Is It Your Life, Or the Habit’s Life?
Sarah Griffith (not her real name) began taking Alexander lessons for her declining posture, but by the 4th lesson, she discovered an increased mental awareness. She realized that by taking time to do the directions* to affect her posture, it changed her mental state. By taking time, it gave her time and the gift of realization; it slowed her down to realize she didn’t need to fall into the fast paced rhythm of the city energy. She realized by stopping and taking the time to allow her posture to correct itself, by giving herself the Alexander directions* that she didn’t have to fall back into the speedy pace of the New York City rapid walk. It was now a choice. A choice made possible by newly invested and practiced awareness.
She chose to discover that her pace was slower, more aware of herself in her body; less under the influence of her former habit of letting the outside energy affect her inner world. Sarah, allowed a natural breath or two to follow, and proceeded on her way, having regained control of her own rhythm, and thereby went about her day more relaxed and aware!
She took control, of what is a common phenomena, to unconsciously fall into the mass mind of a city’s fast paced energy without awareness. She took a moment, and that allowed a realization, (the realization presented itself in that moment), that she was in a state not of her own making, and wrested herself from it, by following the principles and a natural breath entered and she reclaimed her own pace, one of more awareness and calm.
This is a perfect example of the Alexander Technique principles, awareness, inhibition and direction. Sarah became aware of walking faster than her newly tuned body wanted to, she stopped allowing the habit to follow through her nervous system(inhibition) and then internally gave her body the directions (or command), *’I allow my neck to be free, to allow my head to go forward and up, to allow my spine to lengthen, to allow my back to widen, to allow my legs to release away from my torso, to allow my shoulders to widen.’
What each student comes to realize in the course of the lessons and when, is unique to them. Everyone’s nervous system is as unique as they are, and wired according to their life experience, and how they have taken those many experiences along into their present. Two people can experience the same event and respond differently, or in opposition. So, how we respond and how we hold onto those experiences and use them as self identifiers, can be unconscious or a choice. Later down the road, after the startle has passed, the one who is holding on, can make a conscious choice to let go of the stimulus response and allow that energy to release.
Sarah, in that moment, didn’t want to lose her inner calm as she stepped out onto the street, but she realized she was already about to fall into the rapid current, when her recent training of undoing habits kicked in, and she practiced the Alexander principles. In that moment of choice, she could have chosen to let the river of the city energy take her, as was her habit before, but she still would have changed because she was now aware of what she was doing, and inhibited the unawareness and gave herself the directions, and resumed the city pace.
It’s about choice, but when you don’t have conscious choice is when you’ve defaulted all those possibilities to habit. Reclaiming choice is a very powerful act — is it your life, or the habit’s life.
