Yes, I can admit it. I am an overachiever. When I began studying the Alexander Technique, I scoffed at the idea of doing less. “Obviously, more is always better,” I thought. Thankfully, my teachers were patient and had confidence in the work they were teaching. Learning to do less - in relation to both the number of activities that I take on and the effort I put into simple movements and tasks - has been a worthwhile process. Doing less feels great not just because it requires less effort, but because it allows me to do what I’m doing more authentically, without the irrelevant worry about whether it’s enough.
I will have to keep learning how to do less, because I’m surrounded by cultural messages on the value of more. When I remember to pause, I can choose to do less - to use the appropriate amount of effort, rather than the most. Many of us have experienced the loss of our habitual busyness over the last few months. If you find yourself in discomfort - maybe pacing around in your home, looking for your regular sense of perpetual motion - consider taking some time to just be. Stop and smell the roses, or whatever is there where you stopped.
When faced with pain or problems, we feel the urge to leap into action and fix them! In this week’s lie down, we invite you to give yourself some space, rather than rushing into action for the sake of being in action. What if instead of reacting out of habit you pause and give yourself the time that you need to undo unnecessary tension and effort, finding more ease? Take a look at the cute, little plant in the picture below. It’s quietly directing itself and its leaves out into the space it’s in. In this 15-minute constructive rest, you’ll get to do the same for yourself. I hope it brings you something interesting, useful, and joyful.
Alexandra and Kateri
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