October 2017

31 Oct

ZEN: A Pearl In a Pile of Shit

by Jeremy Chance

"It's not that I'm not joyful." The future Zen mater Tung-shan said to his teacher, after his inner eye opened. "But it's as though I have grasped a pearl in a pile of shit."

***

I'm weird, no question about that.

Weird, because I have not lived my life according to "normal". I didn't go to university; I didn't even go to school in my last years. In Japan, they would have called me a "hikikomori" and tolerated my behaviour.

In Australia, I just had to be sneaky.

I would get dressed, go down and have breakfast, say:

"Bye! BYE!"

30 Oct

Elevating Fear To Professional Heights

by Jeremy Chance

She put up her hand, volunteering to do an activity.

It's a BodyChance workshop. I am introducing Alexander's discovery to neophytes who are intrigued by the idea of mammalian evolution.

NOT.

"I'm too scared to travel in Elevators and subway trains - can you show me how?"

Once, I would have gone into a panic.

Me? Help with that? How could I use Alexander's discovery to turnaround a deep-seated fear like that? Am I a counselor? A therapist? NO.

So…

So!

27 Oct

Tone It Up Johnny - You Need To Get It In !

by Jeremy Chance

Johnny loves soccer, and you win by getting the ball under the net!

It takes effort, tension. Yesterday I wrote about people who add tension to make "good upright posture."

Michael Tilly, working at the Lyric Theatre in Illinois, had this to say:

***

I have to say I don't necessarily agree with this. Muscles work by tensing. What we need is eutony, or appropriate tension and span. In my experience with others and myself, tension in a "part" is sometimes due to flaccidity of other "parts" which need to be contributing to the "work" of balance.

26 Oct

Disturbing Things That Nobody Knows

by Jeremy Chance

Alexander's discovery is like a smartphone.

You didn't know you needed it, but once you got it, you wondered how you ever managed without it?

In the case of Alexander's discovery - you discover disturbing things that you didn't know you didn't know. Here's an example you can explore on your own now, or in a workshop with others…

Ask everyone what they think the objective of "good posture" is?

The will say things like "Being upright; healthier spine; more alert; better for you." Write them up. Commit to an opinion.

25 Oct

The Man Who Ate His Head for Breakfast

by Jeremy Chance

You are not designed to spend a good part of your day looking down at your tummy.

And yet, I met a man who did mostly that.

I was working backstage at a theatre in London in the late 70s - yes, THAT long ago - when I met him: his posture was so rounded that he looked like his head was consuming his body for breakfast.

When I told him I was in London to do the 3-year training as an Alexscovery Teacher, he got curious.

"3 years?" he remarked in a strong Cornish accent. "Maybe you can help with my stomach?"

"What's wrong with it?"