The British Chiropractic Association warned last week that our modern sedentary lifestyle and repeatedly looking down at mobile phones and other devices have led to a dramatic rise in the number of young people who are experiencing back and neck pain.  "The only sort of neck pain we used to see with that age group was people who had been in car accidents.  But now the vast majority of neck pains are people from secondary school upwards."  Click here to read more, including tips to help you protect your back and neck.

Extract from Q&A interview with actor Jonathan Pryce in The Guardian last Saturday -
Q: Which book changed your life?
A: The one the teacher put under my heard during the Alexander Technique sessions at RADA.  I grew an inch and a half.

This is my first post on a DIY-related theme!  Yet using your body correctly when planing, sawing and chiselling is just as important as it is for any other activity, and the principles are the same.  Issues of stance, balance and alignment are discussed in Jeff Miller's book, The Foundations of Better Woodworking - how to use your body, tools and materials to do your best work.  Tips for applying force include:

• Use your weight and proper position, not strength
• Don't be lazy about changing your position or that of the workpiece 
• Don't over-reach

There is also advice that Alexander Technique afficionados will recognise as the equivalent of 'Don't endgain':

• Don't work harder than you have to...Any time you have to push or strain...or you get tense about something you are doing, it will impact your accuracy; it's extremely difficult to work hard and precisely at the same time.

I confess I do worry that Jeff will have problems with his neck if he frequently adopts the position shown in the cover photograph...

Further to previous posts in praise of moving around rather than too much sitting, here's a link to a Washington Post article which makes the same point.  It's by a teacher who shadowed two pupils for two days, and was shocked by what she learned, not least that "Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting".
Click here to read the article (there's also an interesting anti-sarcasm message.  Anyone know a teacher that could benefit from taking that on board?)

About twenty years ago, while I was training to be an Alexander Technique teacher, I attended an 'Art of Running' workshop led by Malcolm Balk, a Canadian Alexander Teacher and former Olympic runner.  Now, on the Guardian's website, Malcolm offers advice on how to walk with good technique, in order to transform walking from a task into a healthy pleasure.  "Try and let go of the urgency that pollutes much of our lives and just enjoy the quality of the movement."  Click here to read Malcolm's five steps to walking well.

I think you knew this already, but "bending your head down to look at your phone can have serious consequences for your spine, according to a new study by Kenneth Hansraj, Chief of Spine Surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine" (Daily Telegraph 24/11/2014).  This follows a statement by the United Chiropractic Association earlier this year that "poor posture arising from over use of smart phones posed as big a health risk as obesity".  According to Dr Hansraj, the adult head weighs 10-12lb in a neutral position (far left in this diagram); as the head tilts forward, the force on the neck increases, so that at an angle of 60 degrees (far right), the force is equivalent to 60lbs.  Unless young people learn to pay attention to maintaining a healthy head-neck-back relationship - which is a key component of the Alexander Technique - they can expect a hi-tech future blighted by pain and injury.  One simple change you can make right now is to hold your phone higher.

"You cannot change and yet remain the same, though this is what most people want."  So said late, great Alexander Technique Teacher Patrick Macdonald (1910-1991).  To escape from the tyranny of habit, we need to identify our unconstructive patterns, and then stop doing them.  This is exactly the process of personal change that teachers of the Alexander Technique are trained to facilitate.

The Alexander Technique is so rich and multi-faceted that I've always struggled to sum it up in a few words.  This morning, while jogging through the woods, I came up with 'Using your thinking to get the best from your body' as a possible one-sentence definition of the Technique.  But when I walked back through the front door my eye caught the yellow plastic pack given out to schoolchildren by Tfl and the Mayor of London, to promote road safety. 'Stop. Think. Live.' it said on the cover.  As a truly succinct summary of the Alexander Technique, that will do nicely!

Can cyclists benefit from the Alexander Technique? Yes they can!  Yesterday one of my students brought her bike.  As she rode up and down Asmuns Hill, we explored how the application of AT principles enables her to have a lighter, easier and more enjoyable experience of cycling.  Furthermore, by eliminating harmful habits (such as excessive gripping of the handlebars, pulling the head back, compressing the spine, distorting the alignment of the knees), you protect yourself from pain and injury long-term.
My top tips for cyclists include:

• Let your sitting bones be in contact with and supported by the saddle;
• Rest the heels of your hands lightly on the handlebars, so that support comes up through your arms to encourage the upward and outward direction of your back;
• Although the main movement is in your legs, be mindful of their connection to the rest of you, i.e. of your whole self.  Lead with the outside of the heel, keeping your ankles and toes free, not stiff.

Why not contact me to book an Alexander lesson - and bring your bike!

Further to yesterday's posting ('Children aren't moving enough'), it won't be a surprise to learn that adults aren't moving enough either. In fact, according to the World Health Organisation, this country is one of the most inactive countries in the world.  On Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Dr Mike Loosemoore advised us to find everyday opportunities to be more active - whether by parking at the far end of the car park, getting out the lift a floor early, or simply by standing up more.  He explained that even tiny activities add up to make a big difference, making us more healthy, reducing cholesterol and blood pressure, and helping to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes - not to mention making us thinner! I've noticed that desks that can be raised to standing height are becoming increasingly favoured by my Alexander students with a history of back pain; it's good to know that they are gaining other health benefits at the same time.  It strikes me that it's not just the quantity of activity that is important, but also the quality.  And that, of course, is where the Alexander Technique comes in.