Form Function Flow Blog http://blog.formfunctionflow.com Free your Flow... The Alexander Technique Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:50:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 en Prius Form, Function and Flow - Human Efficiency http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2010/02/03/prius-envy-%e2%80%93-human-form-function-and-flow/ http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2010/02/03/prius-envy-%e2%80%93-human-form-function-and-flow/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:54:03 +0000 admin http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2010/02/03/prius-envy-%e2%80%93-human-form-function-and-flow/ Despite the Toyota news today about the brake design problems - extraordinary form, function and flow are demonstrated in the new 2010 Toyota Prius.  There will be resolution on the brake issues.  To me this is a temporary challenge.  I’d like to highlight some of the incredible features that would be good for humans to learn from and implement to increase their quality of life. We recently purchased one and have been impressed with the tracking technology, fuel efficiency and overall smart designs incorporated throughout the Prius.  Last week my husband even declared, “I feel so wasteful when I am driving our other vehicle (another 4 door sedan, 27 mpg).  When I put my foot on the break, the car loses all the energy that could be used to refuel the battery. Why would anyone not want to improve energy and recycle waste?”  This is also the question I ask my students who choose to study human efficiency with the Alexander Technique.  Optimizing efficiency in humans and in cars is more essential than ever with the fast pace of society.  Just as the Prius demonstrates suburb efficiency with cars, The Alexander Technique opens the door for better human efficiency for people to improve their daily Form, Function and Flow. 

The most obvious feature of the 2010 Toyota Prius is the incredible energy efficient shape.  Its Form allows it to be one of the most fuel efficient vehicles designed to date.  Just like the Prius, people are designed with an extraordinary details that allow us to perform an amazement of tasks to live, work, sing, dance, garden, golf, play, run, swim, bike, ride, hang glide, create, invent, explore and infinitely more…  Toyota has capitalized on the Form of the Prius with a $1.7 billion profit for its October-December quarter.  Have Humans thought about their Form to increase their standing in the world? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_bi_ge/toyota_recall

Most humans tend to think about their Form/shape only as it relates to size.  When the pants stop fitting the Form is getting flabby.  Or they may admire the height of the basketball player or the mobility and flexibility of a gymnast.   As most of us will not fall into the later two athletes, isn’t it time that we work with our human design to our benefit?  One man studied our design in great detail for his lifetime, Frederick Matthias Alexander.  He discovered an incredible aspect of humans.  We have the choice to compress ourselves into a ball of tight muscles and knots or we can release tension and improve how we Function and Flow in relation to our very unique design and Form.  Alexander discovered that we can move differently despite our height or weight.  I imagine that Toyota is feeling pretty heavy burdens right now, but they will find their way through the recall process.

Toyota has too many great features to not bounce back.  Lane keep assist is better than sliced bread.  This little feature lets you know if you have wandered or started to cross into another lane.  A little bell rings and the steering wheel actually pulls you safely back toward the middle of your current lane.   Now what would happen if humans used this feature more when they started getting off track in meetings, or when shopping, running, swimming or planning projects?  People seem perpetually pushed and pulled in multiple directions.  What if we could count on being able to observe our midline and engage in a clear direction?  The Alexander Technique offers improved direction with forward and up thinking.  As one begins to observe themselves in activity, they notice if their neck muscles are tightening and if their head is heading in a back and down direction. This is similar to the head going off in a different lane.  Alexander students learn to notice what is their Form like and how is it functioning?  Yes, many people swerve into other lanes while driving cars, but is it generally healthy and safe?  Allowing awareness to let your neck muscles release keeps your head from going in a back and down direction and lets you drive more comfortably in your body.  This creates a far more comfortable carriage letting your body Flow without holding tension patterns and allows you to be more on-track with your daily life patterns.

Radar control cruise control is another favorite feature.  The car comes equipped with cameras and radar to detect how far someone is in front of you and how fast they are driving.  If you set your cruise at the speed limit of 70 mph, but you have a turtle in front of you at 62 mph, the cruise control will automatically adjust to their speed as long as you stay behind them.  If you jump in the next lane, your cruise will take you back up to your desired 70 mph that you set it for.  The car actually analyzes conditions present and adjusts as needed.  Noticing conditions present and being able to adapt to changing circumstances has infinite potential for people too.  How many times have you found yourself doing what you did before, just because you did it before?  Shopping for the same foods, sitting in the same place in class or a meeting, throwing your back out again while golfing or gardening?  

