The 3 Awarenesses that Unlock your 'Joy for Running'

Post originally published at www.joy4running.wordpress.com Written by Victoria Stanham Most of my non-running friends’ response to “Why don’t you run?” is something along the lines of, “I love the idea of running… I just hate the actual running itself.” If we are all...

Read More

4 Keys to Motivate Myself to Go for a Run

This blogpost was originally published in my running blog at www.joy4running.wordpress.com It’s winter here in Uruguay, and it’s difficult to start (or keep up) a running routine. No matter how much I enjoy the actual running, and the post-running bliss, stepping out into the cold and the...

Read More

From Running-Hater to Running-Lover

This post was originally published in my new running and Alexander Technique blogsite, at www.joy4running.wordpress.com Every time I took up running in the past it lasted me for no more than a month. My main reason for taking up this particular form of torture was fairly straightforward: I wanted...

Read More

On Being a Student (once again): 5 reminders for psychophysical survival and enjoyment

Nearly 10 years after finishing my university degree in theatre in the USA, I am putting myself once again through the 4-year-plus ordeal of acquiring a second degree, in a completely unrelated field, here in Uruguay (physiotherapy). In that 10 year span I wasn’t idle either. From 2009 to 2011...

Read More

The Fabric we are Made Of and the Garment we Become

For the most part we are unaware of what a brilliant balancing act it was and still is for our species to achieve the upright stance. In non-existent “ideal” conditions the normal situation would be to be light, free, and unaware that we are, in fact, living, moving, breathing, 24/7 balancing...

Read More

Allowing Time to Make Space for Change

Beginnings are tough for me. I’m all about order, but beginnings tend to be for me all about chaos. Most of the chaos stems from the fact that I haven’t fully closed the previous actions. I’m dragging the dregs of yesterday into today and tomorrow, and getting them all jumbled up with the new...

Read More

CHANGING HABITS FOR BEGINNERS (part 1): The 3 tools

It’s difficult to change what we don’t know exists. To change we need to know “what” to change, and for that we need to have an experience that contrasts with our habit: the experience of another possibility. But once we have that new experience, how to we make it into a new habit? In general, the...

Read More

Keys of the Alexander Technique (part 3): Powering up your THINKING

To “think ourselves into movement” we first need to clarify our thinking. This means first stopping to give ourselves the chance to “say no” (inhibit) to our habitual way of moving and reacting. This habitual way is made up of our ongoing and ingrained tension patterns which make for an inefficient...

Read More