March/April 2018 Golden Times

LIVING THE
ALEXANDER
WAY OF LIFE
by Liz Jeffries
I heard this Supremes’ song on the radio
the other day and it reminded me of
something one of my pupils recently told
me. She had been on a mindfulness
course and was finding it very helpful.
It calms the mind and enables clearer
thinking, bringing your attention to the
present instead of worrying about what’s
gone on in the past or what might happen
in the future. What she particularly
remembered was how to use the word
STOP. STOP in this context means:
S Stop (either thinking or doing the thing
that’s causing anxiety)
T
Take three breaths (to calm down)
O Observe (what is happening to you,
e.g., stress in mind and body)
P Proceed (in a way that is less harmful
and less stressful)
My pupil said she finds this a very helpful
practice when depression comes calling.
My ears pricked up! I thought this was a
wonderful mantra I could use myself for
Alexander work. Alexander’s discovery
was all about how we can be responsible
for making life better, whether we want
to relieve stress, or pain. However, that
change has to start with stopping what
we do automatically and habitually,
Stop in the name of Love
becoming aware of our usual pattern of
behaviour and then, if we wish, choosing
to do or think something else. Our
minds are very much involved in the
healing process. Indeed the Alexander
Technique is often described as mindful
embodiment.
As a former chronic back and neck
pain sufferer, my continuing Alexander
experience has been enlightening and
wholly positive, if not a little frustrating
(habits are tough to break), but it has
improved my life beyond measure.
So, next time something is bothering you,
whether it is a thought, or pain, or even a
person, STOP and see what happens!
The Alexander Technique is a lifechanging
skill which can relieve
tension and painful muscular/
skeletal conditions. Please see www.
alexandertechniquehastings.co.uk for info
on individual, duo and group sessions or
mail@lizjeffries.co.uk
01424 465838/07020 725156
The first three people to contact me
quoting Golden Times can come along
for a free one hour place on one of my
group sessions:
Mondays in Bexhill 1.15-2.15pm
Thursdays in Hastings 2.15-3.15pm
Creative Writing Corner
" Shadows"
by Susie Davison
The kitchen was at the front of the house. It was raining. Sophie
needed something from the freezer in the garage. Sophie was
nervous of the dark. She opened the side door in the kitchen and
crossed the passage to the side door of the garage. Sophie never
liked to reach her hand round for the light switch. She imagined
some hand would grab her. She found the switch, the light was
dim, shapes loomed out at her. Sophie opened the freezer and took
out the frozen peas, talking to herself all the time just to show
she wasn’t scared. She glanced out of the window that looked out
onto the garden. Oh heavens, a face! She gasped. It was her own
reflection.
She hurried back into the kitchen. My imagination she muttered.
Back in the garage the boy was crouched down behind the car. He
had been tramping the lanes wondering where to sleep. There had
been a row at home. He hated his Mother’s boyfriend and felt
he was in the way. So, he packed a few things into his backpack,
pocketed a torch and left. Martin noticed the house because the
garage door was not quite shut. Cautiously he lifted the door and
ducked inside. He could not see much beyond the car. Suddenly, the
side door into the garage opened. The light went on. Footsteps. He
heard a thud and a woman’s voice muttering to herself. He peeped
through the back windscreen of the car, the woman turned around,
he shrank down again.
The light was switched off, the side door shut. Shining his torch
he investigated his surroundings. There was a freezer and a shelf
holding tin foods. He was hungry. Martin found rice pudding.
Using his fingers, he finished two tins. Martin found bread in the
freezer. For tomorrow he thought.
Martin wondered if he dared open the car door, he thought it
might be alarmed. He was tired and the floor was hard, he longed
to lie on the back seat. He started to think things through. If the
garage door had not been shut properly, maybe the car had not been
locked either. He opened the side door and climbed in. Martin
slept. He woke early, anxious to get going, he slid out from under
the door and into the lane. He hurried off.
The next day Sophie was meeting her friend Jacky. The garage
door was stiff, it never did shut properly. She got into the car and
saw two empty tins on the passenger seat. There was a piece of
paper stuck in one of them. She read the note, which said, “Sorry.
Thank you”. Well I never, Sophie thought, her mind was racing
back to last night and her nervous foray into the garage. What a
tale she would have to tell Jacky.
If you would like to submit a short story (450-500 words) for
inclusion in Golden Times, please email jason@goldentimes.co.uk or
post your story to us at: 78 Elphinstone Road, Hastings, East Sussex,
TN34 2BS
10
Find us online at www.goldentimes.co.uk