betters, who are taught conscious posture and movement their whole lives. Alexander Technique is a crash course in balanced movement for those who did not have the good fortune to grow up in an environment that nurtures balance. But what Alexander discovered is just the tip of a biophysical iceberg. There are some other post-practitioners out there trying to dig farther but I rarely meet them. This post is an invitation to discussion.
Neither is the "good one". That is like saying the left-hemisphere of the brain is the good one. Being is dualistic, and our health depends on our symmetry. PS dominance can lead to depression, chronic fatigue, obesity, cancer, impotence, etc. S dominance can lead to anxiety, hyperactivity, indigestion, heart problems, premature ejaculation, etc.. The cure for all these diseases is symmetrical use of the body and proper circadian cycling between ANS branches. Sympathetic activation is good during the day when we are in a post-fasting catabolic state. PS activation is good at night with post-insulin anabolism. All our dualities are meant to cycle with the sun. It is when we get stuck in one state that ill health sets in.
This just completely disappointed me about Ted talks. This is a scam. It is people touching you and asking to sit down and stand up. I can never take serious anything that comes from TED
"keep these three hinges available to you" Right, because they're unavailable, or busy...? "Plug your feet into the ground" Meaningless bs feeling words, undescriptive of the actual physics. What you're really doing is simply distributing weight evenly across those 6 points and being mindful of doing so. That's it. There is no plugging. "Move your head away from your spine" There is no way to do that. Gravity acts on all matter. What you're actually doing is contracting certain muscles to give you the feeling of "extending" your head away from your spine. All meaningless bs silly words. And even if we grant all of this, how do we measure? Oh, that's right. Self-reporting. Hokay.
+gwho "keep these three hinges available to you" Right, because they're unavailable, or busy...? ---Yes. For example, many people bend from the waist as if there was a joint there. There isn't. Twenty or thirty years of bending where you're not supposed to will tend to have consequences in terms of excessive wear and tear, waste of energy and eventually injury. Knowing where your joints are is a step towards using them properly. "Plug your feet into the ground" Meaningless bs feeling words, undescriptive of the actual physics. What you're really doing is simply distributing weight evenly across those 6 points and being mindful of doing so. That's it. There is no plugging. --It will mean something when you experience it. Hold inappropriate tension in your neck and it will prevent you from allowing your skeleton to stretch out in the way it's meant to. One of the immediate effects of starting AT is a reduction in tension that paradoxically makes the lower part of your body feel heavier as your legs and feet extend to the floor and your body stops fighting gravity. The pulling down of gravity on the lower part of your body makes the upper part feel lighter. Think of a pulley. A heavy weight on one end of the pulley will pull the other end up, even though gravity is acting on the whole of the pulley at the same time. The human musculo-skeletal system is something similar. It is possible for habitual misuse to interfere with the appropriate action of gravity on the body, making movement less smooth and efficient than it can be. "Move your head away from your spine" There is no way to do that. Gravity acts on all matter. What you're actually doing is contracting certain muscles to give you the feeling of "extending" your head away from your spine. All meaningless bs silly words. --You certainly don't contract any muscles. It is something that happens naturally as your neck releases. Think of it as a "direction" rather than a movement. Again, the words will mean something when you experience it. AT is a practical discipline. You need to experience it for the words to make sense. And even if we grant all of this, how do we measure? Oh, that's right. Self-reporting. Hokay. --Try this randomised controlled trial reported in the British Medical Journal: www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a884
+gwho lol. much better to rage like that instead of trying. It works, deal with it. Take up a lesson with an alexander technique teacher and see the difference.
