Rider Movement Education
Posture is not how you hold your body when you are still, but rather how you carry it when you are moving.”
The Alexander Technique is an educational approach that teaches people how to use their bodies in everything they do, with less tension and with more efficiency. It was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by a Shakespearean actor named Frederick M. Alexander who discovered that his unconscious misuse of his body was damaging his vocal mechanism and causing him to become hoarse following performances.
The Feldenkrais method uses movement exercises as the primary vehicle for increasing one’s self awareness in an effort to decrease pain and tension in the body. It was developed during the mid 20th century by the physicist Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais after he became crippled following a series of injuries. Dr. Feldenkrais was able to fully rehabilitate himself through his unique neuromuscular exercises and eventually left the field of physics to pursue a career helping others regain their health through what he had learned.
My experience with both techniques:
Me, Saundra, and my fellow AT student, Debra. Summer 2008.
Despite taking riding lessons with many well regarded instructors over the years, I was never taught how to use my body correctly. I was always taught to ride in a very mechanical manner. When my horses did not respond as I wished, I assumed that it was because they did not understand the cues that I was giving them. I never thought that tension in my own body might be blocking their movement or disrupting the message I was trying to send.
After completing Rolfing, I set out to find an Alexander Technique teacher so that I could better learn to use my new body, improve my riding, and hopefully prevent further damage to my body through misuse. At that time no Alexander teacher was to be found where I live, but almost 2 years later, one walked into my life at the most opportune time.
In May of 2007 I was scheduled to participate in a Centered Riding clinic . As fate would have it, my back went out on me while practicing yoga, just two weeks before the clinic. This was my first back “outage” since completing Rolfing and I knew it was directly related to how I was using my body. (My yoga mat had been rotating clockwise for many months every time I practiced.) With my back aching, I hesitated about participating in the clinic, but fortunately for me, I decided to go. There I met Saundra Code, Alexander Technique teacher and Centered Riding instructor, and experienced my first Alexander Technique lesson.
For over a year prior to that day I had been experiencing significant pain at the top of my right inner thigh. During my first session with Saundra I sat in my saddle on a wooden saddle horse. I had told Saundra nothing about my the pain in my thigh, but one of the first things she said to me was, “Release the tension in your right inner thigh.” She kept repeating this to me, patiently waiting for me to do as she directed. Two things went through my mind at that moment: 1) I wondered how she was aware of the tension in my right inner thigh, and 2)I had no idea how to “release” it.
“Self correction depends on accurate self judgment and we rarely perceive ourselves accurately.” Missy Vineyard, How you Stand, How you Move, How you Live: Learning the Alexander Technique to Explore your Mind-Body Connection and Achieve Self Mastery
Through subsequent AT sessions, I soon became aware that I was harboring much more tension in my body than I ever realized. Within only a few sessions I began to figure out why I was having difficulty with certain aspects of my riding (turning left), and certain aspects of my life (putting on my pants), not to mention why my yoga mat was rotating left when it should not have been moving at all! As my sessions with Saundra progressed, I soon began to learn how to notice and release tension in my body. My back pain disappeared, as did the pain in my thigh, and George was able to turn left without difficulty when I rode him. Best of all, my equine massage therapist saw very positive changes in George’s body that directly mirrored the changes that I was experiencing.
Since postural habits and bodily tension can be have many layers, and patterns can change over time, the study of the Alexander Technique (or one’s posture) can easily be a lifelong endeavor. I have found out firsthand that once one layer is shed, another is revealed. While this may sound very boring and odd, I have found that the study of one’s “use of self” can prove to be fascinating (actually rather addicting!) for anyone interested in self improvement.
Although there are many books and articles written on the Alexander Technique, I have learned that nothing replaces the feedback and guidance of an experienced instructor, and it is well worth the time it takes to search one out.
For further information:
The Alexander Alliance – offers teacher training as well as a 1-2 week summer course for students
The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique
American Society for the Alexander Technique – find a teacher
In early 2008 I enrolled in series of 5 weekly Feldenkrais “Awareness Through Movement” lessons, or ATM for short. Each class lasted 60 minutes and consisted of the teacher leading the students through a sequence of movements while lying, sitting, or standing. The emphasis is not on increasing strength or flexibility, but rather on helping the students increase their awareness of where they might be “stuck” in their bodies, and then using very small, non-habitual movement to become “unstuck”. The movements are so small and simple that it initially seemed to me like not much could be accomplished by doing them.
For years prior I had practiced yoga and body rolling, and more recently studied the Alexander Technique. Despite all of this I still would wake up every morning with a slightly stiff lower back but I assumed that was just part of aging. I also had some ongoing issues of tension in my left shoulder.
To my surprise and amazement, these things simply disappeared as a result of my Feldenkrais sessions and I literally have no body aches or stiffness to complain about. I don’t think I have felt this much freedom of movement in my body since I was a child.
The lessons that my Feldenkrais teacher uses are from the Anat Baniel Method of Feldenkrais. She has free video clips of her method on her website and sells DVDs and CDs for home use.
For further reading I recommend the book Relaxercise, by David Zemach-Bersin for easy do-it-yourself Feldenkrais exercises.
