Taking Space

Over the years, I found that I wanted to supplement the studio and classroom experience with recordings my students could access on their own and from anywhere. 

My son Henry, at just over 2 years old, was getting very frustrated one afternoon. To my amazement, I watched him pause, and then turn and walk to his room. When I asked him what he was doing, he answered, “Taking Space.” 

Whether it’s the sense of compression we feel when we’re activated or from the weight of our own thoughts, the sense of the space within us, or the relationship we have to the external space we occupy, I couldn’t think of a better way to describe it.

So thank you , Henry, for this and for all the incredible lessons you continue to give me.

Let’s all take some space. 

Audio 1: End of the Day Unplug

Shared with StageSource on Sept.5, this 10 minute guided audio is an Alexander Technique fusion, inspired by the trauma-informed work of Peter Levine and Bessel van der Kolk around restoring a sense of mobility, as well as the powerful consent/contact work of TIE (Theatrical Intimacy Education.)

While intended to help us sleep more easily at night, this exploration can be used whenever we are feeling signs of activation in our system (such as increased heart rate, rapid/shallow breath, lack of sensation through the lower torso/legs) to help support and restore our system’s regulation (slowing our internal tempo by bringing our awareness deeper into our body: think, Slow and Low.)

Audio 2: Roots

Roots

We have been uprooted as a species. We have no feet, and lost our relationship with the planet, with our Self.

Think of the depth and width of roots: let us consider them an extension of our attention—in the same way to an infrared camera and how it captures how we are physically changing the temperature around our bodies, let’s similarly acknowledge this sense of connection as something physical, that we can sense even if we cannot see. 

Notice how they overlap and intertwine with other plants, creating structures of support hidden underneath the dirt, connecting one another like trees holding hands under our feet. 

Let us take this moment to reconnect with ourselves, with the planet, to find support and be the support that’s needed.

Let’s deepen our roots. 

Audio 3: External Points of Reference

External Points of Reference

This is a variation I created on the well-known Active Rest work that is foundational to the Alexander Technique for helping to restore a sense of ease and support through the head/neck/back. While nothing compares with the support and clarity from the floor, lying on the ground in the midst of living our lives isn’t always an option.

My hope is that you can explore this exercise wherever and whenever you choose, whether waiting for a bus, before a meeting or audition, in the midst of a heated exchange, or when you’d like to take a moment to simply check in with your Self and replenish—and no one will know what you’re up to….If you can count to 7, you can do this exercise, no floor required.