M02.13 Co-ordination Plans

"Oh" they say (trying to look interested)… "What is the Alexander Technique?" Ever dreaded that question? I know I have. These days, when people casually ask, I just say: "I run a health studio in Tokyo." People rarely go beyond that, which tells me they already got the information they wanted. If they keep asking, it does come out, and there's that question again… Well folks – here's a wonderful thing about niches: you don't have to answer that question. You rarely have to. Because what niches give you is an activity plan to talk about. And people love to talk about activity plans. It's because they can't see or know the all important co-ordination plan, you know: the one we struggle to communicate effectively at a noisy cocktail party… Co-ordination Plans – What are They? BodyChance's BodyThinking course teaches students the distinction between a co-ordination plan and an activity plan. Interestingly, these functional descriptions are partly reflected by the structural distinction of the axial and appendicular skeletons, which they also study. Another name for a co-ordination plan is your Alexander plan: asking your head to move in a way that causes expansion throughout your whole self. I would love to call it an organising plan, but that won't translate into Japanese very well, so I stay with co-ordination plan. Co-ordination plans are primal, organic and universal. There is just one plan. Activity plans are secondary, evolved and specific. There are infinite numbers of plans. Activity plans can range from solving a mathematical problem to playing golf or getting out of a chair. Activity plans are things people do, most often extending into their arms and legs (appendicular skeleton) but occasionally concerning only the head and spine (axial skeleton) such as singing. If a paraplegic can do it, it is an activity of head and spine. There aren't that many. BodyChance trainees are educated to work with, and bring to class, an endless array of activity plans – but because of this it is easy for them to get confused about their job. When a pupil requests… "My activity is that I want to write beautiful calligraphy, but it keeps getting ugly…" the BodyChance trainee might start wondering "Oh, am I the person who teaches you how to do beautiful calligraphy?" Of course not. It's not your job: an Alexander Technique teacher does not teach this person how to make beautiful calligraphy – please simply teach people how to organise their coordination as they do their calligraphy. The job is to sort out their co-ordination plans first – their activity plans are secondary to that. Unless, of course, you do calligraphy your Self. Ah ha. Now we are into niches… That's plenty for tonight. I will pick this up tomorrow before I get on the plane to Australia.