Tip 90 – How to Rise from Lying on the Floor Using the Alexander Technique

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Alexander Technique students know that it’s a good idea to spend time lying down with a book under your head.  But when you are finished, how do you stand up?

More on Lying Down:

Lying Down Exercise I

Lying Down Exercise II

Proper Head Position

Point Your Spine

Find Your Hip Joints

And for a  longer excerpt, visit The Secret to Using Your Body.

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There are more resources available at www.freeyourneck.com. Please write your requests in the comment section.

Buy The Secret to Using Your Body

By |2014-05-02T14:44:54-04:00May 2nd, 2014|Lying Down, Weekly Tips|2 Comments

Tip 30 – Lean Against a Wall Exercise

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No time for lying down? For a little rest and reorganization, try leaning against a wall. Legs go forward and down, back goes back and up.

If you are feeling disorganized in your body, take a moment to lean against a wall. Look for what is going forward and for what is going back. Clarifying these oppositional relationships within your body will help you to stand and move with greater ease.  Visit the links below to learn more about how you can find these relationships when you are not leaning against the wall.  

More on Your Lower Back and Legs

Video: Posture and Back Pain 

Bending, Leave Your Hips behind Your Legs

Video: Good Posture Is like a Wave

Video: Walking, Leave Your Hip behind Your Leg

Be Like Roger Federer

Finding Your Hip Joints

Article: Five Alternative Posture Tips

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There are more resources available at www.freeyourneck.com. Please write your requests in the comment section.

By |2014-07-05T20:55:55-04:00October 23rd, 2010|Dynamic Opposition, Lying Down, Weekly Tips|0 Comments

Tip 29 – Lying Down Exercise III

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For a little rejuvenation, lie on a firm surface with a book under your head for 15 minutes. Allow yourself to settle. Allow your head to release from the top of your pointing spine.

This tip is an excerpt from the third page of the exercise in my manual. It might seem like the others, but it adds several important words. Combine it with Tip 28 (every day if you can) and you will be on your way to better organizing your body. The full instructions for this page are below.

Continuing to release your head from the top of your spine, gently point the top of your spine as if it were reaching past the back of your head.

When you are ready to stand up, do it slowly and easily. Be aware of your surroundings and leave the exercise until the next time.

More on Lying Down:

Lying Down Exercise I

Lying Down Exercise II

Proper Head Position

Point Your Spine

Find Your Hip Joints

And for a  longer excerpt, visit The Secret to Using Your Body.

To receive these weekly tips as an email, visit Weekly Alexander Technique Tips.
There are more resources available at www.freeyourneck.com. Please write your requests in the comment section.

By |2014-08-16T15:23:53-04:00October 16th, 2010|Lying Down, Weekly Tips|11 Comments

Tip 28 – Lying Down Exercise II

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For a little rejuvenation, lie on a firm surface with a book under your head for 15 minutes.

Allow yourself to settle.

Allow your head to release from the top of your spine.

Leland Vall Alexander Technique tip 28

This tip is an excerpt from the second page of the exercise in my manual. Combine it with Tip 27 (every day if you can) and you will be on your way to better organizing your body. The full instructions for this page are below.

Rest your head on the book without pushing it into the book as you allow your head to release from the top of your spine. Without pulling your chin down, think of your neck as if it were falling away from your head.

When you are ready to stand up, do it slowly and easily. Be aware of your surroundings and leave the exercise until the next time.

More on Lying Down:

Lying Down Exercise I

Lying Down Exercise III

Proper Head Position

Point Your Spine

Find Your Hip Joints

And for a  longer excerpt, visit The Secret to Using Your Body.

To receive these weekly tips as an email, visit Weekly Alexander Technique Tips.
There are more resources available at www.freeyourneck.com. Please write your requests in the comment section.

By |2014-06-28T13:25:55-04:00October 9th, 2010|Head/Neck, Lying Down, Weekly Tips|5 Comments

Tip 27 – Lying Down Exercise I

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For a little rejuvenation, lie on a firm surface with a book under your head for 15 minutes.
Allow yourself to settle.


This is the classic Alexander exercise and the first page of the exercise in my manual. It’s not only restful, it is a good way to explore and organize the regions of your body. There is more to it than just lying down, but you can try it as it is described below.

Lie on your back with your head on the book, your feet flat on the floor (knees bent) and your hands on your abdomen. Imagine that you are almost weightless. Keep your hands apart and your knees separate from each other. Avoid moving around in order to look for the best position. Without pushing, allow your whole body to settle toward the floor (there will be some gaps between your back and the floor). Leave your eyes open.

When you are ready to stand up, do it slowly and easily. Be aware of your surroundings and leave the exercise until the next time.

More on Lying Down:

Part II of this Exercise

Proper Head Position

Point Your Spine

Find Your Hip Joints

And for a  longer excerpt, visit The Secret to Using Your Body.

To receive these weekly tips as an email, visit Weekly Alexander Technique Tips.
There are more resources available at www.freeyourneck.com. Please write your requests in the comment section.

By |2014-08-16T15:22:52-04:00October 2nd, 2010|Lying Down, Weekly Tips|4 Comments

Tip 3.5 – Finding Your Hip Joints

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The legs meet the pelvis at the hip joints. The waist is probably four or five inches above the hip joints.

Bending at the hips instead of the waist can make you feel stronger and relieve back pain. It is important to remember that, although the spine is flexible,  the waist is not a joint and that almost every major movement in the body should involve the hip joints and, generally, not the waist.  The hip joints are much lower than most people think.  They are about four or five inches below the waist. Look at the image of the pelvis above and then try the two tips below.

  1. Lie down as shown in the image below and lift one knee at a time as if you are walking in place.  Use your hand to feel each hip joint.  What goes up is your leg, what stays down is your back–the hip joint is what connects them.  For greater clarity, you might also try to feel the base of your pelvis as shown in the image of the pelvis above.

    Look for your hip joints with your hands.

  2. As shown in the images below, lean against a wall with your knees bent and then bend forward from the lowest possible point.  The lowest point is your hip joints.  You should feel your pelvis rotating on the wall as you bend.  Avoid bending the spine.

As you bend, feel your pelvis rotating on the wall. Avoid bending at the waist.

It is important to know where your hips joints are because they are generally involved in every major body movement.   But there is more to the hip joints than just a place to bend.  Bending at the hips instead of the waist gives you more strength and power and makes every movement easier.  Knowing where your hip joints are also allows you to discover the dynamic oppositional relationship between the back and the legs and makes it possible to point the spine.  The back goes back from the hip joints, up.  The legs go forward from the hip joints, down.

Here is a video on bending