Scoliosis and the Alexander Technique

Galen Cranz photo

A colleague in the States, Professor Galen Cranz, has recorded 4 short videos describing her personal experience of scoliosis which she’s had since childhood and these are well worth watching, particularly if you have scoliosis yourself or know someone who does or if you work therapeutically with people who have scoliosis.

In Video 1, Galen talks about her severe scoliosis from childhood. Not only was this obvious physically but it was also a lonely, isolating condition, particularly during her teenage years. She and her family decided against treatments such as surgery for fusion of the spine or a brace. Most treatments on offer addressed external factors and were quite held and fixed.

Swimming was the first thing that helped as the water gave support and relief, as described in the second video. She decided to put aside time for self care and swimming formed a large part of this. Galen had a lot of pain from bending over books but doctors were only able to offer pain relief medication. Advice to ‘sit up straight’ caused pain and so she practised slumping but that made the pain worse.

scoliosis xray

Moving to Berkley in 1975 led to the discovery of the Alexander Technique – video 3. This made a great impact as it was very gentle with no manipulation. She was amazed to be without pain for a while at the end of her first session [this is not the same for everyone but fortunately was the case for Galen]. She also had Alexander Technique sessions in the swimming pool.

After some time she went to New York and had ten Alexander lessons in a row – one per day. This made a major difference as, for the first time, it was more than just managing pain but it also improved her physical structure. Her spine got straighter and she could sense it. This was a major turning point.

After another lot of ten daily sessions, Galen decided to train in the Alexander Technique. This was a huge commitment. In the first term, her spine improved by 13 degrees. Another significant step forward was making friends with someone else who had scoliosis as they could share experiences.

Galen explains in her video 4 significant concepts from her Alexander Technique studies:

  •  that the body can change
  • that psychological factors play a part in poor posture
  • the technique gives a tool and a set of standards for quality movement which are broadly applicable to all sorts of activities
  • that she could use all these to a new academic field – body conscious design

The fourth video sums up what has helped in the overall quest to live with scoliosis. Scoliosis is not something that goes away and so Galen Cranz cautions against anyone who says they can cure it. And she has found that a variety of different approaches have helped in her exploration, many of which are supported by her understanding and application of the AT. These include Rolfing, craniosacral osteopathy, Tomatis listening therapy, alpha brainwave training, gyrotonics and body mind centering.  It’s worth listening to her discussions on these as she gives some cautionary advice.

Finally, the sequence of videos ends with her making the realistic statement that progress is not linear. Her learning has been on an upward trajectory but with significant setbacks. She has needed to find both internal and external change and feels that ordinary physical therapy misses the emotional, psychological and mental cognitive component.

Towards the end of the talk, there is a wonderful illustration of the change to her spine. It shows the  first X-ray from over 20 years ago superimposed over the most recent tracing of her spine, highlighting the very significant positive change from her years of endeavours.

On a personal note, I wanted to watch these videos having worked with a number of people with scoliosis and have found this most educative. In particular, one needs to regard this condition with more than its physical manifestations. It requires a change in mind body thinking, sending messages to the musculature for longer lasting change.

My thanks to Professor Cranz for making her personal story available to the public.

Alexander Technique in Education

child at laptop - poor posture as chair too low

child at laptop - poor posture as chair too low

There’s a fantastic short video about how the Alexander Technique works in education, whether normal schools or music or drama colleges. It’s beautifully shot and is very clear and informative. Well worth at least one look. Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOMlc0f0orA

How does the Alexander Technique help students? It shows them how to:

  • understand their reaction processes
  • have a longer attention span and more focus
  • be mindful of the way they do things
  • see how they normally do things and see what they can change
  • find space to become more aware of themselves
  • respond to demands without being overwhelmed
  • think to their body to hold less tension

It’s increasingly vital for young people to have an understanding of these ways of thinking. More and more youngsters are getting backache and suffering from stress. Their bodily use at is often very good at an early stage but starts to deteriorate when they sit at tables and use a pen. Twists and slumps set in. If we can catch this early we can nip a lot of problems in the bud. It takes a skilled eye and understanding to do this and needs a gentle, kind approach. Unfortunately, suggesting that they ‘sit up straight’ just builds in stiffness and doesn’t change things. It also stops free breathing.

