Great video Pete. When I elevate one of my legs I feel a spiral through my whole body. It would be awsome if you do some videos about spirals. Thank you!
I just practiced this and it’s really relaxing and releasing... keeping your eyes opened creates a new dimension as I always close them and the movement feels so conscious and effortless 👍🏻
This may be due to muscle tension in the neck which is making the back of the head more sensitive. Hopefully as the tension reduces, this will improve. In the meantime, try making the head more comfortable with a bit of padding such as a soft towel. Don't make it too soft though as it will make it more difficult for the head to feel supported and thereby release tension. Also try laying down for shorter times at the beginning and building up the time slowly. If it still hurts then try the standing and sitting videos on my channel instead. All the best! Pete
I cannot for the life of me release tension from my jaw and face area. It feels like it stems from neck tension. Am I using the wrong book height? I’ve tried various different heights. Also, thanks a ton for making these videos.
Tension in the jaw and face area can be stubborn. As you've realised, it is tied in to whatever is going on in the neck. If your books are very low or high, that can contribute to this tension. Remember that the books are there to maintain the natural curve of the cervical spine. It doesn't need to be exact but you do want to feel as though the head isn't being retracted or poked forwards. Another thing to consider is that when you really pay attention to yourself doing an exercise such as this, you will start to notice tension that is usually unconscious so an increased awareness of tension is often a good sign that you are starting to notice more of your habits. It's worth trying some of the other similar exercises on this channel such as standing and seated talk throughs to see whether you notice facial tension there too. 2 really good ways of indirectly working on relieving the tension are to try to think of something that makes you smile and to work on letting the tongue rest in the mouth and think of the space in the mouth and throat increasing. These thoughts often help people to find a bit more freedom in the face and jaw. I'll try to make a video specifically about this stuff soon. good luck!
I remember finding this really frustrating when I was learning. I just couldn't make my legs move at all without loads of tension through the rest of my body. When I finally worked it out, it seemed really easy! Trying to verbally convey these experiences of coordination is so difficult which is why Alexander Technique teachers use their hands to help their students gain new experiences. For me, thinking of the back of the knee lengthening away from my back to start the movement really helped as it stopped me from tightening my quads into my pelvis to start the movement. Hope you can get it as it feels really nice when you reduce that tension!
I can’t download mp3 file. After I click link I get request to open google account. I open my account then get page that says request access. Then repeat.