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I just saw this photo of Boris Johnson getting his temperature read using a non-contact temperature scanner. It's a great example of unnecessary 'doing' and shows the kind of thing that Alexander Technique can undo. (more below) Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AFP/Getty Image https://t.co/ae39cn3xGW
The thermometer clearly works at a distance, but Boris is unconsciously 'helping' by doing weird stuff to his body. Look at the tension in his neck, shoulders, hands. I can almost feel how laboured his breathing must be while doing this. Why is he doing this?
He almost certainly didn't do it on purpose, but he's being 'organised' by the thermometer, but only bringing his forehead marginally closer to the thermometer. This could be achieved either by the nurse extending her arm a bit more, or it probably isn't required at all.
But Boris, like most people, sees 'getting his temperature taken' as something he needs to DO. It's a weird thing to have something done to you and not respond to it. It feels 'lazy'. So we often add tension to the system to SHOW how hard we're working. Look at my effort!
Where once this may have been performative, over time it becomes unconscious. Over time we forget that this kind of thing is unnecessary, and when it's pointed out we don't know how to stop. If you asked Boris not to respond like this, he'd just do a different kind of tension.
Alexander Technique gives us the tools to notice this kind of thing and then choose not to do it. Not to do the opposite, not to tense in a different way, but not to DO at all. To be able to 'just stand there'. No muscles are required to let someone take your temperature.
And just imagine a lifetime of this kind of tension building up. Imagine the aches and pains. Imagine the stiffness of movement, the loss of fluidity. And since we are 'psychophysical' beings, image what that does to our minds. All of that can be undone.
Here's another example of this https://t.co/RfNJ49CSB7
@reasonisfun @moreisdifferent @sarelbic @lisatomic5 My teacher has loads of examples of this. I won't comment on autistic behaviour because I don't know it well, but take for example what happens when people take a photo. It's super common to lean back slightly. Why? Why not just take a small step back if the frame is wrong? https://t.co/Nx0MzOzYeb
Here's my mega Alexander Technique thread of threads if this was interesting. https://t.co/pppidMHSzH
I mean come on Thanks @mattgoldenberg https://t.co/jJmPNSsrQt
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