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Too many people these days at the end of their working
day, experience various pains and muscular tensions,
and/or an overpowering feeling of fatigue, which they
come to regard as normal. In each individual case the
causes can be many and they may leave people unable
to use their energy potential to their satisfaction.
One factor deserving closer attention is the way in
which people use their bodies. The stress symptoms people
experience are proof of poor posture and of a diminution
of body sensitivity. In some people, this state of affairs
becomes chronic.
The stress of modern life is such a common talking
point, how is it possible to claim that we live in harmony
with ourselves and our environment?
Stress is not, in itself, a bad thing. It is a reaction
that forms part of our biological survival equipment.
Stress was viewed by Hans Selye, the first person to
take a scientific interest in the subject, as a general
adjustment syndrome, a set of body or biochemical responses
which enable the individual to adapt to whatever situation
arises, good or bad. All human activity creates stress,
positive or negative – eustress or distress in
Selye’s terminology, though the prefixes he added
to make a distinction have ceased to be used nowadays.
Getting married, going on holiday or winning the lottery
are events which create stress; likewise, losing a spouse,
being subjected to verbal or physical aggression, or
having to work with an impossible colleague; or, equally,
making life difficult for our colleagues or ourselves.
These situations all display some form of excess and
it is this which is the harmful factor.
If one can manage the situation and bring things neatly
into line, there need be nothing to fear. However, if
the stimulus is excessive and creates excessive stress,
or persist indefinitely, such as lower levels of stress
endured daily, the result can be very serious. The list
of consequences is long and includes cardio-vascular
diseases and depression.
Where primitive man’s stress protective mechanisms
developed to enable him to summon sufficient energy
to fight or flee, he would normally have enough respite
time to recuperate. Life today offers no such luxury.
Even holidays have become a source of stress. Moreover,
the primitive areas of our brain which are responsible
for the stress do not differentiate between the real
causes of our fears, frustrations, memories or complexes
and imaginary ones.
There are many psycho-physical therapies which can
help the stressed individual to recognize his/her symptoms
and deal with them, not excluding the occasional need
for medication.
The approach in that regard of the Alexander Technique
is based on the assertion that any sudden or prolonged
intense stimulus will cause in a human being a chain
of muscular contractions which, in physical terms, may
be likened to the reaction of being shackled or surprised.
This reaction is common to all human beings and is manifested
in an increase in tension around the eyes and face,
descending into the neck and spreading through the whole
body in a predictable pattern.
In a stressed person, this neuromuscular nexus becomes
chronic and an individual gets to the point of no longer
being able to handle different situations that arise
by outside circumstances or by his/her own doing. He
then becomes shackled and will inevitably succumb to
the same habitual reactions in each stressful situation.
The same errors, the same pains and the same fears will
appear.
Following the Alexander Technique, we can learn to
recognize this pattern of tension, to see it coming
and stop it in time, thereby neutralizing the associated
stress.
But, merely receiving advice or relying on one’s
own good intentions cannot alone ensure successful stress
management. What the Alexander Technique seeks to do
is apply and monitor practical procedures to improve
postural control in the real situations of daily living.
This way we can react with a body in a better shape
and with a better perception of ourselves becoming capable
of putting a stop to the unnecessary and harmful behaviors
which make life more difficult than it really is. In
this improved psycho-physical state it becomes easier
to stick to more constructive and appropriate decisions.
See also on this site the page Don't
be victim of stress
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