: Richard Brennan
: Mind and Body Stress Relief With the Alexander Technique
: BookBaby
: 9781624888328
: 1
: CHF 6.00
:
: Lebenshilfe, Alltag
: English
: 185
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
This book presents an effective way to reduce physical, mental and emotional stress. Topics covered include worry, depression, insomnia and panic attacks. It is easy to understand and is suitable for those new to the Alexander Technique as well as those who have experience of it. The most common perception of the Alexander Technique is that it is simply a way to improve posture, or to alleviate back pain. Whilst it can be highly effective in both these respects, it has much broader potential benefits. F. Matthias Alexander, the progenitor of the technique, developed his unique method not only as a way of improving posture and physical health, but also as a route to freeing people from their 'fixed prejudices' and 'erroneous concepts', which he believed prevented them from being truly happy. Like the great philosophers Socrates, Plato and Hypocrites, Alexander realised that there is an inseparable unity between the body, the mind and the emotions and he was convinced that mental stress invariably led to muscle tension and emotional instability - and vice versa. Unlike many other books about the Alexander Technique, this book deals primarily with how the technique can help emotionally and mentally, as well as physically. The new 2011 ebook edition has been updated to include a summary of important new research reported in the British Medical Journal in 2008, which showed significant long-term benefits of the Alexander Technique to back sufferers. The useful addresses and further reading sections have also been updated with new websites and book titles. Illustrated with 21 line drawings.

1
Stress and
Quality of Life


We must learn to awaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful, but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest art.

Henry David Thoreau

Stress: A Way of Life?


'Improving the quality of life' appears to be one objective that everyone on this planet shares. It is the reason for all the technology and 'progress' over the centuries, and concerns us now more than ever before.

It is natural to want to find a happier and more contented way of living, and each of us chooses different ways in our search. Despite our efforts, however, it is often the case that the enjoyable times we experience become less frequent and shorter in duration the more we 'progress'. Surveys confirm this and report that a quarter of men and a third of the women suffer from anxiety or depression. It appears that the harder we strive for happiness the more it eludes us, and as a result we can feel angry and more disillusioned with life as time goes on. Despite all our obvious material gains, many of us suffer from a new affliction - chronic stress.

Stress is a problem that affects us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It can cause anxiety, which in extreme cases may permeate our whole existence until life is hardly worth living. It affects us physically in such a way that our whole system is constantly on 'red alert', ageing us before our time. It can even cause stress-related illnesses such as strokes and heart problems which can threaten life itself. Stress affects us mentally by over-stimulating the mind, eventually causing mental blocks or, conversely, an overactive mind which gives us little or no control over persistent unwanted thoughts, causing endless worry for no reason. It affects us emotionally because we can lose control of our anger and react irrationally, perhaps eventually damaging our relationships with family or friends. And it affects us spiritually by preventing us from being in contact with the peace and tranquillity that should be the very essence and foundation of our lives.

How often do we really pause for even a moment to see whether the path we have taken in life is actually making us more satisfied, fulfilled and contented - and if not, why not?

The Price We Pay for Progress


On the whole, society rarely measures progress in terms of how people feel, concentrating instead on our ability to accomplish certain tasks. In fact, we are now 25 times more productive than we were 150 years ago, and during this time the manner in which we live has changed more than at any other time in human history. With the introduction of time-saving technology we have been promised an easier lifestyle with more comfort and leisure time than ever before - yet is this really the case? From the way many of us rush around trying to keep appointments, meet important deadlines or reach impossible targets, it seems as if the very opposite is happening.

Even though it is obvious that we now live longer and are far more efficient than we used to be, when you add joy and fulfilment to the equation it is not at all clear that we have really achieved a better quality of life.

When we talk about progress we must