I had an interesting experience last night, as I was offered a session on the Alexander Technique with Neil Schapera at the lovely Four Winds Academy.

Never having experienced Alexander Technique, I was keen on trying it out after dealing with chronic tension in my back and shoulders... muscle knots so tight that not even massage has been able to alleviate. Although I can credit much of this to stress and physical strain, I knew there was a reason I came to the session when Neil explained to me that Alexander Technique is a method that focuses on changing habits in our everyday activities such as sitting, standing, and laying down. It teaches the use of the appropriate amount of effort for a particular activity, which gives you more energy for all your activities.

Sounded good to me. I could use more energy. And less muscle tension.

Little did I realize that I had been exerting too much effort into simple activities like sitting and standing. I was swinging my arms in a grand gesture, and throwing my weight forward to spring up and to my feet, rather than pivoting fluidly over my center of gravity. After Neil pointed this out to me, I looked a little deeper at what my motions were saying.

I was moving as if I had to motivate myself to perform, to get to the end goal. I believed that anything worth doing took effort and hard work. I questioned myself a bit further... Did I really believe that this was true? Is working harder necessarily smarter?

The truth is, I have connected many times with my Higher Self, thru meditation, energy work and thru my spritual connection. My Higher Self is quite zen. She moves with fluidity and grace. Things come easily to her. She does not need to toil or use excessive amounts of energy to get her point across, to accomplish her goals, or to just be.

So, this lead me to ask... Why weren't my physical body and my spiritual self lining up? Why wasn't I an embodyment of that spirit that I knew so well? The answer: social conditioning. I adopted the belief in my physical body that anything worthwhile took effort. I was trying too hard.

Funny enough, this was the same message the intuitive healer, Tuaca Kelly gave me in a conference call over a week ago, when she explained how to link my physical self to my Higher Self and purpose. "Stop trying so hard," she said. Now I know what she meant.

So my question for you is, how would your Higher Self move? Can you begin to move as your Higher Self in small steps? How about when sitting or standing? Try it out, just for a bit, and see what awareness and change it brings about in your own physical being.

Best,
Jen Salstrom