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1] I had this week off work, so like any normal human I decided to fill it with experimental 1:1 Alexander Technique intro Zoom calls. I just completed the last one, so here is a thread of reflections. It started with a tweet... https://t.co/XS3Ek2R8FP
1] I am offering exploratory 1:1 Alexander Technique video sessions with anyone interested. If that's you, then please fill in the form here: https://t.co/a6TpjQ997w This is part of my ongoing journey to figure out the best ways to teach this stuff online.
2] This led to about 30 people signing up within a couple of days and then I promptly sat on it for a couple of weeks. The response seemed a little overwhelming. Then, on Sunday, I decided to set up a Calendly system, open up some slots, and let people book themselves in.
3] It basically sold out in 24 hours. I did 14 sessions across the last five days, which on reflection has been a bit much. Next time I would either group sessions together more and perhaps limit to three a day rather than four, but it was manageable. But how did they go??!
4] Really well! I've met so many really cool people and had a lot of practice in explaining some of the key concepts. I've guided people into a state of expanded awareness and showed them that it can be brought under their conscious control. I'm thrilled, because...
5] This has been a proof of concept that Alexander Technique principles can be taught outside of the conventional in-person, touch-based methods used by AT teachers. People have been able to *get* enough of what I'm pointing at to be able to play with it in their lives.
6] That is hugely significant. It means that the principles underlying Alexander Technique can be decomposed and reassembled in a way that can be scaled. This is important because I believe that helping people access this more widely would be unambiguously a good thing.
7] The main challenge I had was helping people recognise that state of expanded, shaped awareness that I talk about. Some people thought "yeah, obviously, of course I get it", while others struggled. My 'lessons' had to adapt quickly based on that. https://t.co/Dgf9CCGvRv
1] I have the week off work so I have arranged about 15 1:1 Zoom sessions with curious folks. The key thing I need people to *get* early on is what expanded awareness is like. It doesn't need to be strong, but there has to be a sense of "oh yeah, *that*." So here's a thread.
8] Once we got that going though, it wasn't actually that difficult for me to demonstrate that awareness collapses habitually in response to triggers. Little tricks like this worked well. https://t.co/KxC5gJUcoM
1] A crucial skill in life is learning how not to respond to stimuli. In a minute I'm going to ask you to pick a colour. (Stimulus) . Are you already thinking about colours? (Response). I said "in a minute". Notice, without judgement, how you responded. Let's do it again.
9] Once people recognised they couldn't help but respond, in the sense that "don't think of an elephant!" always triggers an elephant, I showed them that they had choice over what they did after that. Some got stuck with the elephant. Some focused exclusively on something else.
10] Some even tenses their muscles! Instead I showed them that they could instead let the elephant be there and merely re-expand their awareness to include the rest of the space they were in. No pushing the elephant away, no being pulled into it. This is a new way of being.
11] This has also been a great opportunity for me to learn about using the generosity model, where I invite people to give me money of any amount if they so desire. It's been a wonderful experience. I feel a deep sense of gratitude. https://t.co/50qWQZOUbH
3] I'm doing this on a gift model: - I don't want money to limit access - I have the luxury of a job and want to try it - The aim is to learn, not make money: this gives me permission to fail - I am still a teacher sharing value: asking for money (optionally) is not unreasonable
12] I've also been using it to learn about no-code tools and system design. I use Zapier to send out an automated email once I change each person's status from "session arranged" to "first session held". Everyone gets this email. Thanks, by the way, @VincentHorn. https://t.co/AcVLRxxlRk
Meta] If you've come across this thread in isolation and want to go deeper then you might be interested in my 'thread of threads' on the topic. https://t.co/pppidMHSzH
Meta] Also, if you want to dive much deeper into this stuff, I have built what I believe is the only asynchronous online course that explores Alexander Technique from a first principles perspective. You can find out more and stay up to date by going here: https://t.co/GHzsyr4ILq