Balance Lab Tuesdays

7-8pm EST/6-7pm CST/4-5pm PST

You will be sent your personal Zoom link 10 minutes before each class or refer to the email you received from Zoom after registering.

There will be a waiting room to ensure privacy

These workshops are free of charge, but clicking this block of text and supporting with a suggested donation of $5 is appreciated

Guidelines and Acknowledgements

May 23 - Rounding - Season Finale

This Balance Lab Tuesday marks the final meeting of this semester. Thank you all for joining! below is a 75 minute rounding practice - we only had time for two rounds during class, but here the full three rounds can be moved through with guidance.
Also! if you have up to 10 minutes to fill out this survey about Balance Lab Tuesdays, I would greatly appreciate it!: Anonymous Balance Lab Survey

Thank you all for a lovely spring semester!

May 16 - 3 part writing/body scan exercise

This week we start to close our spring semester with a 3-part exercise incorporating free writing and integrative exercises. If you are listening to the recording, please be sure to complete the full exercise as it might feel very gross to leave off after the first or second round. Our last meeting of the spring will be next Tuesday!

May 9 - Circulatory Body Scans and LovingKindness

This week was a more practice heavy week with a brief review of the 3 caves and then guided practice including a body scan and lovingkindness

May 2 - The Cave of the Pelvis - connecting the Head, Heart, and Pelvis

This week we completed the journey down the length of the spine into the pelvis! The phrase “breathing globally” was used liberally and an invitation to be with one’s own spaciousness was extended to each of us.

April 25 - The Cave of the Heart

This evening continued the exploration of the three "caves" - the head, the heart, and the pelvis.

This week we sherlocked into the cave of the heart.

April 18 - The Cave of the Head

Beginning a three week cycle of exploring what my teacher referred to as the "caves" of the Head, Heart, and Pelvis.

This week we did a deep dive into the cave of the head.

April 11 - The Heart of the Matter

Today’s experiment included an exploration of the heart and circulatory system - the recorded practice invites a body scan through the lens of the circulatory system, followed by a 10 minute meditation with an anchor of your own choosing, perhaps with the heart as your anchor/object of meditation.

April 4 - Whispered Ah

This evening we revisited the path of the air while asking the neck and ribs to free up a bit before we moved into practice the “Whispered Ah”

March 28 - Air and Breath

This week we looked at the path of the air into and out of the body in dialogue with the breath moving the entirety of the body

March 21 - More Monkey! incorporating Ankles/Knees/Hips and experimenting with Dome like structures

This week we continued an exploration with monkey focusing on the 6 joints of the legs: 2 ankles, 2 knees, 2 hips.

This week also included an integrative exercise with the dome like structures of the body

March 14 - Monkeying around with the feet/Walking Meditation

This week we used Body Mapping and Monkey to explore more facets of the Alexander Technique and incorporated the practice of Walking Meditation. Feel free to reach out with questions!

February 21 - Primary Control and Open Awareness

This week we met the 5th principle of the Alexander Technique: Primary Control - the ability of the spine to elongate and gather in response to the respiratory system. As we play with exercises that allow us to “uncondition the spine” there are also mindfulness exercises that allow us to experiment with “unconditioning the mind.” The practice of Open Awareness asks you to choose the present moment as the object of meditation/anchor for your practice.

Sadly, I goofed and didn’t record the full meeting, but the 15 minute recording below speaks to the idea of primary control and includes an exercise and the longer practice from the MBSR program is a full guided meditation moving through different anchors for focused attention before moving into Open Awareness.

February 14 - Sending Directions and LovingKindness

This week we discussed the concept of “Sending Directions” and how that skill might correlate to the practice of “LovingKindness” The practice begins around the 20 minute mark if you are familiar - there is a short introduction beforehand.

February 7 - The Space between Sensing and Interpreting

This week we discussed the Alexander Concept of “Recognition of Faulty Sensory Awareness” and how that space between the Raw Data of our Senses and the interpreted (possibly conditioned) perception can affect how we react and ultimately respond to the present moment. The slides offer a few visual examples playing with this space and the practice begins with a guided meditation using hearing as an anchor for practice, before finishing with a body scan.

January 31

This week we discussed the concept of inhibition and Non-Doing - how they show up in the Alexander Technique - how they show up in the practice of the Body Scan and Mindfulness Meditation. For those participating asynchronously the recording will narrate two experiments with inhibition - one more physical, one more mental. And then you are invited to inhibit any self judgement as you practice the body scan and brief meditation.

January 24

This week we spoke about the concept of “The Recognition of the Force of Habit” and how that might show up in the body and during a guided meditation using different anchors. The slides are below as well as the recording, the guided meditation begins around the 17:35 mark.

January 17

This week kicked off Balance Lab Tuesdays.
The audio recording starts just as the invitation to arrive began. The recording then flows through a bit of preamble, unpacking brief definitions of the Alexander Technique and Mindfulness. You may find the slides helpful in mapping the muscles at the back of the neck and if you wish to practice the body scan, it begins at the 26 minute mark.