Page 88 - Total War on PTSD

There have been new developments in how this work is presented. Recently the Alexander Technique has even been taught over the Internet and without physical touch. With or without touch, the teacher is not actually doing something to you. You must allow the release of your tense musculature and your joints will free. You work with the teacher; one is guiding, and one is allowing. For this reason, the Alexander Technique is a unique process. It is different from massage, yoga, Tai Chi, acupuncture and other “doing” (exercise), or “being done to you” disciplines. You are the doer, or “non-doer.” Only you can change your thinking. It cannot be forced. The teacher awaits your release and guides you through a new movement pattern. Your ability to move with less effort as a result of releasing the interference you have created in your body over time is a personal journey. The teacher and student are engaged in a learning experiment together. “I don’t know why I always looked at the ground when I walked. I can look ahead and still see the ground”. (Veteran)
The interferences in your musculature, once released, allow you to become more present and intentional about your life. You become more stable and less fearful. A Veteran experienced less severity in his vertigo. He stopped trying to hold himself “still.” You discover the “stimuli” that causes your “startle response” just as Alexander discovered that the act of speaking was a stimulus to suck in his air loudly, lift his chest and tighten his feet. Another Veteran realized in a lesson how he held onto his anger from a recent minor car accident. He had become preoccupied and unmotivated to do the self-care he usually provided for himself. While practicing sitting in a kayak (in preparation for an upcoming vacation), in a way that required less effort and tension he shared his frustration about the accident. Becoming more comfortable in this position required him to release the tension he was holding onto as a result of this accident. The following week he told me he was less preoccupied and able to return to his healthy regime.
Many of the symptoms occurring with PTSD are addressed indirectly with this work. The plasticity of the brain makes it possible to re-educate the body to prevent overreacting to what are now non-threatening situations and to move with ease and intention. This learned process serves as an antidote to the habit of fear and anxiety
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