Unwinding Patterns - A Job for Life

Many years ago I worked with a wonderful man who inspired me and many others. At his retirement he said something which at the time puzzled me. He went through his working history and as the story unfolded, he kept saying that each job was “the best job he had ever had”. I kept waiting for him to talk about the job which presented him with problems and disappointment. This never came, for each job he was deeply grateful and found many things to be grateful for.

It is only in recent years that I have come to understand how this can be so. It was an alien concept in my experience to that point and for a while to come. It was not that I did not have great experiences and work with lovely people but rather that I had learnt at a young age to focus on the difficulties, the problems, the people who “made life difficult or intimidating”.

I have come to see that it is the way that we understand ‘our world’ that creates harmony or disharmony with life around us; that it is our habits of thinking, our beliefs, assumptions and fears that affect our interpretation of events and people’s actions around us. 

In the last few years as I have come to see more clearly these patterns, I have been able to understand and embrace this worldview . I can now with great conviction say, “this is the best job I have ever had”. As an Alexander Technique teacher supporting another to see and change long-held patterns is a privilege. 

I am deeply grateful for my journey and particularly for the struggles and epiphanies of the last decade. As I move through life I am continually called by new challenges to understand my blind spots. Greater freedom is always available to us in this moment, when we allow the pain or joy to be what it is without seeking to control, reject or change it.

My life is better because of the challenges.  As Rumi reminds us, “be grateful for whatever comes.  Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond” (The Guest House). 

(Street art Boronia)

The Alexander Technique and mindfulness meditation provide the foundations for the way I live and teach. They support the development of a more skilful and constructive approach to life. If you are interested in more about what I do and how I work you can find me at Mindful Movement Education

There is much research available on the benefits of mindfulness in medical and other settings. Increasing numbers of research projects have shown The Alexander Technique to be a safe and effective intervention for a number of conditions, including back pain, neck pain, chronic pain and Parkinsons. For more on this see Alexander Technique Research.

I am passionate about sharing the benefits of the Alexander Technique and mindfulness. I teach groups and individuals to find greater freedom in activity, understand the impact of thinking on movement and develop new skills to support wellbeing.