Please bring the video to the attention of anyone you might know in the educational field so that we can build awareness.

Walter Carrington – centenary celebrations

Walter Carrington riding a horse
Walter Carrington riding a horse
Walter Carrington riding. © Constructive Teaching Centre

We celebrated what would have been Walter Carrington’s 100th birthday this week at my Alexander Technique training school. Walter and his wife, Dilys, ran the school for many decades and I was so lucky to have trained with them – they were well into their 80s when I started my teacher training.

The school in those days was in Holland Park, London, in a huge Victorian terraced house where Walter and Dilys had lived since the 1960s. As well as doing my teacher training, I also worked on the reception desk, managing Walter’s diary. Visitors regularly came from all over the world to spend time in the school and/or to have lessons with Walter. These appointments were like gold dust. If there was a cancellation, we had a box file with over 200 names on the waiting list for a short notice lesson. There was always someone who was able to hot foot it over to Lansdowne Road. Walter was one of the key figures in the world of the Alexander Technique. His knowledge and experience were of the highest order.

The main teaching room at the school was a large bright room with huge windows at either end. It would have probably been the lounge in normal houses. There was a conservatory at the back of the house leading from the lounge via glass doors and occasionally squirrels nested in the roof spaces of this. We spent most of our time in these two rooms where we’d either be lying down on one of the 3 wooden tables or else working at the chairs, sitting and standing. It doesn’t sound like hard work but the mental focus and ‘rewiring’ that went on used to knock me out during the first year and I’d often go home and sleep soundly for an hour.

Days were filled with the sound of laughter and Walter’s belly laugh rang out above everyone else’s. We were always cracking jokes. His laugh was described by an erudite colleague as a Rabelasian one. It’s taken me 15 years to look this up – Rabelais was a French satirist known for the ‘riotous licence of his mirth’. Rabelais also collected plants and curiosities and France can thank him for the melon, artichoke and carnation. Whilst I’m not aware of any botanical leanings, Walter was had a huge range of interests and read widely on many different topics.

Walter trained with FM Alexander in the 1930s and in 1941 qualified as a pilot in the RAF, serving in the Pathfinders. His plane was shot down in Hungary in 1944. He and his crew survived but were taken prisoner. He had broken many bones, including his pelvis and had to relearn how to walk.

Despite various hip replacements, he loved horse riding and continued to ride thrice weekly until his late 80s, stopping only because his horse, Badger, was being retired. We went on a group outing to see him riding one day. Other Alexander Technique colleagues were also giving dressage demonstrations and it was fascinating to see the horses dance round the stable. But Walter was the main attraction for me. This elegant gentleman of about 87 years, wearing a shirt and tie and bowler hat, was riding on an enormous horse with the joyous smile of a 5 year old. What a sight to behold.

Walter loved horses. His teaching room/study was filled with prints and statues of horses. There were also piles of books, largely about the Alexander Technique, but also about learning computing.

Every day he would read to us from one of Alexander’s books, often breaking off to explain particular points or to offer observations. Many of these impromptu discussions have made their way into print, notably The Act of Living and Thinking Aloud. This is fortunate as, try as I might, I don’t know if I ever once managed to stay awake for the whole half hour. His voice lulled me into total relaxation every day. On Tuesday at the party, a recording was played of one of Walter’s talks, with all of the mumblings and laughter going on in the background. Like Pavlov’s dogs, I went to get up when I heard the old doorbell in the background.

Walter was a very kind man, calling everyone “my dear” and having a ready smile upon his face. Happy Birthday, dear Walter. Thank you for all that you taught me. Much love.

