Daily Lessons
by Sarah Levenston
In early October 2005, I met Tracy Gil and had my first personal encounter with the Alexander Technique. I say ‘personal’ because I felt as though I knew a bit about it all via my parents who had been practising for years. I had very clear memories of my dad looking about for a pile of paperback books to build to the right height to do his ‘exercises’ which appeared to involve him lying on the floor, head propped up on the collected books and going to sleep! However, my dad, now 80, is very active and attributes some of his energy, vitality and general wellness to Alexander so….
I shared my introductory lesson with two other ladies. From the outset, my impressions were hugely positive. I have a variety of physical conditions (diabetes, poor circulation, a ‘bad’ back – or ‘failed back syndrome’ according to my neurosurgeon! - sciatic nerve damage) – all of which I have come to view, and experience, as limitations.
Tracy helped me to see that yes, I may have these conditions but that within them, I could choose to have a much more positive experience; that my body could be helped to function more freely, more effectively and with less pain. The hands-on parts of early (and subsequent) lessons were a revelation, both when the activity was mine and when I was watching others.
After I had had about 12 lessons, Tracy asked if I would be willing to take part in an experiment. She was interested to see what changes could be made if lessons had much shorter intervals between them, e.g. a lesson every day for a week. I’m still not sure whether the experiment was of greater interest to Tracy or to me, but I was delighted to be able to take part.
Looking back, I suppose the effect was similar to that which I later experienced at the Summer Workshop in Cirencester. The intensity of so many lessons in such a short time acted as a catalyst, helping to make changes occur more quickly. I expected these lessons to unlock some of my long-held tensions and, in time, they did, but not as instantly as I had imagined. Instead they kick-started a process which has already helped me to change dramatically, a process which I know will continue to transform my life in so many ways.
I think I had half-expected some of my various long-held ‘hang-ups’ to be unraveled during the week. That didn’t happen as much as I had expected, but the lessons did set in motion a process of dismantling some of the protective barriers I had so carefully constructed around myself, in the misguided, but strongly held, belief that the barriers would help me.
The only slight drawback, or at least side-effect, is that, because of the large numbers of changes taking place, such an intense experience can be very exhausting. I certainly needed to rest every day after lessons which I was fortunately able to do. I would certainly recommend an intensive block of lessons or the summer workshops to anyone who can make the time.