Your body is like an electric vehicle!

by | Mar 9, 2023

Hello all,

Lately I’m driving an electric car and it’s super fun! I love the way it shows me how much battery power it’s using depending on how I drive. I can coast or maintain my speed without even using any battery power, and I can charge the battery by braking and even by letting up on the gas! And if you punch the accelerator, you can see how it uses up a lot more battery power. It’s really fun to drive as efficiently as possible.

The other day as I was driving to my office, I had the thought that I was running late. My whole body tensed up and I clenched my jaw as I put my foot into the accelerator.

And right away I saw the power usage gauge climb up. Then, an interesting thing happened. Being efficient with my energy usage is so interesting – and important – that I let up on the pedal and my whole body instantly relaxed. My anxiousness melted away. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t concerned about getting there on time, but the way I was getting there came back to the forefront.

The point of this story is that that experience in the electric car was a fantastic lesson for me – a reminder that the way is just as important, if not more important, than what I am doing. The way we get there influences the way we do what we do when we get there. And we spend a lot of time in our lives “on the way”! This was a wonderful reminder for me to stay present and aware of the way I am being as I am on my way to doing something.

In the same way we can discover when we might be unconsciously clenching or tightening on the way to doing what we want to do, sapping our energy throughout our day. By checking our own internal “power usage gauge,” we may be able to do what we are doing with less effort, and even “charge our batteries” along the way!

I will be offering a free Movement as Medicine class sponsored by Red Willow Learning Center on Wednesday, March 22, 6-7pm Mountain Time. Interspersed with learning about the various benefits of movement – including for pain – we’ll explore the benefits of awareness of the way we move.

If you’d like help freeing up your body or if you’d like to keep up a regular practice, I offer group and private classes online and in-person. Sign up for a class (except Red Willow or Lifelong Learning Center classes) here or contact me to find out how Alexander Technique and mindful movement can help.