Alexander Technique - Breathing

 

What is the Alexander Technique? 

The Alexander Technique is a simple and practical method to focus our attention on everyday activities and use our body properly. Frederick Mathias Alexander (1869-1955) was an Australian therapist who showed how bad habit reflect on our health. (He spent some time in London UK where he treated actors to stand and move well, breathe properly, add to their energy and ability to perform to the best of their ability. Aldous Huxley was one of his patients. He also visited America and developed an international reputation.) When our body is subject to stress or habit, it develops 'body armouring' which can be relieved through exercises, self-awareness and repatterning. It has no side effects.

Peter Levine - Somatic Experiencing

 

By observing wild animals and their behaviour to traumatic experiencing, through fight and flight response, the psychologist, Peter Levine, from Berkeley, University of California, has developed a method of treating people who had experienced traumatic incidents in their life. He has written a number of books over the course of decades. 

Transcendental Meditation

 

Transcendental Meditation was introduced to the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s. It is a simple method that anyone can use anywhere, but best done in a quiet place alone and without interruption. The technique is a mantra which has no meaning and has no philosophy or religious structure or belief. 

Ecological Footprint

The U.K. uses 7.7 billion plastic bottles each year! 117 bottles on average per person per year. 

Our ecological footprint is a measure of our communal consumption levels in terms of the Earth's surface measured in hectares which are needed to support us. This figure includes crops, such as palm oil and soya, and land for farm animals for food, harvesting timber, catching fish, etc., and is caused through burning fossil fuels, deforestation, etc.
Bangladesh is 0.5 hectares: UK is 5.4 hectares; and USA is 9.5 hectares!
Rich countries are responsible for the greatest consumption and the greatest production of carbon dioxide but poorer countries are being affected most seriously.

Miek Pot - on Silence

 

Miek Pot speaking on Conscious TV on the Information Channel about her life as a recluse. Miek, a spiritual counsellor began her search for silence in her early 20s by visiting and investigating the traditions of India, the Greek Orthodox and eventually a strict Christian Carthusian hermitage in Belgium (similar to the Desert Fathers) where she stayed for 12 years. Her parents were allowed to visit her twice a year. 

Children with sleep problems

Teachers report children falling asleep during classes. Many of these children are highly stressed and keep going on adrenaline. Over stimulation is often the cause. The way to deal with this is a strict routine. At the end of the day, children need at least an hour to prepare for sleep. Lights need to be switched down, all TV and Internet off. Parents need to have words and behaviour that is consistent every night, a strict time schedule set for regularity of bedtimes. Bedrooms should be very dark. Very soft instrumental music, the same every night can be used. 12 hours is ok for most children.

The Mandala

Mandalas are very ancient meditative designs and are international in their distribution. Their design is often circular, ornate and flowing within, to the centre and then to the outside of the boundary. Labyrinths are similar designs. The object is for meditation and to create harmony and balance within the mind. Anyone can produce their own mandalas and colour them as desired. They are especially good for children and for recuperation from mental and physical illness. 

Arthur Janov

Who was Arthur Janov? 

Arthur Janov was a Californian psychotherapist who developed the theory of Primal Therapy. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were clients. Primal Therapy involved screaming, crying and expressing early abuse.