The Power of the Turnaround – Part II

Your biggest challenge in taking an Alexander lesson is explaining it to someone else…

***

CURIOUS PERSON: What do you do in your Alexander lessons?

YOU: Oh, usually we sit and stand, I play my flute or do some Pilates. Sometimes we do things like chopping carrots or Yoga. It is AMAZING!

CURIOUS PERSON: Okkkkk….

Pause.

CURIOUS PERSON: Wait.

Longer Pause.

You stand, lie, play, exercise and occasionally chop carrots? Don’t you do that most days anyway?

YOU: Yes! I do! But now it is totally different!!!

Phone rings.

CURIOUS PERSON: I’ve got to take this call, sorry.

***

Alexander teachers don’t touch your body - they touch you. 

A teacher’s touch can reach down into the deepest recesses of your brain – places where temperature, respiration, circulation and motor-sensory feedback loops are managed.* And also places where identity and ego try to stay safe from the influence of others…

One of the masters of this deep-diving touch is Tommy Thompson, who is visiting Zen BodyChance next month. One of Tommy’s workshops he simply calls “Story Work.” Tommy’s session demonstrates the power of the turnaround that I wrote about in Part I. I would rename his workshop “It’s Never Too Late to Change the Past”

https://www.bodymindspiritresearchlab.com/workshops/775

In my case the headline of my story was: “My Wife Left Me for An Older Man.” When I identified with this story, I felt hurt, anger, jealousy and pain; lots and lots of pain. I undertook to tell the story again and what came out was a totally different headline:

“I Left My Wife Before She Left Me”

Suddenly I saw that it was me – not another man – that had taken her away. Instead of anger, I will filled with gratitude. I realised that she stayed much longer than she wanted to stay, because of her love for me. My tears flowed, my heart opened, and my whole past was changed forever.

This is the power of the turnaround.