Sports (Athletes)

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Performing Musicians and Exercise, is published in a PDF format. It shows the performing musician how to exercise without causing wear and tear to the body or compromise the quality of their performing technique.
This ebook is also for sale on all AMAZON websites in a KINDLE format.
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)

MOODS COME AND GO, BUT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR INSTRUMENT OR SPORT, AND HOW MUCH FAITH YOU HAVE IN YOUR ABILITY TO RUN WELL OR NOT WELL, OR PLAY THE PIANO WELL OR NOT WELL IS A CONSTANT.

What if you weren’t moody when it came to practice or training or performing or competing?

This is what the weapons master, Gurney Hallek, in the book Dune said to Paul, when he was training Paul how to fight, and Paul said I don’t feel like training.

“What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises – no matter the mood! Mood’s a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It’s not for fighting.”

Clearly, what Hallek was teaching Paul is that how he feels is meaningless, when he’s fighting for his life.

Is there some kind of equivalency to fighting for your life, when you’re practicing your instrument or training for a race or performing a concert or competing in a race?

I believe so. Let me make my case.

Can practicing or training or competing or performing be at least the one place in a person’s life that is consistently joyous, and there is no resistance to practicing or training or competing or performing?

I believe this can be, if you’re running or playing the violin, when you’re drawn to these things internally and inherently.

If you are trying to be the best violinist or runner for a parent, then you will experience mood swings when you train or practice or perform or compete.

As an Alexander Technique teacher almost every athlete or musician who comes to me has minimal knowledge of why they’re running or playing the violin or whatever.

They’ve gotten to be very good over the years, and the motivation as to why they’ve worked so hard to become good is lost in the unconscious past.

If a musician or an athlete discovers their initial motivation to play the violin or run was to please a parent and this still an intense motivation, then at this point he or she has a choice to make.

They have to determine if they love what their doing, and that this love of sports or music is inherent and can continue without external psychological pressure.

If you see that you inherently love running or the violin, then it is safe to let go of the external pressure of a parent pushing you, and practicing and training and performing and competing will be a consistently joyous thing to do.

IN OTHER WORDS, YOU WON’T BE A MOODY MUSICIAN OR ATHLETE HAVING TO FORCE YOURSELF TO PRACTICE OR TRAIN OR PERFORM OR COMPETE, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOW CONSCIOUSLY MOTIVATED BY YOUR INHERENT LOVE IN THE PRESENT FOR YOUR INSTRUMENT OR YOUR SPORT.