Alexander Technique

Anthony de Mello on "Self Observation"

According to de Mello, the most important thing you can do for yourself when no one else will help you is self-observation.  This is not to be confused with self-absorption because that indicates being worried about yourself and being preoccupied with your self.  Self observation, on the other hand, is watching as much as possible, everything within you and around you as if it were happening to someone else.  He states that the reason we suffer from depression and anxiety is because we identify with them, defining ourselves with the depression or anxiety rather than experiencing the feelings objectively.  He then goes on to define the self in terms of the sky as being observers of the passing clouds, or emotions we feel, rather than being defined by the clouds that are seen, be they dark or white.  Things in our lives don't need to be fixed but merely understood.  If we understand them, then they change.  He says that "What you judge, you cannot understand."

Reflection

de Mello is basically reiterating what I've been telling myself for the last few years as I've been trying to face my depression head on.  The only way you can move past depression is to realize that who you are as a person is separate from the emotions you are feeling.  The "I" that is really me is a constant, peaceful, whole person who is observing the universe, and sometimes I let the physical me control how much of that presence is let through.  I'm a creative, caring, studious person.  But that does not encompass all that I am.  I'm a ball of contradictions and I can't put all that I am into words.

Ted Talk by Angela Bradshaw on the Alexander Technique

When we experience fear, stress, and anxiety, we shrink because of our flight or fight response, our bodies preparing for a life-threatening situation.  The Alexander Technique allows us to choose a different bodily reaction when faced with fear and anxiety.  According to Bradshaw, "Nature would prefer us to be in balance."  We can find this by standing on the three points of our feet (big toe, little toe, and the heel), freeing the three joints of our legs (ankles, knees, and hips), allowing the pelvis to be heavy like an anchor.  You should also allow your head to float up from the top of the spine, which is behind the ears.

Reflection

According to my view of the world, my mind is separate from my body, but what my mind experiences will effect my body.