+gwho An explanation can be rubbish without the thing being explained being rubbish. This explanation is rubbish as are nearly all explanations of the Alexander Technique. AT teachers generaly don't know the difference between explaining something and just talking about it. I have done the AT and I felt the change in my body through the nerves in my joints and muscles. You can't show that to someone else but that doesn't make it a delusion. Better explanations do exist, such as David Garlick's The Lost Sixth Sense: a medical scientist looks at the AT., but the Society of Teachers of the AT has decided to keep this out of print along with the work of Ron Brown and Chris Stevens
The Alexander Technique is not 'pseudo science'. In 2008, a £750 million ($940 million) Randomised Control Trial (RCT) involving 579 patients with chronic back pain and published in the British Medical Journal concluded that the Alexander Technique (AT) had ‘long term benefits for patients with chronic back pain’. Those patients who were assigned AT lessons started from a place of experiencing pain every day. But after 12 months, those who took 6 AT lessons had reduced their pain levels down to 11 in 28 days (about one day in every three); and those who took 24 AT lessons had reduced their pain levels down to only 3 in 28 days (less than once a week).
suli san Whats wrong with being nervous , she may not talk in front of large crowds every day , public speaking is one of peoples great fears I think she did great and used her breathing to keep her self calm..
Did I say nervousness was wrong?The AT emerged because the founder of the technique had a problem with reciting in public. Therefore, the efficacy of the technique is apparent in how a practitioner (and especially a teacher) uses their voice. This teacher is espousing the technique yet their voice - the sound quality and the tension in it, is not great advert for the technique. The breathing is also shallow and wispy to my ears. It's unpleasant to me and painful to listen/watch. And that's not mentioning the body language.
suli san I think she sounds just fine to me maybe not the best public speaker but that's nothing to do with the AT it's just down to her experience , she may be new to public speaking , Alexander was an efficient actor who had a problem with his voice which he found was effected by the use of his head in correlation to his neck back muscles ..
Yes its a bit vague isn't it? Try this: People develop the habit of keeping a muscle contracted all the time. They learn muscle memories for doing everything that are adapted to the muscle being held contracted and they stop being able to feel the contraction or the effect it has on their posture. To get out of the habit they will have to re-learn muscle memories for doing everything which do not have the habitual thing built into them. They will have to do this without being able to feel themselves doing the thing they want to stop doing. Since we use what we can feel our bodies doing to guide our movements, then we can't guide ourselves out of something we can't feel. So they are stuck. So, instead someone else has to put their hands on the person who wants to change their muscle habits and physically guide them out of the habitual thing so that they can start to re-form muscle memory for doing things without the habitual muscle tightening they have acquired.
Astrid, the audience had no prior knowledge. My talk was born of a desire to share this work and make it accessible, known and available to all. Alexander discovered the importance of the RELATIONSHIP between the head, neck and back, not the Atlanto-Occipital joint itself . I decided to make it a participatory session and many people were able to notice where they were unbalanced. Amazing what some mindful attention can bring into your awareness. Thanks for your good wishes too :)
Hi, Angela
Loved your talk, and it has inspired me to have Alexander Lessons. So, thank you very much.
I also loved your Mind Map, and I would be extremely grateful if I could have a copy of it.
Please keep up the good work, as I sincerely believe it will be helpful to so many people.
Thank you 🙏🏾
Thank you so much, Ms Bradshaw, for sharing your interpretation of the Technique! I'm so glad to see AT appear as part of the TEDx series. It's about time!
What a brilliant presentation! Everyone should be exposed to this. The Alexander Technique is definitely something that should be taught in school. Thank you so much for uploading this video.
This was really great. Thank you for making it participatory too. I got a real rush when I began to rebalance especially as I have realised I have pretty much been standing on one leg all day.
Like that beautiful pink bird
Thank You Angela for a Fantastic Talk, Everyone should know about this natural technique, I just hope you had more time as I am sure you have a lot more to say on this topic. Do you have any more videos about Alexander Technique ?
No wonder you were named Angela as you are an Angel.
Many Blessings .....
Angela - a lovely demonstration, inviting a whole audience to participate!
M. Jones, I am glad you recognise this video demonstrates some of the techniques that can be available to you. I wish you well in your explorations and practice. Best wishes, Alex
I use this video in a chorus lesson for high school students. It's a nice introduction to AT. Thanks for posting.
