Healing Journeys with Suzie Daggett
Ah! Relationships, movement, self-knowing – all together, they can bring new levels of knowledge of ourselves and our partnerships. I met Susan and Sola as they demonstrated ways to feel free and unrestricted in our individual movements as well as partnered movements. Yes, it is a bit different to feel how tight we approach one another – or even ourselves. To be free is to move with consciousness – something Susan works with through Alexander and she and Sola work with through Adyota Yoga. Do you want to be freer and less constricted? Read on…
What caused you to become interested in the Alexander Technique?
Pain! In the mid 1990’s, I suffered a two-year disability with carpal tunnel syndrome and was unable to use my hands. I had tried many different modalities that provided only temporary relief. I could rest my hands and they would feel better, but as soon as I went to use them, the pain would return. I heard about the Alexander Technique through a repetitive stress injury support group. I was skeptical, but curious. I went for private lessons and as soon as my teacher began working on me, my body said, “Yes, this is it.” My Alexander teacher helped me see how my habitual tension patterns interfered with my natural ability to relax and move freely. My excess tension was inhibiting my body’s natural ability to heal itself and once I learned to let go of that tension, the pain stopped. Within three months of lessons in the Alexander Technique, the carpal tunnel was healed and I regained complete use of my arms.
What is the process and the benefits of using the Alexander Technique?
As an Alexander teacher, I observe how you move by watching you stand up and sit down. These simple movements, that we repeat many times a day, reveal our unnecessary tensions. I point out these tensions, and with gentle “hands-on” and verbal instruction, guide you to let go, allowing movement to happen effortlessly. A trust in your own body-mind develops through the process of slowing down enough to feel and release your excess tensions. Many of my students over the past 10 years have had chronic neck and back pain, arm injuries and wrist injuries. After a course of lessons, most were able to resume normal activities with significantly reduced pain and in many cases, pain-free. One of my areas of expertise is working with women, pre and post-natal. Motherhood can be very demanding, and our babies feel our tightness, in utero and out! Alexander Technique can keep a woman comfortable during the rapid changes of pregnancy, ease the birth process by truly understanding how to let go, and transmit a sense of relaxation to the baby. The depth of relaxation you feel in yourself, affects directly and absolutely how you relate with your child and how your child learns to relate with the world.
You and your husband have a dedication to self-transcendence - what does this mean?
Sola and I understand that our external tightness is actually a reflection of a core, internal tension that we all share. That core tension is the ego, or sense of “I.” Self–transcendence encompasses body, mind and spirit. The entire Being is engaged in a practice that incorporates, breath, relaxation, and the ability to recognize and let go of belief systems. Self–transcendence is seeing and dissolving the core tension into a sense of Self that is prior to the ego. We feel the waves of tensions move through our systems without attaching to or identifying with them. We relax the self-contraction at its root, and return our attention to the Source.
When you do couples work on conscious intimacy, how does that affect relationships?
The work we do with couples is called Adyota Yoga. It was developed by enlightened spiritual teacher, Satya’Ama Adyota. This yoga is a rare and extremely effective means for understanding self-transcendence, tacitly. Most couples blame each other for why they feel bad, or are not completely honest because they do not want to hurt each other’s feelings. Sola and I practice Adyota Yoga in all the ways we relate, so when the tendency to want to prove our point arises (and it does!), or to “protect” one another from hurt, we relax the root impulse of the ego and our conversation changes, immediately. We can see, hear, and appreciate each other much more easily through the eyes of Self-understanding and our relationship reflects this simplicity and happiness.
Please tell us about your upcoming workshop.
Sola and I are teaching Conscious Intimacy through Adyota Yoga at the Down Doggie Yoga studio in March. Currently, he and I are two of only a handful of people trained to teach this yoga. The practice consists of simple movement games that interrupt and unwind habitual patterns of relating with Self and therefore, with others. These games incorporate the use of large physio-balls, practiced individually, in partnership, and in groups. And in the same way that Alexander Technique helps you relax physically, and move with more comfort and ease, Adyota Yoga helps you to feel and relax that primary, core tension of the human being. Letting go that deeply, naturally expands our capacity for true intimacy and conscious relationship. It is an awesome way to spend time with your partner!
Susan Schreier Williams and Sola Wiliams can be reached at 265-4463. They offer classes at the new “Green” Down Doggie Studio, 115 So Church St. GV.
Healing Journeys is a column written by Suzie Daggett for the Grass Valley Union newspaper. Suzie interviews a variety of health practitioners most Fridays in the Wellness section. Click here to read past articles. Enter "Suzie Daggett" in the search box to get listing of all articles. |
