mBODYed Learning

The Alexander Technique is a process for observing and changing your habits. Through the study of the Alexander Technique, one can achieve greater heights in artistic expression and creative freedom.

The Technique is based on the principles of movement:

● there is a neuro-muscular-skeletal mechanism for coordinating movement,

● we are born with this mechanism, and

● it is present and working for us provided we do not interfere with it.

When one studies the Alexander Technique, one changes the way one thinks, and consequently, how one moves. One creates a direct pathway from intention to movement, in the most efficient way.

Study of the Alexander Technique can:

● help relieve stress and pain,

● develop your awareness and attention,

● allow for new choices in your movement and in your responses to situations within your life, thus

● unlock your creative potential.

Body Mapping is the intentional clarification and refinement of one’s body map to align with reality so that movement is freer and less restricted. When movement is freer, creativity is unlocked. Body Mapping is the application of scientific and medical knowledge of the body, in a clear and relative manner, to the movement of making music.

Body Mapping:

● Allows more expressive communication in performance by assisting in understanding how habits and misunderstandings have interfered with the ability to play the instrument. Unlocking artistic freedom, getting out of the way of yourself. (unpack this more, work it backwards - all the way back to band)

● In combination with medical treatment and physical therapy, Body Mapping and Alexander Technique have been shown to assist with injury recovery and prevention.

● Deepens the understanding the skeletal structure and how it provides support for movement.

● Increases awareness of how the parts of the body relate to the whole, and with this new, deeper understanding of the parts, how the whole body can move with greater ease and efficiency.

● Facilitates discussions of breathing, balance in sitting and standing, supporting the instrument, technique, embouchure and articulation.

Body Mapping was developed from a pedagogical need for teaching Alexander Technique in large groups of musicians. When studying Alexander Technique, there are many ways in which the teacher interacts with the student(s): hands-on guided movement, chair work, table work, constructive rest, groups, and working directly in performance. Through his many years of teaching Alexander Technique at The Ohio State University, William Conable, Professor Emeritus (Cello) developed a process that allowed students to gain a deeper relationship with their bodies while working in a group setting.

Sometimes in the study of one’s self, you encounter a habit that is particularly stubborn or difficult to change. Often in this case, the issue is that the habit is built around a body map that is no longer working well for you. Let’s unpack that a bit….

A map is a representation of a “thing” in one medium that exists in a different medium. By definition, maps are created to represent some aspect at the expense of something else, they cannot show everything. Inherent in the definition, the type of map (road, topographical, architectural, etc.) determines the information that it includes and excludes. Maps are a representation of the territory; they are not the territory itself.

The body map is you self representation in your nervous system. Body maps are learned over time and change over time. They are constructed in consciousness. We learn them through our experiences. They are influenced by our education, background, culture, ethnicity, and our movement.

We each have our own map that we learn and develop both consciously and unconsciously from the time that we are infants. As we discover how our bodies move and function, we are mapping. Our maps develop and change over time, just like our bodies. Sometimes these changes coincide, sometimes they do not. Often, with someone who has spent a large amount of time and energy developing an artistic craft, the map does not change with the body. For artists especially, many of us do what we do because someone taught us and encouraged us from a young age to work and develop our craft. We hear instructions differently as adults than we did as a child. We also hold the early mentors with high esteem. Thus, we hold onto these early perils of wisdom, turning them from simple instructions into pillars of a technique. What if you heard it wrong? What if you went too far? What if you took a metaphor as literal?

For a variety of reasons, our maps may not be serving us well. Possible reasons may include: inaccurate interpretation of information, erroneous pictorial or verbal information, imitation of others, rejection of various body parts, or pure fantasy. As our bodies grow and change throughout all stages of life, the relationship between our bodies and movement changes. Our bodies grow and change faster than our maps. Subsequently, movements may become uncoordinated and clumsy as we continue to move according to our old maps. We also become more conscious and aware of our bodies, especially as we begin to compare our bodies to others and to societal norms.

● All sound is the result of movement.

● All movement is the result of thought - intention.

● Intention leads to the movement that creates the sound.

● The quality of your thought influences the quality of your sound.

Habits are a powerful part of our nervous system. They are designed to be automatic and stubborn to change. Rightly so, since you have spent a great deal of time creating and reinforcing them. Because they are powerful and difficult to change, habits can get a bad reputation. We say things like “that’s a bad habit” or “I need to break that habit.” However, we invite you to consider an alternative view of habit.

Our nervous system is designed to form habits continuously. We need this to happen in order to accomplish all of the beautiful things that human beings can do with their bodies. When we build a habit, we are quite literally building a physical pathway in the nervous system. We make new habits through the same process that built the original habit. This is the purpose of the Alexander Technique - to become conscious of our habits and build new ones that are more efficient. Each time you observe your habit and make a new choice, you strengthen that choice. In time, this will become your new habit.

Alexander Technique has two defining features: our coordination is guided by our primary movement (the relationship between head/spine/limbs in movement; and the development of hands-on teaching.

Body Mapping is the refinement and intentional embodiment of the internal body map based on anatomical reality.

Body Mapping greatly enhances the learning process for the study of Alexander Technique. The study of Body Mapping naturally leads into Alexander Technique.

Most students start there, continuing on if they have a particular interest in teaching Alexander Technique and a desire to do hands-on teaching.

mBODYed Pedagogy combines Alexander Technique and Body Mapping, and the latest discoveries in learning theory, neuroplasticity, and cognition, into one seamless process of teaching and learning, through the lens of inclusion and belonging. mBODYed Pedagogy can: Help you feel more at home in your body • Improve learning, creativity, and performance • Improve balance, flexibility, and coordination • Prevent and alleviate pain and injury • Manage performance anxiety. mBODYed Pedagogy allows one to achieve greater heights in artistic expression and creative freedom.