+Ed Adams thanks for sharing that too, glad it helped!
I had back pain that kept me off work for 5 weeks in 1984. Nothing worked till I had Alexander lessons from John Naylor, and I have never had a day off work with back pain from then till now...33years later!
This is the best AT video I have found on TH-cam, yet I NEED MORE! lol. The cues she gives are powerful yet so simple. Can anyone suggest more resources on this? THANKS! :) :)
I play piano and struggle greatly with middle/lower back pain as well as shoulder pain.
This is my first video on Alexander technique and truly hope it can helps continue my music.
canefan17 what happen now? i'm interested !
Only if you take lessons in it. You can't feel what your own body is doing with enough accuracy to guide yourself out of your bad habits.
So delighted to see this back online - a great talk and it was a real pleasure working with Angela in producing the drawings for this and her other Alexander Technique adventures! Definitely recommend trying AT - and Angela's approach - regardless of your situation :)
Very good! Makes sense and is easy to remember. Thanks!
Great demonstration Angela ...
Is Angela scanning again? (Working in Ultrasound) How do you keep your equilibrium doing a repetitive job that requires a constant off balanced, one sided reach and push? A posture with your arms extended away from your center of gravity.
Really interesting I will add the Alexander technique to my practice in meditation I'm sure this new knowledge will be very beneficial towards the sessions in the future
If this is so helpful for everyone, why is it so hard to find a teacher and why is it so terribly expensive?
Thank you. I will definitely look into the Alexander technique.
She is aware of her voice also, we can enjoy her talking fluently
3 hinges? ankle is a saddle joint, knee hinge (correct) and hip is a ball and socket joint.
Can you further explain "Plugging the feet into the ground"? How is this different from just standing upon the ground in the normal sense?
9:10 when it all goes dark you can hear her getting beat for running over time.
Very interesting and detailed information. How does she know all of that?
Hello Ms Bradshaw. I have a question. You have referred to "The base of the large toe and small toe", along with the heels as the three points of contact on the feet. I was wondering that when you say "The base" of the large and small toe, are you talking about the bony part of the foot behind the toes, or do you mean the very front part of the large and small toe? Please clarify this. I have recently purchased your book and I was unsure of this
thank you very much...very nice and clear.
you can't really show the so many useful insights of alexander in such a short time. the somatic tradition is worthy studying (don't forget gindler etc.)
marco van heugten maybe we can start off with one.
marco van heugten maybe we can start off with one.
gwho sure. the presentation/exercise of mrs. Bradshaw is of course way to fast to be able to follow. but, remember, mr. Alexander himself did for his own health mostly solowork.. (standing in front of the mirror, making all his own mistakes etc.), so reading his work and maybe, if necessary find ones own teacher could be smart. at least an as important pioneer in the field was mr. Jacoby. unfortunately no work of him is translated.. this one in particular Jenseits von ‚Begabt’ und ‚Unbegabt’: Zweckmäßige Fragestellung und zweckmäßiges Verhalten - Schlüssel für die Entfaltung des Menschen. Einführungskurs 1945. Hrsg. von Sophie Ludwig. Christians Hamburg. 2004/6. Auflage. is worth reading some German for; Bone Breath and Gesture is a good read too. bye now
@@marcovanheugten1387 Absolutely. I love aspects of Alexander Technique, but can't stand this tendency for practitioners to immediately tell people how what they just learned is never enough. The information here and each suggestion she gives can take months or years to process! I think this stuff should be taken little by little. If it's actually allowing greater freedom each time, then why steal that freedom with cultish negative reinforcement?
Start the video at 3:35 if you'd like to actually get to the technique.
David Garlick: The Lost Sixth Sense. A medical scientist looks at the alexander technique.
Why is this book out of print?
Where should I start
I don't think I caught any of that.
wow sounds like a great technique...
