Vol 7, Issue 1/2002

Upright between heaven and earth

The bearing of the spine in Qigong and Taijiquan using the Alexander Technique. By Oswald Elleberger

The "Upright Position" is a fundamental training instruction in the chinese arts of movement. Traditional western ideas about a good posture make it difficult for us to bring the spine into a relaxed, slightly extended and into a balanced position using little effort. Oswald Elleberger advises that the curvature of the spine which is regarded these days as natural is already the result of a series of physical and psychological tensions and misusages. He uses his experience of the Alexander Technique to lead to a relaxed posture, which begins with a loosening of the nape and the neck. A simple exercise serves to clearly sense the differences between a tensed, a slackened, and a relaxed upright position and to get a feel for the relaxed upright position.

back