What does it take to become aware?
Why is awareness special and important? Or is it?
I had a student yesterday, and our conversation came around to the question “why”? Why spend all this time on self development, improving the conditions of one’s life, noticing and releasing as much physical and emotional tension as possible? To what end are we looking to improve “the use of ourselves” as F.M. Alexander used to say.
Well…good question! The truth is that we are already whole, BUT isn’t it gratifying to spend some of your time in self awareness and self development so that you feel more alive, vital and whole in your body/mind/being?
I like to say that we start this work because of physical or psychological pain and suffering, but we open to the larger sense of wholeness and well being once we start on the path. And it just gets more and more beautiful, magical, and fulfilling!
Some of you might know that I like to say I crawled to my first Alexander lesson, I was in that much pain. For me it was back pain, but also included some nasty gastrointestinal problems as well.
Now, 35 years or so later, I look back on that time and realize my motivation was discomfort, but the reward was an immense journey into wholeness and well being. Believe me, I have had many teachers and Mentors along the way, some spiritual teachers and healers, and of course many Alexander Teachers. I would not be the person I am today without a tremendous amount of help and support! And I still study the AT privately and sign up for group programs in Spiritual Development.
It is all a blossoming flower of intention, practice and grace!
This is where Mindfulness comes in. My National organization, AmSAT, coined the phrase “Mindfulness in Action” as our tagline. Mind you, we had numerous discussions about whether that accurately represented the work, and I came out on the side that, yes, it does. We are always in a process of becoming more aware of our habits, our tendencies, our unwillingness to change our point of view, and this is at a great cost.
Here is a video I did a few months ago, talking about the Alexander Technique and Mindfulness practices. It is very experiential and practical. I hope you enjoy it!
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