So. I’m here in beautiful Highlands, N. Carolina, lucky enough to be getting paid ( not getting rich, but getting paid) to perform in a show which doesn’t take itself too awfully seriously, which is cool after 3 plus months of being a VERY serious dude in a different show. One of the cool things about these gigs is working with some very talented, driven performing folks. They are, by and large, younger than I. I kinda feed off of their energy and I think they push me to keep trying to up my game. i think that’s kinda cool.

Another thing about musical theater is that you coexist with professional dancers. Professional dancers are, in my opinion, extraordinary creatures. They tend to be fit, attractive, and incredibly athletic. They have to do very intricate, difficult & physically challenging movements, to music, on stage, every night. And they have to make it look like it’s easy and they are having fun. I, while not being able to do this at all, admire the hell out of them. Oh, and by the way, they also tend to make less than actors / singers, while working twice as hard. Just my opinion…

…but I digress…

…but when a dancer recommends a wellness concept, I tend to listen.

Enter Holly. I didn’t know Holly, except as a castmate, and someone who for lunch will have an open-faced herb cream cheese & sardine sandwich on some kind of home made brown bread.
I couldn’t help but watch. When someone starts assembling this, it’s kinda hypnotic. “She’s not going to put the sardines from the tin on the cream cheese & brown bread, is she?”

Yup.

But that’s a different blog.

So Holly lets the cast know that she’s a certified instructor in the Alexander technique, and is open to doing sessions with fellow cast members.

Am I curious? Of course I am.

So, what’s Alexander technique?

According to my extensive research (read “wiki”)

The Alexander Technique is based on the personal observations of Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955).It is a type of alternative therapy based on the idea that poor posture gives rise to a range of health problems. Alexander’s career as an actor was hampered by recurrent bouts of laryngitis, but he found he could overcome it by focusing on his discomfort and tension, and relaxing. Alexander also thought posture could be improved if one became more conscious of one’s own bodily movement. Proponents and teachers of the Alexander Technique believe the technique can address a variety of health conditions. Instructors observe their students, and provide both verbal and gentle manual guidance to help students learn how to move with better poise and less strain. Students are often performers, such as actors, dancers, musicians, athletes and public speakers, people who work on computers, or those who are in frequent pain for other reasons. So what I took was that Alexander could help with body awareness, posture & balance and help correct problems caused by the lack of these.

I’m gonna bet that is a gross oversimplification. But we’ll start there.

So, I signed up for a 1-hour session with Holly.

How was it? I’m going to start by saying “interesting”

It’s you and your practitioner. And it’s really a co-operative thing. If you don’t go in with an attitude of buying into it, don’t waste your time, or their’s.

So, what is it, Bob?

What it’s not is yoga, or pilates, or anything chiropractic. There is no popping, cracking, or any heavy duty manipulation of body parts. It’s a lot of your practitioner making you aware of your body. How your carry yourself, how you move. Where do you carry your balance, where do you hold tension. And through that awareness , working toward relaxation and balance.

Again, a gross oversimplification.

Holly helped me be aware through verbal cues and light touch. Top of head, arm, shoulder , back, etc. One big “aha” for me was how much more resistant I was to relaxing my right arm and right side in general. I’m very right side dominant, and my realization, ( not from Holly, btw) that I was reluctant to physically relax & relinquish control was really interesting.

Another significant realization was that to me, the session was almost a type of meditation. I had to be mentally present to completely focus on what we were doing. The times I thought about other stuff ( am I doing this right?, am I relaxing…RELAX!, did I lock the door when I left the house) I found my body reacting to my thoughts, creating tension or blocking the connection to what I was doing in the here and now.

As to the structure of the class, there were sections where I sat, stood / walked & laid down.

So, what did I think?

First off, I booked another session for next week. Holly & I discussed the session today ( the day after). There were ideas from the session I used in both my morning “yoga-ish” stretch session and in my vocal warm ups. I sincerely think that there are interesting ideas here. I have real challenges with some of the issues which the Alexander technique addresses, especially as a 60+ year old.

I’m going to follow up & move forward.

I’ll let you know.

As for the brown bread, cream cheese & sardine sandwiches?

Umm, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Talk later,

Bob