A big part of my Alexander Technique (AT) teacher training was learning our own anatomy and locating those joints in ourselves and knowing how they move optimally in our teacher training course at the Bodyminded Alexander Technique School. In this article, I asked teachers and colleagues at the Bodyminded school where I trained, to share which anatomy discoveries helped them to coordinate their daily lives for the better, and their favourite learning moments they’d like to share. The following four reflections are written by Director Greg Holdaway, co-director Anne, and AT teachers Jane Buhler and Dave Carr.
1. Harmful habits of coordination are invisible, until they change - by Greg Holdaway
I would like to share two specific anatomy discoveries that have had a big impact on me. These all occurred in the context of awareness of the moveable connectedness of the whole self, particularly the head, spine and pelvis. (or as Alexander said it “the head, neck and back).
The first was the extraordinary discovery that my shoulder girdle moves as part of my whole arm movement… wow. I spent many years with tight neck and shoulders as a consequence of dance training that forbid the ‘raising of the shoulders’ when using the arms. I remember a time in my Alexander training when two teachers were discussing my movement, “Greg doesn’t move at all here” one said, pointing at my upper chest. I could hear the words OK, but had no sense what-so-ever what they were talking about. This was crazy, as soon as I realised my shoulders moved with my arms, I stopped trying to hold them in the ‘right place’ and arm movement became gloriously elastic, free and enjoyable.
After studying anatomy in movement for many years, I remember having an extraordinary moment of insight when I realised that my idea of jaw movement was wrong. The model skeleton makes the jaw look like it moves on ‘hinges’, like a door. I have had years of jaw tightness, and used to wear a ‘jaw splint’ when I was a teenager to stop my teeth grinding and jaw mal-alignment. My realisation was that the jaw actually drops down and forward slightly as it opens, kind of like a mini-version of a snake's jaw. The moment I moved like this I had an intense flash-back to childhood, reliving the experience of not being able to speak in a difficult family context. Wow, freedom to speak was related to freedom of jaw movement! Kind of makes sense when you think about it.
My work with the Alexander technique has enabled a continuous learning which is inherently rewarding and enjoyable, its such a surprise to discover more and more connection and freedom as my experience has deepened.
2. A Moment in time and its impact - By Anne Finlay
We- myself and Alexander Technique Teacher Training class fellow students-were lying on the floor exploring how we moved with an emphasis on how one part moves relative to another, something we did regularly in class time. I rolled onto my front and lifted my head to speak with the woman beside me, our teacher came up behind me bent over and placed his hands on my head saying “your head moves easily at the atlanto-occipital joint” (this is the where our heads meet the top two joints of our sp