This is one of my favourite videos of all time.  Short, brilliant. Make sure you watch all the way through.

Picture a cow, standing in a field of green grass, chewing and mooing.

Then picture a startled chicken, flapping its wings and clucking noisily.

Believe it or not, they have a lot to teach us about ourselves, in particular, about our muscles. (Vegetarian Alert: meat references coming up!) Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s an inspiring video.  Try making a small, temporary shift in behaviour and habits for just 30 days, and see what happens!

The London 2012 Olympics are very exciting.  I’ve been glued to my TV night after night, cheering on our Team GB competitors.  It’s very inspiring and fantastic entertainment.  I’m full of admiration for the hard work and talent of all the participants.  But I’ve noticed it takes quite a toll on me, let alone them! Read the rest of this entry »

How do elite athletes do it?  They use huge amounts of strength and energy.   Some sports require all that effort in a short burst, like sprinting. Gymnasts perform over extended periods with brief down-time in-between as they move between equipment.  And events like the cycling road race or longer distance running require sustained energy over an extended period.

When I went to see the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics All-Round final, I was struck by how ‘zoned out’ the competitors looked when they weren’t competing.  And everyone knows Usain Bolt goofs around on the track right up to the very start of the race.  So what’s going on?

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Just before the 2012 Olympics, the BBC showed a fantastic documentary about Usain Bolt.  We saw Bolt training in Jamaica with his coach.  Glen Mills.  Mills gave Usain some great advice. Read the rest of this entry »

Some days are boring.  Some are average.  Some are fun, others easy.  Sometimes we have stressful, tough or difficult days.

Then once in a while, we have excruciating, agonizing, overwhelming days when everything falls apart.  Life turns us inside out and kicks us around.

So what about those days?

Here’s what I’ve discovered.  Call it Alexander Technique on the edge. Read the rest of this entry »

Each one of us has a natural postural springiness that can send us bouncing along.  With a trained eye you can see it working in young children, and even without a trained eye most people can appreciate ease and fluidity of movement.  But by the time we become adults this poise has often become diminished and distorted. Read the rest of this entry »

When I teach Alexander Technique, I put a lot of emphasis on the importance of vision.  How we look out at the world can have a profound effect on both posture and levels of muscular tension.  But we can also work with sound. Here are some ideas to explore. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m drinking a cup of tea while I’m writing this.  It’s Rooibos tea in a white bone china mug.  The mug has illustrations of medieval pilgrim badges made of lead alloy.  There are foxes, birds, a glove and a money pouch.  The historical badges are interspersed with contemporary representations of a stylised teddy bear riding a motorcycle.  There are two words written on the mug.  When I saw them, I knew I had to buy it.

The words are: ‘Patience’ and ‘Humility’.

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