Correct me if I'm wrong but this sounds and looks to me like basic Tai Chi and other Chinese martial arts
well done Angela
So is this an unintentional ASMR?
ok about Alexander technic s foundations. Nothing new to a classisal ballet dancer and singer. Ballet s technic is more than 400 years old and improving forever stance, breathing, flexibility, good health, concentration, focus, grace and elegance. Just what everybody needs
I agree with you here. Alexander is one thing and a great thing to have in your tool box, but yes, I am sure that Ballet goes much much further!
So is this like mind over matter?
Does the audience have pre-knowledge? AT is not an intellectual process but has a hands-on approach. Alexander has not discovered the atlanto occipital joint. I doubt, that you can identify unbalances in the body, but thinking "where is my unbalance? -and then undo it". AT is very middle class and expensive. AT should be available to all....is this part of yr mission? - good luck with yr endeavours
I'd need cash payment or thumbscrews to continue listening, I just can't
not too clear but thank u
is it just me or is this really quiet
It's Finn's mom.
I’ve learned nothing, but I’d like too
FM Alexander wisely leaves out of Use of Self the central role played by opium in the development of his technique.
This in no way detracts from the great importance of his findings, namely Primary Control, or consciousness of bite. Our bite releases cervical pressure, freeing the shoulders and allowing spinal extension; our bite as directed by the shortening of ocular focal range. This is an engagement of the sympathetic nervous system, so often neglected in our consummatory, parasympathetic dominant culture. It amounts to consciously mediated aggression in movement. The left hand path, if you understand your neuroscience, brings us to balance in a right handed world. Balance is the position of mechanical advantage.
BTW I don't know if Alexander used opium. I wrote that just to get your attention. Opium, however, was plentiful Down Under at the time and was popular in the theater circles through which young FM surely moved. Doctors were prescribing it. Its effects bring on a state of release perfect for mechanical exploration of the body. Everyone has their secrets.
think you mixed up your sympathetics.
Elaborate if you wish. I wrote this as I understand it and as I was taught it. The typical work-a-day, sitdown, over-carbed, sex-obsessed, lazy and soft-in-the-middle Westerner is definitely parasympathetic dominant. This is why they handle the ubiquitous stress of western culture so poorly.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_top%E2%80%93down_control_of_physiology#Lateralization
Due to the origin of PS fibers in the left-hemisphere, severe right-hand dominance and its subsequent asymmetrical torque on the spine and joints is a common symptom of this imbalance (remember that our nervous system decussates in the periphery, that is, crosses over left-right). There are, of course, sympathetic-dominant individuals we meet on occasion, recognizable from their flexed core and shorter, thicker neck (look at which segments of the spine are effected by the S and PS branches). These people tend toward left-handedness if their autonomic preference was established at an early age. However, since PS is so over-expressed in our culture, most people who have a healthy SNS also have an active PSNS and are relatively balanced between their hemispheres. They tend to be more or less ambidextrous and pen hand choice is more a matter of personality along the axis of conformity/rebellion. Most balanced individuals began PS dominant as children and develop their SNS at the gym or through an intensive workout regimen. There are few occasions in modern life other than exercise that call for a prolonged sympathetic response.
Remember, if our stomach is full and our balls are empty, we are PS through and through. A little epinephrine in the blood due to a news story on the Zika virus is not going to change that. It is easy to assume that we are all S dominant due to the aura of insecurity perpetuated by the media, but such a sense of vague and non-present threat, while still able to elicit a mild and chronic stress response that hinders our functioning (Selye), is a far cry from the core contracting, nostril flaring, eye-slit-narrowing and harrowing panic of meeting a mountain lion in the wild, or of having a gun pointed at us, or of starvation and the imperative to eat. Sadly, most inactive and comfort-oriented people only ever encounter their SNS spontaneously at the moment of orgasm, or when falling in love, or maybe from the laughable threat of being late for an appointment or making a fool of ourselves in public. For most, these moments are rare when compared to the time spent sitting down, eating and digesting, relaxing, watching TV/internet, thinking of or having sex, etc.
