A lot of women feel cramping in their stomach when they’re on their period.
In this video, Marjorie Barstow helps a woman move out of the unnecessary clenching that exacerbates such pain:
I get so impatient watching these slow-moving Marjorie Barstow videos. And the more impatient I feel, the more I tighten.
Try to notice your own reactions to these videos. They’re filled with good information. If you’re too impatient to watch them comfortably, take a look at your own reactions and see if they’re serving you. See if you tightening in your impatience. What happens if you let that go?
I’ve never had menstrual cramps but I’ve had a lot of stomach aches. At least I did before I learned Alexander Technique.
A few years ago, I wrote:
"Do you have any thoughts on stomach aches?" I ask my Alexander Technique teacher today.
"When do you get them?" he asks.
"When I start worrying. I find myself clenching."
"Well, what would you say to a friend with this problem?"
"I don’t know."
"You’d say that you’re probably moving down when it happens, pushing your stomach down, playing a loop of worrying thoughts, and you’re probably tipping your head back. So the solution is to flow up. You’re too smart of a guy for this. You know this.
"Why do people throw up when under stress? Because they push down, they tip their head back, they catastrophize and the bile flows up."
