The ‘head-neck-back’ is your unity of power and coordination. From the crown of your head down to your sitting bones this unity is designed to be balanced, free and strong, with full natural breathing. A good functioning head-neck-back gives you confidence, grounds you to the floor, and at the same time gives you uprightness and coordination.
The most important joint in your head-neck-back is the atlanto-occipital joint. This joint connects your skull to your spine at the first vertebra, called the atlas. The atlas is located on a line between your earlobes.
In reaction to the big amount of stimuli in our lives (traffic, phones, computers, to do lists, worries etc.) many light fear reflexes or stress reactions can be fired off during the day. These reactions are called the fight/flight/freeze reflex manifestations, or the startle response, and exist in all animals.The startle pattern causes us to stiffen our neck a little. Our eyes start to stare, our whole body’s musculature becomes more tense and we hold our breath.
During the day it is very helpful to have the tools to briefly release tension in this area of the neck, around this very important atlanto-occipital joint. As these moments of recuperation are spread throughout the day you will experience several small moments of calm and easier breathing. The Alexander Technique gives you the means to create these short moments of recovery for yourself.
Read more > “The benefits of lying down in active-rest”