Improvements: My posture improved. And my piano playing. I trained as a classical pianist when I was younger; my shoulders were always killing me. When I get out of bed in the morning now, at age 55, I don’t have aches and pains.
Don’t relax! In general I find that the word “relax” leads people to collapse and deaden themselves. My rap is that people interfere with their bodies and start gripping up muscles that were designed for movement and using them for support.
The unfurled spine: I put my hands on a student’s head and say things like: “Think of your whole spine, from the base to the top, and let your skull unlock from your spine. Imagine that your neck is your spine. Imagine a stream of water flowing up your spine and supporting your head.”
Technique, not treatment: I see office workers with neck and shoulder pain. Performers with voice issues. Musicians in pain from the way they hold their instruments. Equestrians. Sometimes I can help people get better at something I can’t even do — though as part of my training, I took riding lessons twice a week. I’ve had success with people with asthma — not that we heal people. We’re giving lessons, not treatment. Our students are not our patients.
