Sandra teaches in Chelmsford, Essex. For lessons telephone 01245 268764 or e-mail her at Sandra Waller Alexander Teacher STAT
Sandra Waller's Web site
The following two pieces were written by Sandra Waller and Annie Kornfeld who work with us on the Think-Back self-management programme.
We have included the Alexander Technique (AT) into our programme because like ThinkBack is an eduction programme and not a therapy.
By now you will be familiar with the different components of the Think-Back programme. You have probably had a taster of the strategies laid out in the programme, if not, you are probably beginning to ask yourself, how do these strategies fit in with my routine and how can I use them?
Let's take a look at one - The Alexander Technique, and see how it can help you daily and your recovery using techniques in the Think-Back self-management programme.
The Alexander Technique is a way of using the mind and body together to attain a better standard of functioning physically, mentally and psychologically whilst using less tension and effort to reach that standard. F.M.Alexander used specific words or terms to describe the way to apply his technique to our every-day activities. Three of them are used here which directly parallel the three 'P's of the ThinkBack message, Pacing, Planning, Persistence.
ThinkBack terms
Fancy words but what do they mean?
1. INHIBITION
In Alexander's terms this means stopping (inhibiting) old habits or
ways of doing things which have become automatic, almost instinctive,
to the point where we are unaware that these habits or ways can actually be causing us physical discomfort or dis-ease. In ThinkBack terms, without planning what to do each day we can easily overdo things leading to a flare-up.
So the same principle applies.
Inhibition - stopping and thinking
Planning - stopping and thinking
2. THE MEANS - WHEREBY
This is the way in which we use our minds and bodies to achieve satisfactorily what we want to do. "It's not what you do it's the way that you do
it!"
Pacing is also about looking at the way we can satisfactorily achieve
what we wish to do in a typical day without over using our minds and
bodies to cause a set-back.
Means-whereby - how we get results without strain
Pacing - how we get results without strain
3. CONSTRUCTIVE CONSCIOUS CONTROL
This means really thinking through how we can function in a less tense,
more balanced way physically, to protect ourselves from discomfort
or pain; by being more aware at all times of controlling old, instinctive
habits and reactions.
Persistence is also about being aware and having more control at all
times,
Both take practice, both can be achieved.
Constructive conscious control - thinking in action
Persistence - thinking in action
Dr. Miriam Wohl, a G.P. and Alexander teacher believes it can be a
very small difference in functioning that can take someone back over
a pain threshold and leave them free of pain. It can make a big difference,
especially in the treatment of Sciatica.
This statement equally applies to pain in general.
The Alexander Technique is one "tool" in your ThinkBack programme,
a very effective tool to use. It takes practise to use, much like any other tool, but with guidance from a qualified Alexander teacher, the technique can become an invaluable aspect of ThinkBack which will last for life.
© Sandra Waller Alexander Teacher STAT
Sandra teaches in Chelmsford, Essex. For lessons telephone 01245 268764 or e-mail her at Sandra Waller Alexander Teacher STAT
Sandra Waller's Web site
STAT (Head Office) is now at 129 Camden Mews, London, NW1 9AH TEL: 020 7482 5135
We live in a 'quick fix' society, and so conditioned are we by the 'quick fix' culture that we fail to take the time to examine our own assumptions.
Chronic pain, obviously, does not fit with our 'quick fix' world - which is so ordered, so instinctively taken for granted, that we do not even think to question its assumptions. And if our 'quick fix' world is unquestionable, is an absolute value, then it must be the chronic pain sufferers who are out of step and somehow 'at fault'.
Along with everything else, chronic pain sufferers bring this assumption of 'fault' to their situation - and to the Think-Back programme. Certainly they want to recover, preferably yesterday. So focused are they on recovery that sometimes they can miss, or be initially discouraged by, the message of ThinkBack. The message comes down to this: Recovery and Think-Back are about an ongoing strategy for learning to manage pain increasingly well over time. Recovery is about internalising the fact that chronic pain and the 'quick fix' are fundamentally incompatible.
Chronic pain management, inevitably, means the long haul. Understandably this sounds pretty daunting to any chronic pain sufferer, in part because of the 'tunnel vision' caused by living with pain.
Over the 18 months or so since the Think-Back programme started, I have had the privilege of observing graduates' progress. At the end of the course many feel quite positive that the course has moved them on. Some are not: it hasn't worked for them. They are still struggling with the 'quick fix' idea.
Those who have started to move on are setting out on a long road, which can be frustrating but also offers many rewards over time. Recovery is a long, complex progress with layers of pain and negativity to undo. After a 'good day' a 'bad day' can be utterly devastating; and who stops to think that 'bad' is not as bad as it was 3 or 6 months ago. Who stops to look at their level of pain and say: "To be honest, it's not as bad/widespread/long lasting as it was?" even while they are experiencing that pain.
The recovering pain sufferer will learn all sorts of new skills and qualities. Obviously they will learn to manage their bodies much better, but they also learn to develop their being. They learn to receive as well as give compassion, through supporting a 'buddy' who is going through a flare up. They learn what so many fitter people do not learn: to prioritise, to concentrate on what is important and disregard the rest. (Thus, they have much to teach the fit about how to overcome the 'running round like a headless chicken' syndrome.) They learn to manage themselves better through patience and acceptance of their reality. This in turn provides them with greater insight into themselves and enriches their interaction with others. Somewhere along the line almost as a by-product of their pain management skills they discover or develop a certain creativity in various areas of their lives. They acquire the capacity to truly enjoy what once might have been taken for granted. Certainly, the temptation to grieve for what has been lost always lies in wait, but there is also the possibility of Think-Back discovering new talents, new strengths, new depths and a new kind of harmony.
Ongoing recovery is not easy and may not always even feel like recovery, but the blossoming to be seen in a number of the Think-Back Graduates goes to show that it is both viable and rewarding. Perhaps it is time for the Family to look back, see how far they have come and look forward to what lies ahead along the long haul with quiet optimism and confidence in their own resources.
© By Annie Kornfeld Alexander Teacher. For lessons - e-mail Annie at Annie Kornfeld Alexander Teacher STAT
See their web site Essex Alexander School