Adaptability to ever changing stimuli is a primary principal of the Alexander Technique.  In fact F.M. Alexander referred to his work as the study of human reaction to stimuli.  The Prius responds gracefully to the changes of all the traffic around it.  With the Alexander Technique individuals learn to respond without tightening and tensing muscles.  Think about all the people you encounter in a day, particularly the closest ones like family, co-workers and friends.  Do you get tense with some of the conversation triggers?  Learning to adjust to their various stimuli, by driving your own body with less tension can be the ultimate radar detector in human relationships and the beginning of improved quality cruising connections.

Keyless driving and entry is the ultimate car convenience.  All one has to do is have the key in their pocket or purse to get in the car.  So if you do not want to have to set your kid or groceries down to dig through your purse to find the ever buried key, you do not have to do that tedious task with the super smart keyless entry feature. You just reach for the handle and magic, it knows you want to get in and you open the door without hassle.  Lesson here is certain.  We all have keys in life.  How do we want to use them? Knowing that we have keys available, and in fact that humans are equipped to move with more efficiency and grace is a huge step forward for the human race. As the Prius sets new benchmarks for the car industry, the Alexander Technique is driving humans to new levels to be more present to the conditions around us, respond to stimuli in new ways, keep our heads from swerving off base and yes even move and engage with more grace.  Cheers to the improved Prius and People Form, Function and Flow with the Alexander Technique.

Christie Johnson
Internationally Certified Alexander Technique Teacher
Optimizing Human Efficiency and Performance Free Your Flow… www.FormFunctionFlow.com 

]]> http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2010/02/03/prius-envy-%e2%80%93-human-form-function-and-flow/feed/ Optimize Your Wedding Poise http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/24/optimize-your-wedding-poise/ http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/24/optimize-your-wedding-poise/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 06:39:05 +0000 admin http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/24/optimize-your-wedding-poise/

Brides are beautiful. Right?  They have the ultimate perfect dress, hair-do, facial, finger nails, makeup and the like (all important parts of the whole event). Too often they miss one of the most important elements, POISE.  I have seen many brides and many wedding pictures hanging in private homes or on iPhones.  It fascinates me that one spends hundreds and typically thousands on the wedding accessories, but then exhibits a rounded collapsed posture for the biggest picture taking day of her life.  Poise is the missing link to the most graceful beautiful brides.  Poise like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had is priceless.  Do you know one thing that she did to improve her poise?  She took Alexander Technique Lessons.

She took what?  She took Alexander Technique Lessons.  The Alexander Technique allows one to walk with grace, dance with fluidity, speak with confidence and clarity, stand without slumping and feel comfortable on stage.  The bridal stage is BIG!  The Alexander Technique teaches you how to respond versus react. Yes, it is not called the biggest day of your life for no reason.  The pressure builds.  You’ve seen the movies, heard the stories and witnessed the bridezilla effects.  You say, well that’s not me.  I have no tendencies towards the bridezilla sorts. 

How about a small test?  Read here:  Optimizing Wedding Poise

Seriously wishing you all the best in this exciting new chapter of your life! 

Christie Johnson
Internationally Certified Alexander Technique Teacher
Optimizing Personal and Professional PerformanceFree Your Flow… www.FormFunctionFlow.com

]]> http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/24/optimize-your-wedding-poise/feed/ Obama’s New Fuel Efficiency Standards for Cars and Humans? http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/19/obama%e2%80%99s-new-fuel-efficiency-standards-for-cars-and-humans/ http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/19/obama%e2%80%99s-new-fuel-efficiency-standards-for-cars-and-humans/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 04:01:23 +0000 Christie Johnson http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/19/obama%e2%80%99s-new-fuel-efficiency-standards-for-cars-and-humans/ Hats off to Obama for posting new fuel efficiency and emission standards for cars and trucks! This has been long awaited.  It makes sense. It offers improved performance and more attention to design to gain better efficiency; thus saving us more dollars and cents while helping the earth too.

I was particularly intrigued observing all the car companies enthusiasm around the announcement. Media.Ford.com says http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=27455  “Ford Motor Company is introducing a new engine technology called EcoBoost that will deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy on half a million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles annually in North America during the next five years.” They also stated, “Direct injection coupled with turbocharging allows for the downsizing of engines that deliver improved torque and performance.”

