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Learn simple, user-friendly ways to avoid back pain and stress while travelling.
As you’re waiting in line you shift from one leg to the other, balance your carry-on bag on your hip, torque your neck to keep your shoulder bag on your shoulder, balance a double latte, strain to hear the announcements coming over the P.A. system, and pull down on your neck and shoulders as you read the flight info up on the screen. Sound familiar? Traveling --- whether by plane, train, or automobile --- poses challenges to our bodies that if gone unattended, can interfere with our enjoyment of the trip, take days to recover from, and even exacerbate chronic back and joint conditions.
The good news is: You can minimize or overcome these negative effects altogether! With a few simple tips based on the Alexander Technique, the century-old technique of re-learning habits of physical movement, you can create greater ease and overall well-being, prevent injury, and reduce stress. Not to mention put the fun back into travel!
Next time you head for the airport, keep these simple principles in mind and enjoy the positive impact on your body.
Step 1 – Simply notice
You have more choice than you might realize in ensuring a comfortable, low stress, non-injurious trip, simply by putting the mind-body connection to good use. A bedrock principle of founder F.M. Alexander’s technique is that what we think affects our bodies --- from our stress level, as measured by heart rate and blood pressure, to excess muscle tension, to getting stuck in fearful or agitated thought cycles until our bodies are tied in knots.
Check in with yourself on a regular basis --- all the way from loading the trunk in your driveway to lowering your seat back tray 25,000 feet up in the sky --- and simply notice:
· What are you thinking? Are you worried? Anxious? Excited? Joyful?
· Are you clenching your jaw?
· Is your abdomen tight?
· Is your breathing shallow?
· Are your shoulders hunched up by your ears?
Tennis guru and corporate coach Timothy Gallwey states in The Inner Game of Work, that “Desire focuses attention.” And when our attention is focused, our entire system organizes around the accompanying thought. Just by noticing where your attention is heading, you can be at choice as to how you respond. You can choose to let your shoulders drop down to their rightful place, giving your neck the space it needs to hold up your head! So, heed Gallwey’s advice and pick a thought that fills you with joy and lightness. Choose a thought that springs from something you’re looking forward to on this trip. Create a fantasy around it. You’ll soon discover that your body is relaxed, yet alert --- focused around your desire.
Step 2 - Just say no
Yes, it really is that simple. If you notice that your body is tightening, adding force to gravity and compressing your spine and joints, just say no! Stop whatever you’re doing, and your body’s anti-gravity reflexes will be allowed to function. The result of the simple act of saying no is that …the right thing does itself, as AT teacher Michael Gelb says in Body Learning.
Step 3 - “Space – the final frontier!”
Here’s the power of thought again: Because brain activity has a simultaneous neuro-muscular component, just by directing your thoughts, you can create much-needed space in your joints, spine, and muscles so they can function in the miraculous, ingenious way they were designed. When space is compressed in the neck and head, for example, we become prone to pain, but also a host of other subsequent disorders, such as TMJ (Temporo-mandibular Joint Syndrome), to name only one. Robert Rickover, Alexander teacher in Omaha, Nebraska and author of Fitness Without Stress, illustrates this relationship: “A surgeon will tell you that there are as many distinct structures in your neck as in all the rest of your body. Air, food, nerve pathways and life-sustaining fluids such as blood and lymph have to pass through this narrow region of your body. And because the structures of your neck are packed so closely together, they require an absolute minimum of excess tension to function at their best.”
· Try this experiment: Tighten your whole body and pull in and down on yourself. Now release it. Do you notice how you spring up and out like letting go of a cork under water? You’ve just created the necessary space your body needs to function optimally. Remind yourself to lighten up on yourself by letting go of unnecessary holding and tension. Just that simple directed thought will yield a positive change in your body.
· Don’t get fixed! Get up out of your seat and walk around. Sitting for long periods can be an invitation to stiffness and compression. Movement is the best antidote.
· Say “yes, thank you,” to the flight attendant’s offer of a pillow. If you notice that your hips are at a lower angle than your knees while sitting in your seat, sit on a pillow to bring the angle of your thighs and lower legs to ninety degree. This will allow more space in your hip joints, as well as, allow your spine to follow the direction of your head in a more efficient manner.
Of course your best course of action would be to take a series of private lessons in the Alexander Technique to deepen your learning on a long-term basis. The Alexander Technique is not a therapy or an exercise program. Simply put, through a series of private lessons, the teacher guides the student through everyday movements while providing direction with her hands. Thanks to the teacher’s observations and expert use of his hands, the student learns to stop reacting with excess muscle tension. Over time, chronic pain and injuries caused by misuse begin to subside.
Wherever your destination you can find a certified teacher by visiting the teacher directory on one of the following web sites. If your country or destination is not one of the following, you may find links on any of the sister organization web sites:
U.S.A. - www.alexandertech.org
U.K. – www.stat.org.uk
Germany – www.alexandert-technik.org
Australia - www.alexandertechnique.org.au
Switzerland – www.alexandertechnik.ch
Bon Voyage!
About the Author
Connie de Veer, MFA, CPCC, is a Certified Life Coach and published author. She teaches successful professionals how to break free from performance anxiety and move ahead in their careers. Look for her e-book, Pull the Plug on Panic: Speak With Confidence, and Keep Your Armpits Dry! due out August 2003. Learn more at www.cdvcoaching.com.
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