Each of my classes has a topic and each block of classes has an overall theme. I need to work this way; it lightens the mental load – a familiar goal, I’m sure!
The theme for September block is “Alexander’s main directing orders” and this week’s topic has been “widening the back”. FM Alexander had a strange way of describing things (even for the era he was in), and because of that we need to do a little translating along side the teaching of the skills.
The first thing useful thing to understand is that Alexander’s “directions”, aka thinking intentions, are preventative – e.g. “let the neck be free” translates as “don’t grip/stiffen/brace/tighten your neck”. It’s putting a positive where it could be a negative (I wonder if he was into NLP??) We’re asking for what we want, rather than saying what we don’t want, which makes sense when you think about it.
What is it that we want in the torso?
Your back is just the back of your front, or the section that joins your sides together. It’s not separate. We are not made of isolated parts. Why would widening the back be important for improving internal support, poise & balance, breathing?
Let’s turn it back around and look at what happens when we don’t allow the back to widen.
When the back narrows, the muscles surrounding the torso have drawn inwards in tension, becoming held, braced, and ultimately less flexible. If you grip your abdomen and lock your shoulder blades into your back, it’s a good impression of the back narrowing. It doesn’t feel good and you can’t breathe very well!
(If you just did this to see how it feels, stop it now and don’t do it again. Let your belly soften, release your jaw and ask your back to spread out – widthways.)
Alexander’s early work on his personal journey was all about voice production. What he inadvertently discovered is that to produce good vocal projection, the kind needed back then to reach the back of the theatre, you need to stop bracing and holding in the torso. You need to widen your back, because to belt out a song or speak with a clear and loud voice, you need to breathe well.
Put simply, what we want in the torso is enough flexibility and support to allow the breathing to do itself. The flexibility comes from not habitually bracing the torso, the support comes from an integrated, well-coordinated musculature. The directed thought, or conscious intention, to widen the back unlocks the pelvis, releases the rib cage, supports the shoulder girdle and allows the support from the legs to find it’s way up to the head. It’s quite simply a brilliant conscious intention and when it becomes a skill, second nature, it changes your world!
Widening the back in movement.
Leaning over the bath to clean it can be a real life pain in the neck. Widening the back supports you so your neck isn’t doing all the work. Hiking up a hill can be a bit of a thigh burner. Widening the back releases the pelvis allowing the legs to work easier. Carrying your heavy suitcase can leave a lasting ache in the shoulders, widening the back spreads the load throughout your whole structure so it feels lighter as you walk.
Do you need more support for the everyday tasks? Or have you had some experience of this back widening intention, and are now nodding in smug agreement?
Life’s challenging enough without the basic everyday stuff feeling tough or painful. It makes sense to learn some simple skills to make life easier. When you’re ready to give yourself some support head on over to my Work with me page and see which class works for you.