My weekly task of putting out the recycling bins involves pulling them up a short but steep flight of steps at our back garden gate.
I was putting out a bin today and it struck me how different my approach to this everyday activity is now, compared with what it would have been in my pre-Alexander Technique days. It’s different in both my attitude to the task and in how I physically do it.
So, how would I have managed this weekly chore previously? Well, my biggest aim would probably have been to get it done as quickly as possible, so that I could get on with everything else that I thought I should also be doing. In practice, this means that most of my thinking capacity would have been occupied by what I thought I needed to do next. To the extent that I was present at all, my focus of attention would have been almost exclusively on the bin that I was pulling. I doubt that I would have had much awareness of any effect on myself, except in terms of effort – the heavier the bin, the harder I would have pulled. I wouldn’t have had a clue about how I could have made it easier for myself.
Now, applying the Alexander Technique, my approach is rather different. For one thing, I maintain a much broader awareness which encompasses the immediate task, myself and my surroundings. Within this field of awareness, my attention is much more on myself than it is on the bin. I prioritise looking after myself, over and above simply getting the task done. In practice, this ‘looking after myself’ means an intention to not tighten up in readiness, and to not hold my breath, together with a wish to stay in balance. With this focus on the ‘looking after’, I usually discover that, as part of this process, the best way to do something always emerges. In the case of moving a bin, the end result is that I find myself leaning back so that I’m using my own weight to do the work, rather than over-using my arm muscles – as I lean back, the bin follows, step by step. So, in a way, the bin becomes ‘part of me’. The result is more efficient and kinder on me, with less strain on both my arms and torso. It’s also more interesting because, instead of a mindless chore, I’m actively engaged in a kind of satisfying game.
I’ve never been the most patient person, so I used to perceive things like housework as a frustrating waste of time (when, of course, I ‘should be doing more important work’). Similarly, standing in a queue was either boring or stressful, or both. Now, I find that there is always the potential to enjoy hoovering, doing the washing up etc. This is a significant change for me as I’m using the chore as the vehicle for exploring, rather than it being only an end in itself to get done as quickly and mindlessly as possible. One of the things I appreciate most about the Alexander Technique is how the mundane can be transformed into something enjoyable and worthwhile.