Voice

I wanted to learn all the names today, instead I saw plenty of new faces. Vivien Mackie, a Cellist and AT teacher, came to the school, as did Daniela, Shiromi and Phil. We had to perform today, and that surely made me a bit nervous.

I had my turn after the break with Margaret, doing table work. She asked me about my semi supines and noticed the changes while I was describing the focus of my attention during this part of the work.

Kaz played his cello in the first group session, which improved after some of Vivien's suggestions. Playing an instrument seem like a good opportunity to focus on the mean-whereby instead of end-gaining. Each song has its own tempo, and each note can be lived out.

I recited Goethe's Faust and noticed some habitual patterns emerging from this observed speaking situation. The throwing back of the shoulders and tensing the neck belong to those undo-able reactions. With a slump (or what felt like it) and bended knees it worked much better.

I started at least the document for my homework, time to read now the man himself.

Anatomy

I still struggle with some of the names, but it seems to get better any day. (Thats easy to say after two days). I spend about half an hour in semi supine, which more and more appears to be an amazing tool to regain awareness of the body.

Jeremy took the turn on me today, and showed me an astonishing way to get out of a slump without doing anything about it. Releasing the neck and rocking slightly back and forth did the trick, with no attention to the shoulders at all. Maria had 5 minutes to put her hands on me before that, and Kaz tried to get me on the tips of my feet.

The activity session with Libby was about sleeping, a very important activity. It surprised me how different bodies look like while basically doing the same, ie lying on the side ready to sleep. However, using pillows for the support of the upper arm, the belly and between the legs improves the length of the spine and produces easily the sensation of more comfort.

The anatomy session with Jeremy constituted the most formal part, and like the reading part requires us to do homework. I still need another book to do my homework, yet I might check the Uni library and make some copies, in case the book won't arrive soon in the school. The body has only a finite number of components like bones, tendons, ligaments, organs and muscles, yet I don't know too much about the interactions and the locations that apply.

I really enjoy being the object of hand work of the second years - Will, Kaz and Maria had a go so far. I realise more and more the pervasiveness of Alexander's approach. However, I noticed the similarity to Gurdjieff's, Feldenkrais and Crowley's constant reminder to introspection. The things I learn feed my desire for something new and useful, yet it grows with everything new.

The first day

It felt a bit like the first day in school, although I've been through the experience of beginning a new chapter of my life quite often. Michael and Rossi seemed more nervous than me, but I didn't hesitate when David asked me to do the first round of 'observed walking'. The teachers took their turns at the as well, and criticising each other to the amusement of all.

As group work we picked up a book while sitting, and used the monkey to pick up a book from the chair. Kaz gave me a bit of table work in the morning, my shoulder need a lot more calibration, and David made me aware about the tendency to put the head back in the last moments of sitting.

On the table and during semi supine I used different heights for the books under my head. I should find some decent height tomorrow morning, and check whether I can connect the names and faces tomorrow. And I could start working on my homework after the class, applying control while doing so.

After losing control deliberately to a certain extend over the weekend, I'm curious about the effect of four days in a row of school. Basically, I can imagine some advances, but this will certainly require a bit of sleep.