How Do We Know?

This is one of the four fundamental questions that philosophy seeks to answer according to Kant, it is also something central to applying the Alexander Technique to develop Conscious Control. It is a question that most new pupils come to ask in learning Alexander’s technique, as they realise that they can no longer rely on their sense of feeling, it is unreliable, the judgements it contains are not to be trusted. 

Now, if you have the time you can engage with Kant, who has much, that is of use to say; you will hopefully emerge wiser, but it will really do you no good if you are trying to learn the Alexander Technique. In lessons what you think you know is immediately thrown into question when it comes to simple acts like sitting, standing walking, let alone anything else – feeling is not enough. Something else is needed.

One needs a standard and fortunately there is one there – the gold standard when it comes to judging how one is going at any given moment. That gold standard lies not within one’s attention but within one’s awareness of one’s breathing. If one’s breathing is released, relaxed and easy, even while exerting your self, you are going to be going well. You will also find that if you have a back problem for example your back will be supporting you to the best of its ability.

Good support and good breathing go together; there was a reason why Alexander was known as the ‘breathing man’ and it is just this. Now the great thing about using breathing as a standard is that relaxed, easy, released breathing is hard to fake, it is a continuously reliable feedback loop that goes with you over time.  The feeling of standing straight, tall, is too often illusory. We are too good at thinking this, only to be proved wrong, as Alexander students too often find when they start lessons – if you pull forward habitually when standing, straightening up through freeing one’s neck is going to feel like leaning backwards.

There are other answers to the question of how do we know, but this is the best in terms of the on-going immediacy of experience. Longer term we know from being aware of the success of ourselves in applying Alexander’s technique and finding the release in breathing; the lightness in being and sense of well being that go with this, along with an improved sense of balance, as well other indicators of improved functioning. These though are indirect outcomes of aiming for conscious control of our use and not direct attempts to sort out our problems.

Direct attempts almost, if not always go wrong, we need to stop, and when it comes to many complaints it is as an absence of something that indicated our success and achievements in relearning how to sit, stand, walk, talk or understand others. Absence of pain if we are lucky is an outcome, always to be welcomed, it is not something to be looked for; the way markers, are gathered instances of consciously released breathing; developed over time into conscious control of ourselves – which is something worth aiming for.

No blog next week as I am away.