M01.11 Sadness & Fury – Behind the One, Exists the Other…

I heard to-day that I was not to be invited to a meeting of teachers in LA next Sunday to talk about how they might support each other getting their Alexander Technique practices a little busier. On that day I am in LA, I am available and I (was) willing to attend. I had heard about this meeting two weeks ago, and I believed I could help them with specific advice to their questions, so I rearranged my schedule in Japan – spending money to change the date on my Japanese return ticket – so I could be in LA for that Sunday meeting. It didn’t occur to me that I would be requested not to come! It brings back to mind my decision made many years ago to be free of Alexander politics. Of course I am becoming involved even by writing this, but still – I feel hurt, while my 5 year old is furious. Of course I will do a worksheet (tried once), and turn it around and eventually laugh, but right now my heart is not there. What it does do is give me an opportunity to express one aspect of my professional life that I have not written about previously. Years ago now, I slowly made good on that decision to get out of Alexander politics. First I resigned my membership of STAT in 2001. Then in 2009 I simply stopped paying my membership fees to ATI. AmSAT, to their credit, actually tossed me out in 2006 for running a non-accredited training. Today I do not belong to any membership organization in our Alexander community. That’s how I like it. I don’t say you need to do that, but I sure feel relieved to have no terse letters to answer, no forms to fill in, no committees to answer to, nothing to vote for or debate about. I have BodyChance to worry about… BodyChance is becoming a bureaucracy, and I am concerned. The bigger a company gets, the dumber it often becomes. Alexander had a point when he remarked in his Bedford lecture: “You can see from what I am saying what a terrible thing institutions are: they can not stand truth.” So with BCLA, my idea is to devolve authority to Brett. He is the Master at the helm, guiding a BodyChance flagship to shore in America. The ship is built already, but it needs a Captain. I am flying there this week to convene a meeting with him and a few other key people who will form the core of BodyChance in America. Paul Lemberg, my biz consultant, will host us in his home in San Diego for a day while we nail down a plan for the next two years. Then I travel up to LA and, luckily, Brett was smart enough to convene a BodyChance meeting for teachers of LA. I will be at that one – a Pitfire Pizza lunch from 12.30 on Saturday May 18^th. BodyChance is really moving to America. It is going to happen. Competition is good. Several groups all competing to gain media attention to publicize Alexander's Discoveries is positive for all. As Captain Brett put it in his letter to teachers: “A rising tide lifts all ships.” There was a chap at my last LA get together who was horrified by my predictions of billion dollar Alexander Technique companies. All this money being associated with Alexander Technique? Terrible. But I say – good. A lot of money means a lot of people, and that means the world is becoming a better place, because Alexander's Discoveries are nothing if they are not good. It’s already happened to the Yoga world. Alexander is next. I have not written much about Yoga businesses, but I see that they already follow Jeremy’s 12 Point Plan! Yoga is full of celebrities, niching in one area, and growing their businesses from that base. You can see our future by looking at their present. Like it or not, it’s how the world is moving today. BodyChance