That familiar click

An old familiar feeling showed up today. I noticed that whenever I step on my right foot, there is a click somewhere between my thoracic spine and shoulder on the left. Oh, right, my habits are happening.

I could tell you the whole backstory of this habit, all the history of it and how it’s connected to my left-handedness but also being a shy person with slight hypermobility. And more. But once I took a few more steps and that click kept on clicking, I stopped.

Right heel hit the floor, left upper back click. Okay this is some information. What if I pause and just don’t take a step right now?

No click.

But at some point, I will need to move from the hallway to the kitchen.

What if I let my neck be free?

I take a step. Ok, a little click. Slow down.

I start to go back into analyzing…being attached to the STORY at play in the context of this moment. The asymmetry, the scoliosis, etc. And thoughts start to race about where this is leading me. But the more I get into the story from the past and future, the further into my habit I go.

PAUSE AGAIN. Zoom out. Where am I already easy in my body? What happens if I allow that ease to spread a little bit? AND sense the length/width/depth of my whole body, from head to feet, and above and below. And in front of/behind. And side to side, and into the spaces between me and the walls.

Now I am thinking on more of an inclusive scale, a larger perspective that allows me to sense the world beyond the clicking in my shoulder. I release into it, to the degree that I am ready. I am both suspended and supported, and free to notice that my breath is more full. My jaw lets go.

I continue walking, moving through my day with more ease and less click.

This is the process of the Alexander Technique - including a pause to notice what you are sensing, and how YOU fit in to the action you create.