I felt great leaving my first Alexander Technique lessons. I felt free and light and happy.
Then I noticed myself getting very tired a few hours later.
This is normal. You’re relearning how to do everything. You’re relearning how to be. To be more precise, you’re learning to let go of interfering tension patterns that cause you to shorten and contract your musculature.
I found my first two years of Alexander Technique teacher training to be intermittently exhausting. During much of that time, I did not accomplish anything else significant in my life.
By my third year, however, I found my training to no longer tire me. I’ve reprogrammed how I respond to stimuli and I tend to walk around now with ease. All the routine tasks of life are now more fun. I can do more of life. I can lift and bend and carry and I don’t get so tired any more.
It used to be I’d go to a library or a museum and my back would start hurting after a couple of hours. My shoulders would ache. I’d need to lie down. Now I can go somewhere all day and I’m just fine. I no longer needlessly compress my shoulders and tighten my lower back. Instead, I use myself more efficiently. I go through life with my head floating up, leading my body into length.
