bio-psycho-social agility?!

Bon dia everyone,

I am starting a new adventure, discovering more ways towards greater agility. And by “agility” I don’t only mean agile project management, nor social mobility and career management. Nor moving to other places and learning new languages. I am talking about the full spectrum of agility: bio-psycho-social agility.

We’re embodied minds in action.

based on research from Eleanor Rosch, Evan Thompson and Francisco J. Varela, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embodied_cognition

If you know me a bit, you probably know that I am keen to learn how to move freely in many ways. I love dancing, mountains to climb, steep learning curves, and climbing stairs and ladders. Literally and metaphorically. I am working towards letting go of material things, unhelpful thoughts and toxic behaviour.

And I used to be obsessed with “doing the right thing”, bridging gaps and breaking glass ceilings. I am now learning how it’s even more important to first “undo“:

1) to pause and get a clearer picture of what is going on,
2) to then stop doing the wrong thing, and finally
3) to re-learn how to behave how we’re supposed to.

And this is something I have been mainly learning “with my body”:
While taking cello lessons. Learning Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction techniques. Flamenco dancing. Tai Chi.

All of which brought me to the Alexander Technique. And I am now training to become a certified Alexander Technique teacher.

To do this, I just moved from Andalucia to Catalunya (Spain).

“The WHAT technique?!”

You, most likely

If you look at the Wikipedia page of the AT, you will at best be confused, at worst be worried about me. “Are you OK, Céline?!” Absolutely! I just need to help update the Wikipedia page about the Alexander Technique, since in the meanwhile, there is plenty of science supporting Frederick Matthias Alexander’s claims about what a “good use” of ourselves is, and how Western cultures are doing it mostly wrong.

Let me try to define it the way I understand it so far: Well, I kinda of already did. When I was talking about “undoing”:

The Alexander Technique helps us get a clearer idea of what we are doing with our bodies, while standing, sitting, lying down, or moving.

In order to then learn how to inhibit unnecessary muscle tensions that can lead to harm, how to set better intentions, and how to give better directions accordingly.
We can then move more freely, and prevent/reduce chronic pain.

In my mind, this is a valid approach in all domains I am interested in. Including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work, even if many teachers are warning about trying to translate the Alexander Technique to other domains than the individual self.
And I am happy to share my thoughts about this along the way. Maybe I’ll discover my interpretation of the Alexander Technique is wrong, and that it is not useful for anything else than what it’s meant for. Maybe I am on to something.

This is why there is now a blog in this space. To share my journey of discovery with you. And I am looking forward to your questions and to hearing your thoughts about my musings.

Fins aviat,

Céline

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