Comments

The Power of Negative Thinking — 6 Comments

  1. I love this post, Robert, especially the fact that you are encouraging us to first continue doing as we are doing (we are free to continue tightening, or whatever the habitual way is), and then we also have the option to think of not-doing whatever the habitual thing is (we are free to “say no”).

  2. Thanks Jennifer. Yes I think there’s a huge advantage throwing away any gains that come about from useful self-directing and then, if you choose, easily bring that self-directing back again. Students are less likely to try to hold on to something that they, can’t in fact, hold on to when they experience how easy it is to come back to it. The attempts to “hold on” almost always result in stiffness – the “AlexanDroid” syndrome.

  3. Really enjoyed this post, Robert. I find “negative directions” really helpful for both me and my Alexander Technique students. It is somehow easier to “not do” something than (e.g. not tightening your neck) than to “do” something like “relax the neck.” The “I am not…” instruction to yourself really seems to help in a letting go, even just a little bit, of whatever it is, without as much temptation to get into that tightening that goes along with “trying hard.”

  4. Pingback:Positive Thinking – Just Say No?! | Body Intelligence

  5. Pingback:Positive Thinking – Just Say No?! – BodyIntelligence

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