Living in the Moment

By Stella Weigel

We are constantly tossed about in a sea of forward-planning, meeting deadlines and commitments, that we invariably lose sight of what it means to live “in the moment,” to really stop and allow things to unfold in their own time. We prefer, instead, to be in control, to hold onto things. The same applies to the way we use our whole musculature. We may not realise it, but our reasons for holding onto and tightening muscles are usually a direct result of experiences in our lives which have caused fear or anxiety.

An Alexander Technique lesson encourages us to live in the moment, to use our peripheral vision and senses to observe (and listen to) what surrounds us, not just ahead of us (as is our habit) but also above, behind and adjacent to us, not to concentrate too much on any one specific one thing.

Getting out of the way of ourselves, not interfering with how we sit, stand, talk and carry out any activity but instead thinking about what we do want in turn affects the ways in which we think. By focussing too much on how we think things ought to be, or have been in the past, we prevent ourselves from remaining truly open to possibility, to the unexpected and to change. Children possess this ability, it is something of which adults tend to lose sight, yet the good news is that with the assistance of an Alexander Technique teacher it is never too late to change.

Guest Blogger, Stella Weigel, is a fifth term Alexander Technique student at The Constructive Teaching Centre, London, the world’s oldest and largest Alexander Technique training school. She had Alexander Technique lessons from 2006-2009 before embarking on her training in April 2009. She lives in the City of London.

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