Sign me up for better efficiency, improved torque and performance.  Can we get that for humans too?  Ah yes, that is right - there is such a thing.  It is the The Alexander Technique.  The first graduate of the Alexander Technique Marjorie Barstow, said that “The Alexander Technique is the conservation of energy for human beings.” 

Would you like to know how to conserve your energy as a human?  Think of the possibilities if you could move with less stress and wear and tear on your body.  Think Human Boost going Forward and Up with more ease and better performance.  What’s good for the auto industry in new efficiency standards can be applied to humans. Click and read this article to find out more:  Human Fuel Efficiency

BTW, I am willing to head to Washington if Obama would like to have me teach the Alexander Technique to the House and Senate to help with their human fuel efficiency in getting all the work done.  

Christie Johnson
Internationally Certified Alexander Technique Teacher
Optimizing Personal and Professional Performance  — Free Your Flow… www.FormFunctionFlow.com

]]> http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/19/obama%e2%80%99s-new-fuel-efficiency-standards-for-cars-and-humans/feed/ Relationships and The Alexander Technique http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/18/relationships-and-the-alexander-technique/ http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/18/relationships-and-the-alexander-technique/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 00:47:47 +0000 Christie Johnson http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/18/relationships-and-the-alexander-technique/ In the 72 year research of 268 Harvard men there was one key point that prevailed beyond all else. Relationships matter more than anything else.  In the article “What Makes Us Happy?” in the June 2009 Atlantic Monthly, Joshua Wolf Shenk, delves through the decades of research by George Vaillant, of what happens in tracking these men for life. Reaction formation – “responding to anxiety with an opposite tendency” was a theme.  Valliant goes on to state “reaction formation allows us to care for someone else when we wish to be cared for ourselves.” But being on the defense in intimate relationships, “rarely leads to happiness for either party.”As an Alexander Technique teacher I tend to think of all things in relationship.  For me I began to understand the Technique, which is the study of human reaction to stimuli, when I applied it to my closest relationships.  I began to observe that in trying to care for someone else, I would tend to tighten my neck muscles, pulling my head back and down while shortening my entire body.  This caused me more harm than good.  When I started noticing the pattern I could choose to keep tightening or to release my neck muscles to allow my head to go forward and up versus back and down. In observing and choosing not to tighten I actually began to communicate more clearly with those dearest to me.  Responding was the new choice versus reacting. My relationships became easier; I was not on the defense.What would happen if we started a new longitudinal study teaching people some primary principles of responding versus reacting within relationships?  Would more people live with no regrets?  Would there be fewer arguments?  Could this be applied to world relationships?  I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Christie Johnson
Internationally Certified Alexander Technique Teacher
Free Your Flow… www.FormFunctionFlow.com

]]> http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/18/relationships-and-the-alexander-technique/feed/ Tiger, Golf and The Alexander Technique http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/15/tiger-golf-and-the-alexander-technique/ http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/15/tiger-golf-and-the-alexander-technique/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 01:37:09 +0000 Christie Johnson http://blog.formfunctionflow.com/2009/05/15/tiger-golf-and-the-alexander-technique/ Today was one of those days where I seemed exceptionally timing challenged.  You know the deal.  Hit every red light.  Finally make it to the appointment.  I was on time no less, only so that I could sit and wait for a half hour before seeing the individual who was running behind.  In surrendering to the wait, I opened the Golf Digest, June 09 issue. There was an interesting lesson from Tiger Woods, who has also experienced some timing challenges as of late.  There was a photo sequence demonstrating his new left knee adjustments.  

http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/video/2009/06/09tipsplustigerwoods

 As I read the tips and observed the pictures I looked more at the alignment of his head and neck than the knee. As an Alexander Technique Teacher we tend to look at the coordination of the whole in relationship to those amazing neck muscles and the delicate balance of the head on top of the spine.  If the neck muscles tighten they tend to interrupt a smooth sequence of form, function and flow.  Being on stage after being off stage is a challenge for anyone and Tiger is no less human than the rest of us.  Stage fright initiates the fight or flight mechanism that usually involves the neck muscles tightening and the head going back and down. Tiger demonstrates this.

Many golf experts are now saying that Tiger’s elbow is worn out too.  If Tiger can learn to free his neck muscles it is likely that his elbow will move with more ease and he will gain coordination of the whole including the ever so famous new knee.   

Alexander Technique Lessons would offer more fluid, consistent patterning for Tiger. I look forward to seeing more freedom in Tiger’s Form, Function and Flow…

Blog by: Christie Johnson www.FormFunctionFlow.com

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