You might recognize this as the title of a Country song from the 1990’s by Lorri Morgan. You can listen to it at the bottom of the page.

The song’s message is very simple: She just wants to have a drink and chill after a hard day’s work and she most definitely does not want to talk to the creep who’s keeps coming on to her.  She’s saying a definite no. Not yes, not even maybe, just plain no, to his advances.

However, if we shift our attention away from catchy Country song titles to Alexander Technique self directions, the situation becomes a lot trickier.  Now we’re dealing with thoughts and actions within ourselves, not our dealings with other people.

If, for example, you decide to say no to neck tension that you may have inadvertently created, and use a direction like “I am not tensing my neck”,  you are immediately faced with the challenge of just thinking the direction without adding anything to enhance it.

Not even a teeny weeny bit as Marjory Barlow, F. Matthias Alexander’s niece, and a well-known teacher of the Alexander Technique put it.*

Indeed most of the first generation teachers said much the same thing.**

I believe learning how to self-direct without even a “teeny weeny bit” of doing is by far the most important skill Alexander Technique teachers can master for themselves –  and of course, teach their students how to master too.

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*In her book, An Examined Life, she quotes Alexander on the topic of giving directions without doing anything: “This is an exercise in finding out what thinking is.”

She then goes on to write: If that doesn’t put it in a nutshell, I don’t know!  Because it’s so hard for us to think.  By that word we mean to send a direction, not to try and implement it, not to try to carry it out, not even a teeny weeny bit.  We’re always inclined to to think, “Oh well, just a little bit, just give it a little nudge.” and a lot of that’s not very conscious, actually, the degree to which we are helping it along, or trying to help it along, otherwise, you see, we’d stop!  But it’s a blind alley.

**You can see what other first generation Alexander teachers had to say about the challenge of effective self-direction here: Not Even a Teeny Weeny Bit

Here is an earlier post that takes a somewhat different approach and also covers some of the same ideas: bodylearningblog.com/what-part-of-no-dont-you-understand/

Here’s the song by Lorrie:

image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net