table of contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Conceptual Foundations
- 3 Length and Lengthening
- 4 Why Lengthen?
- 5 Good Grief, How Do I Lengthen Anyway?
- 6 Breath As Postural Process
- 7 Where Do We Go From Here?
- 8 Bibliographic Essay
- Appendix I
- Appendix II Poise and the Art of Lengthening
- Appendix
III Muscles and Mentals:
Why We Get Tense - About the Author
- Index
sample chapter
1 Introduction
The purpose of this book is to inform you about posturality, a crucial aspect of individual and collective human being. Having worked professionally as a teacher in this area for almost 35 years, I am all too aware of the dearth of knowledge, both practical and theoretical, among lay people and professionals, about posturality. My students, most of whom come to me because they are in pain, tell me that they suspect that their posture is somehow connected with their problem, but that they don’t know what to do about it. ... As to the unfamiliar term “posturality,” Webster’s New International Dictionary says that the suffix “-ity” indicates the state or quality of something—mentality, physicality, personality—thus posturality, the state or quality of one’s posture.
about the author
Ron Dennis (Ronald J., b. 1937, Des Moines, Iowa) was schooled in classical music and from 1969 until 1977 was Principal Clarinet of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 1977, heeding the call to a “path with heart,” he left this position to train as a Teacher of the Alexander Technique, which he still practices in Atlanta, Georgia.
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advance acclaim
Ron Dennis has written a richly informative, marvelously short work that breaks significant ground in the practical art-science of human movement by formulating a new concept: posturality.
Bruce I. Kodish, Ph.D., Pasadena, California
Dr. Dennis presents a wealth of information sure to inform those considering training in the Alexander Technique, additionally to inform health care providers wondering what it might offer their patients suffering from conditions of pain.
Lynne T. Shuster, M.D., Rochester, Minnesota
If you are new to this subject you will not find a better guide into the mechanics
and workings of human uprightness.
Kathryn Miranda, Alexander Technique of
Syracuse, New York
In his excellent new book, Ron Dennis uses the same precision, eloquence, and practicality as he does in person to teach the skill of moving more comfortably and effectively through the world.
Gerald Drose, Ph.D., Atlanta, Georgia
From the Foreword:
Do not miss reading the Appendix by Julie Orta, whose journey was to learn inhibition of unnecessary habitual muscular tensions that had caused her great distress. In truth, practically
all of us who have had Alexander lessons can tell a similarly favorable story….
John H. M. Austin, M.D., New York, New
York