Those who consciously control their autonomic nervous system function at a superior level. For these people, the two selves in their body--left and right, S and PS--are no longer at odds with one another, but rather cooperate under the higher order of the tryptamine pathways and goal-striving conscious willpower. There is historical tradition in the upper classes to cultivate ambidexterity as a mark of pride and superiority, and it is flaunted by brazenly wielding the pen in the left hand. Ever wonder why we keep electing left-handed presidents? Or why left-handedness is so over-expressed in royalty? S dominant individuals have the mental and physical fortitude to perform under stress. We could all be learning from our cultural betters, who are taught conscious posture and movement their whole lives. Alexander Technique is a crash course in balanced movement for those who did not have the good fortune to grow up in an environment that nurtures balance. But what Alexander discovered is just the tip of a biophysical iceberg. There are some other post-practitioners out there trying to dig farther but I rarely meet them. This post is an invitation to discussion.
parasympathetic is the good mode not the stress one.
Neither is the "good one". That is like saying the left-hemisphere of the brain is the good one. Being is dualistic, and our health depends on our symmetry. PS dominance can lead to depression, chronic fatigue, obesity, cancer, impotence, etc. S dominance can lead to anxiety, hyperactivity, indigestion, heart problems, premature ejaculation, etc.. The cure for all these diseases is symmetrical use of the body and proper circadian cycling between ANS branches. Sympathetic activation is good during the day when we are in a post-fasting catabolic state. PS activation is good at night with post-insulin anabolism. All our dualities are meant to cycle with the sun. It is when we get stuck in one state that ill health sets in.
Looks like audience doing Alexandrobics.
Evolution is a fairy tale
Disliked! Voice is not audible
We've got a low talker
You'll be flying along the beach, Diana told me so! I need to throw up.
This just completely disappointed me about Ted talks. This is a scam. It is people touching you and asking to sit down and stand up. I can never take serious anything that comes from TED
what a negative nabob. It's not a scam. it is a very good practice. It helps me
"keep these three hinges available to you"
Right, because they're unavailable, or busy...?
"Plug your feet into the ground"
Meaningless bs feeling words, undescriptive of the actual physics.
What you're really doing is simply distributing weight evenly across those 6 points and being mindful of doing so. That's it. There is no plugging.
"Move your head away from your spine" There is no way to do that. Gravity acts on all matter. What you're actually doing is contracting certain muscles to give you the feeling of "extending" your head away from your spine. All meaningless bs silly words.
And even if we grant all of this, how do we measure? Oh, that's right. Self-reporting. Hokay.
+gwho
"keep these three hinges available to you"
Right, because they're unavailable, or busy...?
---Yes. For example, many people bend from the waist as if there was a joint there. There isn't. Twenty or thirty years of bending where you're not supposed to will tend to have consequences in terms of excessive wear and tear, waste of energy and eventually injury. Knowing where your joints are is a step towards using them properly.
"Plug your feet into the ground"
Meaningless bs feeling words, undescriptive of the actual physics.
What you're really doing is simply distributing weight evenly across those 6 points and being mindful of doing so. That's it. There is no plugging.
--It will mean something when you experience it. Hold inappropriate tension in your neck and it will prevent you from allowing your skeleton to stretch out in the way it's meant to. One of the immediate effects of starting AT is a reduction in tension that paradoxically makes the lower part of your body feel heavier as your legs and feet extend to the floor and your body stops fighting gravity. The pulling down of gravity on the lower part of your body makes the upper part feel lighter. Think of a pulley. A heavy weight on one end of the pulley will pull the other end up, even though gravity is acting on the whole of the pulley at the same time. The human musculo-skeletal system is something similar. It is possible for habitual misuse to interfere with the appropriate action of gravity on the body, making movement less smooth and efficient than it can be.
"Move your head away from your spine" There is no way to do that. Gravity acts on all matter. What you're actually doing is contracting certain muscles to give you the feeling of "extending" your head away from your spine. All meaningless bs silly words.