Tanya x

Kate Kelly and Tanya Shoop
Having a drink with Kate Kelly, fellow bibliophile.
© Constructive Teaching Centre
Books - 'Remembering Walter Carrington'
Memories of Walter from colleagues and pupils.
© Constructive Teaching Centre
Photos of Walter Carrington
Photos of Walter Carrington.
© Constructive Teaching Centre

Chair Design – function plus form

S Chair with person sitting in it

 

Man sitting uncomfortably on S Chair
S Chair © Christine Ackers

It’s not ideal for our health to sit for too long. Two factors are of key importance: our posture at the chair and the type of chair itself that we sit on.

Christine Ackers writes in Connected Perspectives that:

‘… the first criterion for judging a chair must be that sitting on it does no harm.’

She illustrates in some glorious sketches how chairs that have won awards for design may be at best uncomfortable and at worst impossible to sit on. Ideally, a chair design should look good but just as importantly, if not more so, it should support a natural upright posture. Many chairs have a seat that leans backwards including design classics such as the Wassily chair:

Wassily chair
Wassily Chair © Christine Ackers

 

These tilt the pelvis back and curve our spines.

We need to be on our sitting bones – the two rocker-type bones at the base of our pelvis. This requires a flat seat base that has no side to side curves or front to back ones and is not backwards leaning. This, then, rules out the Panton Chair…

Panton Chair
Panton Chair © Christine Ackers

 

… and the Transat, neither of which support good postural use.

Transat Chair
Transat Chair © Christine Ackers

Back pain at work supposedly ‘caused by the computer’ is often determined by how we sit at the chair as well as what we sit on. A lot of money can be expended on designer office chairs when it’s learning how to sit properly that is the real key. Christine Ackers shows that it’s the marriage or sitting well as well as choosing a chair that suits function as well as form that is a happy one.

All drawings above by Joe Wauters and Jing Sheng Wang.

Connected Perspectives has a whole range of new articles with subjects that have never previously been collated, all showing the diversity of the Alexander Technique, including writings on:

  • cycling, skiing, sex
  • creativity in music and movement
  • utopian societies in literature
  • mindbody disciplines in eastern and western societies
  • reflections on learning

Book Launch – Connected Perspectives: Alexander Technique in Context

Connected Perspectives book cover


Connected Perspectives book cover

I am delighted to announce the launch of a book of new writings on the Alexander Technique. My colleagues, Kamal Thapen and Claire Rennie, and I have been working on this for the past 2 years,  bringing these wonderful articles to print.

Connected Perspectives comprises 23 contemporary articles which relate the Alexander Technique to diverse fields of human endeavour. Ranging from Literature to Musical Training, from Skiing to Sex, from Psychotherapy to Anatomy, from Birth to Personal Cultivation, from the Ideomotor Principle to Historical Overviews – this collection is essential reading for those who would like to explore the Alexander Technique in a wider context. Written by experts in their respective fields, the articles invite readers, both familiar and those not previously acquainted with the Technique, to gain an understanding of its potential.

The Authors

photos of authors - Connected Perspectives - Alexander Technique in Context

Jonathan Cole,Julia Woodman, Sue Pepper, Kathleen Ballard, Christine Ackers, Claire de Obaldia, Fumie Hosoi, Keith Sylvester, Malcolm Williamson, Alex Farkas, Tim Kjeldsen, Peter Ribeaux, Henry Fagg, Erik Bendix, Brita Forsstrom, Judith Kleinmann, Peter Buckoke, Joseph Sanders, Nadia Kevan, Barry Collins, Sheila Christie, Sharyn West, Lucia Walker, Glenna Batson and Anne Battye.  

Edited by Claire Rennie, Tanya Shoop and Kamal Thapen

Publishing Details: ISBN: ISBN 978 0 95689 974 3

Paperback, 218x140mm, 352 pages in black and white with colour cover.

Price: £25 plus P&P. 
 Elisabeth Walker, Alexander Technique teacher

‘The Alexander Technique is for living life to the full. I would like to wholeheartedly endorse this book … ‘ 
Elisabeth Walker – Foreword