Elliptical Machine (Trainer) – Primary Control in the Alexander Technique (Pain)(Strain)(Injuries)(Posture)(Psychology)(Albuquerque)

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Using the Elliptical Trainer, is published on this website in a PDF format. It is very detailed and practical, and it will give you the physical tools you need to take the limits off of your ability to create an effortless elliptical technique.
This ebook is also for sale on all AMAZON websites in a KINDLE format.
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)

Primary Control is the basis of organized, coordinated, and elegant using of an elliptical trainer in the Alexander Technique. When an elliptical user is on the machine with the most organized posture and movements possible, then the head is leading the elliptical trainer user’s spine upward, even as the elliptical user is moving the legs through an ellipse, which requires balance and bending knees. All of this is done with a decompressed, vertically balanced, and aligned spine.

This means that all of the nerves that radiate from the spinal cord have no pressure on them. So, the nerves can send the signals from the brain for movement and/or muscular support, as you use the elliptical trainer, without being slowed down by the vertebrae and muscles pinching the nerves.

The brain and spinal cord always organize the movement that the body produces, but when the Primary Control is interfered with by muscular tension, compression, and poor posture, then that organization is poor organization. THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE IS ALL ABOUT THE QUALITY OF AN ELLIPTICAL USER’S POSTURE AND TECHNIQUE.

The Alexander Technique recognizes that any wear and tear and physical pain on the trainer is caused by how you MOVE, not by the difficulty of the machine, how quickly you move on the machine, and/or how much time you spend on the machine.

The assumption in the Alexander Technique is that we are born with an innate ability to move with beautiful Primary Control, and that babies crawl with the head leading a lengthening spine naturally, given that the baby is healthy in a healthy environment.

If you were to observe a 1,000 elliptical users, you’d be hard put to see one elliptical user moving with beautiful true Primary Control (given that none of them had done any Alexander Technique work). True Primary Control is the flow of the head upward, an upward vector. A vector is a direction, not an immobilized place to be. What does using the trainer without a compromised Primary Control look like?

The elliptical user moves fully upright with free knees with a completely mobile body (not trying to stand straight). The elliptical user’s neck is free and the user is aware that the head is leading a lengthening spine upward, which means that the elliptical user is able to see the room and continue to lead a lengthening spine upward with the head.

This means that the elliptical user is completely engaged with the machine without hunkering down. This fully upward lengthening mobile posture balancing on free legs and bending knees on grounded feet, gives the elliptical user a balanced torso, so that the elliptical user can effortlessly move the arms, the torso, and the legs, as he or she flows through the movements.

When the elliptical user’s body is organized by the Primary Control, then the elliptical user is free to place all of his or her awareness on an elliptical technique that isn’t being compromised by a compromised Primary Control.

In other words, if the elliptical user’s body is collapsed or over-tense with poor head/neck/spine organization, then the pure specific elliptical technique of the elliptical user can never be what it would be, since it is not backed up by a balanced body.

WHEN THE FOUNDATION OF COORDINATED ELEGANT HUMAN MOVEMENT IS COMPROMISED, THEN THE SECONDARY TECHNIQUE OF A SPECIALIZED ACTIVITY, LIKE USING AN ELLIPTICAL TRAINER, WILL NEVER BE AS EFFORTLESS OR AS CONSISTENT AS IT COULD BE.

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An Alexander Technique Approach to Using the Elliptical Trainer

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Ethan Kind

AUTHOR, TRAINER "When you change old habitual movement patterns with the Alexander Technique, whether in playing a musical instrument, running, weightlifting, walking, or typing at a computer, you create an ease of body use that moves you consistently into the zone." - Ethan Kind Ethan Kind writes and is published extensively on all of the above activities. He teaches musicians, athletes, and computer operators how to stop hurting themselves, by showing them how to use their bodies with ease and coordination. He brings a unique perspective to his work, having been a musician and athlete all of his life. After training for three years at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (New York, NY), Ethan received Professional Certification credentials.