Posture

Posture
Posture is a word often associated with the Alexander Technique but exactly what is "Posture"?
Our ideas of posture usually arise from having been told at some time or other that we have "bad" posture ! "If only I could improve my posture then my back/neck pain, breathing difficulties, stage presence etc will get better". At this point it is tempting to impose upon ourselves some rather antiquated ideas of how we should be. "Chin in, chest out, shoulders back" "Sit up straight!" "Imagine there is a piece of string leading your head up"
Any of us who have tried to carry out such instructions will have found that not only are they difficult to maintain but that they provide only limited benefits. Occasionally they seem to deal with one problem but then also disturbingly create another one somewhere else in our structure. These ideas of posture are invariably to do with shape and as such are static, fixed solutions. But - importantly - humans are designed to continually respond to their environment! This means we need to be free to move and 'Posture' is much better defined from this observation. So posture is our response. For each of us, from moment to moment, our posture lies somewhere within a spectrum. At one extreme we are "stuck", only able to operate with difficulty and within a narrow range of parameters. This fixed pattern can be unconscious or, as described above, one where we consciously impose an idea upon ourselves. (This can occur whether we are actually moving or not.) At the opposite end of the spectrum we are truly free to move. Here the manner of our response creates a posture which is appropriate for us and our current interaction with that particular environment. The Alexander Technique is a skill which you can learn. It helps you organise yourself towards that end of the spectrum of "posture" to do with being unfixed. It enables you to respond in ways which express your innate ability to be poised. To have in fact........ "good" posture!
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