--You certainly don't contract any muscles. It is something that happens naturally as your neck releases. Think of it as a "direction" rather than a movement. Again, the words will mean something when you experience it. AT is a practical discipline. You need to experience it for the words to make sense.
And even if we grant all of this, how do we measure? Oh, that's right. Self-reporting. Hokay.
--Try this randomised controlled trial reported in the British Medical Journal: www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a884
+gwho lol. much better to rage like that instead of trying. It works, deal with it. Take up a lesson with an alexander technique teacher and see the difference.
it's not raging. it's pointing out exactly why stuff like this makes no sense.
+gwho i can only sugest you to have a few A/technique lessons
and then give your coments
+gwho An explanation can be rubbish without the thing being explained being rubbish. This explanation is rubbish as are nearly all explanations of the Alexander Technique. AT teachers generaly don't know the difference between explaining something and just talking about it.
I have done the AT and I felt the change in my body through the nerves in my joints and muscles. You can't show that to someone else but that doesn't make it a delusion.
Better explanations do exist, such as David Garlick's The Lost Sixth Sense: a medical scientist looks at the AT., but the Society of Teachers of the AT has decided to keep this out of print along with the work of Ron Brown and Chris Stevens
'The ultimate life skill'... A bit dramatic
Pseudo science at a TED talk. It doesn't get much more white people pretentious than that... and I'm white.
What has race got to do with it?
Michael Lazzari because the whole thing is so white. Like you'd only see white people doing something like this.
Actually, eastern meditation pratices are far ahead of 'white folk" on this
The Alexander Technique is not 'pseudo science'. In 2008, a £750 million ($940 million) Randomised Control Trial (RCT) involving 579 patients with chronic back pain and published in the British Medical Journal concluded that the Alexander Technique (AT) had ‘long term benefits for patients with chronic back pain’. Those patients who were assigned AT lessons started from a place of experiencing pain every day. But after 12 months, those who took 6 AT lessons had reduced their pain levels down to 11 in 28 days (about one day in every three); and those who took 24 AT lessons had reduced their pain levels down to only 3 in 28 days (less than once a week).
placebo...
The nervous tension in the presenter's voice isn't the best ad for AT.
She is breathing which is a great way to relax not nervous at all...
We all breathe, all the time. Maybe doesn't look nervous to you does to me.
suli san Whats wrong with being nervous , she may not talk in front of large crowds every day , public speaking is one of peoples great fears I think she did great and used her breathing to keep her self calm..
Did I say nervousness was wrong?The AT emerged because the founder of the technique had a problem with reciting in public. Therefore, the efficacy of the technique is apparent in how a practitioner (and especially a teacher) uses their voice. This teacher is espousing the technique yet their voice - the sound quality and the tension in it, is not great advert for the technique. The breathing is also shallow and wispy to my ears. It's unpleasant to me and painful to listen/watch. And that's not mentioning the body language.
suli san I think she sounds just fine to me maybe not the best public speaker but that's nothing to do with the AT it's just down to her experience , she may be new to public speaking , Alexander was an efficient actor who had a problem with his voice which he found was effected by the use of his head in correlation to his neck back muscles ..
can barely hear it
DISLIKED
Crap.bla bla bla
BS...
This seems like quackery..
bs. meaningless words. hugely prone to placebo and non-single blind errors.
Yes its a bit vague isn't it?
Try this:
People develop the habit of keeping a muscle contracted all the time.
They learn muscle memories for doing everything that are adapted to the muscle being held contracted and
they stop being able to feel the contraction or the effect it has on their posture.
To get out of the habit they will have to re-learn muscle memories for doing everything which do not have the habitual thing built into them. They will have to do this without being able to feel themselves doing the thing they want to stop doing. Since we use what we can feel our bodies doing to guide our movements, then we can't guide ourselves out of something we can't feel. So they are stuck.
So, instead someone else has to put their hands on the person who wants to change their muscle habits and physically guide them out of the habitual thing so that they can start to re-form muscle memory for doing things without the habitual muscle tightening they have acquired.