Alexander Technique and Stress
Stress, Tension, and AT (part 1)
“Stress” Is Not a Four-Letter Word
…knowledge concerned with sensory experience cannot be conveyed by the written or spoken word, so that it means to the recipient what it means to the person trying to convey it.
-F.M. Alexander, The Use of the Self (1941 edition)
As a Literature major, a prized possession was my dad’s worn office thesaurus. Okay, technically, it was his possession. True! But, the point is that the demands of my undergrad focus made reader-response reality obvious to me: no matter how thoughtfully or artfully I choose the words I use to communicate my meaning, how my words are received or interpreted always depends upon the experience of you, the reader/ listener.
So F.M. Alexander’s 1941 statement (top) immediately hooked me when I first read it in 2003. I still try to heed it, to be as specific as I can with my language in class. During my time as a teacher of Mr. Alexander’s technique, I’ve noticed that certain words with distinct meanings have become conflated, which not only creates impediments to communicating one’s unique embodied experience accurately to a healthcare provider, it can turn early Alexander lessons into a bit of an Abbott & Costello routine (worse: an absurdist, educational rabbit-hole).
Alexander Technique and “Stress”
No matter why someone comes for lessons, in Alexander Technique, we operate from the principle of body/mind/emotion unity in human functioning. While I’m working with a student through the the lens of the “physical,” I’m aware that “mental” pressures easily can lead to unnecessary muscle tension and “emotional” distress, and that the experience of physical pain or trauma will have reciprocal impact on someone’s mental/emotional worlds. Since the Technique’s inception (almost 130 years ago), Alexander teachers have approached those who ask us for help addressing a particular concern or topic from the perspective that “The Body Keeps the Score,” as it’s part of the indivisible unity of the Self.
“Stress” and “tension” remain the top two misunderstood words consistently utilized by folx who seek out my guidance. I find that people now use “stress” and “tension” interchangeably and almost always as generalized synonyms for the experience of physical, mental, and emotional pain or duress. Regarding use of the word “Stress:'' I've noticed that even the health professionals whom I count among my student population tend to not differentiate between a stressor (cause), their reactions to it (effect), and then how they experience their reactions (another effect). We forget or may be unaware that Life-stressors and stress are a constant, they exist on a continuum, and they actually can be positive! Human beings might not have evolved to walk upright without a multitude of stressors. Because our individual relationship to and use of these words reflect how we think, and our thinking affects how we experience all stressors, I invite you to get curious about your language habits and follow the schematic trails they uncover.
Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words.
Polonius: What is the matter?
Hamlet: Between who?
Polonius: I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.
Hamlet: Slanders, sir.
-Hamlet, Act II, sc 2
According to Physics, “stress” merely is a level of Force imposed by a “stressor” upon an object. When that Force impacts the object so that it its structure starts to change, that particular level of Force is labeled “stress.” Everything in the Universe can be thought of as a stimulus or stressor: the pull down of Gravity upon my body; the push back up of the Ground Reaction Force through me; the sensation of the Sun on my eyelids in the morning; the pressure of a cast on my broken arm; the tactile sensation & sound & smell of leaves under my feet as I walk to the subway; the event of my train not showing up; news of a loved-one’s illness; a summer thunderstorm; an intrusive memory. So if stressors (even repetitive ones) aren’t all “bad,” then neither is all stress. How I perceive and respond to pressures (be they “positive” or “negative”) and my capacity to be aware of my response is at issue. Response vs. reactivity. Habit vs. choice. Across the unified mental-emotional-physical system and spectrum.
Stress isn’t something outside of us; it IS us
The World Health Organization currently defines stress by way of the Via Negativa: “the reaction people may have when presented with demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope.” You can’t make a choice to change how you habitually react to stressors and cope differently with the resultant stress, if you don’t notice your stimulus-reaction in real time, understand your patterning, and then understand what to do with that awareness & knowledge. The Alexander Technique offers us a tangible, eyes-open process for change (if we want it): for experimenting with how we engage with Life stressors and for examining our unique stimulus-response patterns. It gives us practical tools that allow for more reliable awareness and real-time choice about how we respond in everything we do, in order to feel and function better. How I personally am able to respond to a stressor in question, how I am able to consciously choose to work with it, determines my Stress experience of it (to a greater or lesser degree). If I unconsciously react to a stressor (cause) by shortening/ tightening my musculature (effect) often enough, that reaction will become habituated, my musculature will become chronically shortened, and I may eventually find myself in musckuloskeletal pain (effect). The need to learn how to effectively address stress-related pain is one of the most common reasons people seek out Alexander Technique.