Nick Brandon
Our first guest, is my wonderful Alexander Technique teacher who has made a great impact on my life and was a big contributing factor to creating this podcast.
Nick is an Alexander Technique teacher, healer and mentor to many with over two decades of experience.
He will be sharing with us his own journey with how he freed his belly and the work that he does as an Alexander Techniques teacher to helps other free themselves through various tools and techniques to rediscover their innate poise, balance, self-expression, and freedom in movement.
Read on to see what Nick has to say on the matter…
Nick, could you please give us a little bit of an overview of the work that you do?
I typically work with my clients helping them resolve long term chronic pain issues often associated with poor posture and sedentary and stressful lifestyles. Primarily I educate and empower people to be more responsible for their health and well-being using the unique system I have developed in my 3 decades of teaching. We work with identifying the root cause of their issues then we work on restoring educating and maintaining those changes.
What is the Alexandre Technique in a few words.
The AT is a proven method that has been around for about 120 years and is established in the performing arts. It’s practised worldwide by actor’s athletes’ musician’s singers’ dancers and performers and people with often chronic pain conditions.
The Alexander Technique is a self-empowering, self-care method that leads to improved muscle tone and general coordination. Its teaching is centred on becoming aware of unnecessary mental and physical tension in everyday activities through increasing self-awareness. We do this through movement, breathing and light therapeutic touch and re-educating the neuromuscular system.
Helping clients return to a more natural easy way of being, moving and breathing, the way nature intended, in other words using the body in accordance with its natural design.
What does "Free the Belly" mean to you?
In the medical tradition of China and Japan, hara refers to the soft belly, the Source of Life, the Gate of the Spirit. "Sea of Qi". and the reservoir of vital or source energy.
‘Listen–are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?’ - Mary Oliver
Breathing is life’s most vital function; countless writings and techniques, from ancient Sanskrit texts and yogic practices to numerous holistic, complementary therapies and medical interventions are devoted to the cultivation, understanding, and repair of respiratory function.
Every physical, psychological and emotional problem is to some degree connected to a lack of oxygen and the interruption of full breathing cycles.
Yet how many of us pay attention to our breathing patterns and habits.
Too often breathing is taken for granted. Mistakenly, we assume that this function will always be working. Developing a kinaesthetic awareness of the breath allows us the opportunity to expand our conscious connection to life, and participating more fully.
Many people believe that healthy breathing is from the diaphragm, or the abdomen and we have to “take a deep breath in,” or take a deep breathe into your belly,” “don’t let your chest move,” “hold your ribs out,” “relax and breathe.” There are so many ideas and techniques about what constitutes good healthy breathing.
Diaphragm breathing has long been taught as a method to calm people because it stimulates the vagus nerve, which, in turn, helps to lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol and has a soothing nurturing effect.
The natural element of nature regulates our breathing; the respiratory system is reflexive and automatic and will work perfectly well if we are not interfering with it. We don’t teach babies or children to breathe. “Babies breathe easily, softly,” Their backs and bellies move as their diaphragms move.
Think of a pet dog or cat, when they rest you can observe a full expansive contraction and expansion.
If we interfere with the natural rhythm of the breath, it will feel forced and therefore have the effect of producing tension. Breathing happens spontaneously in response to all our thoughts and feelings and environment. Your thinking, emotions, environment, and body have a direct influence on your breathing. Because breathing is something all of us do all the time, you rarely notice your moment-to-moment, day-to-day breathing pattern; so therefore, easily interferes with the natural rhythm.
The Alexander Technique helps you get to the source of what’s interfering with this vital fuel of your body.
How did you get to where you are today, how did you free your belly?
Developing a daily practise of daily self-care and self-love - developing good boundaries around work life- balance. So, life doesn’t become unmanageable, leveraging systems and other good people to help makes things easier and simpler. Realising the only person, I can truly change is myself, we so often think or wish we could change other people, situations or events, but realising the only person I can really change is me and how I respond or react to a given situation or stimuli.
Ongoing continual personal spiritual and professional development.
To be your best you have to invest in yourself and have inspiring people, teachers and mentors.
What’s you “Why”?
I want to be a positive role model for my son, family, community and in honour of all the family friends who didn’t win the battle of addiction depression and suicide.
What/ who contributed to achieving that?
Many think a great teacher has lots of students - but a great teacher has lots teachers.
Being consistent having conviction and the willingness and courage to change to evolve into being loving and kinder towards yourself and others.
When achieving it, what were your biggest struggles?
Not keeping things simple, making things complicated, and getting distracted from what is important to me. Wasting time and trying to do everything myself. Not having work life balance. Learning about boundaries, making time for family, friends, spiritual knowledge, finances, clients, health, and community, learning to do the things which are nourishing for my soul.
I know when I am happy joyous and radiant, this is contagious.
Where there any fears that got in the way of it - or at least stalled the process?
Fear will always be there for me, I try to treat it like a friend, so not getting too consumed and pulled into fear and often just come face to face with the fear and see if I can just be okay with what I am experiencing or feeing. Often facing my fear is where all the growth, magic and miracles happen.
When we achieve something, it rarely turns out to be exactly what we had in mind, what’s the biggest “gap” between what you had in mind and what it came to be?
I never thought developing the art of being still silent would be so rich and rewarding.
The biggest gap was just showing up for my practise as Woody Allen said 80% of success is just showing up. One of the biggest gifts is a peaceful mind/body and being present and discovering what your gifts are and sharing them with as many people as possible.
What would you tell your younger self in regard to that?
Stop wasting time on things that are not important and focus on the thing you really care about that will be give more energy freedom, joy self-expression and peace of mind. Live a life you love and love the life your live. And believe in yourself, because if you don’t know one else will.
What are your plans moving forward, how will you continue to apply it in the future?
Getting more into the digital space and sharing more of my experience and knowledge with more people. Building an online course for home study for those that can’t easily access this incredible work.
How to do you start your day?
Not looking at my phone, waking up and saying thank you for another day.
Lemon water, celery, apple, cucumber juice.
Morning routine of mindset, meditation and movement.
Finally, how to you wind down?
With my partner home cooked evening meal -talking about life, family, work or a film - early night reading or podcast.
Often doing an inventory of the day what worked well what didn’t what could I change do differently.
Saying a prayer of thanks for another day often with my partner.
Could you give us 3 main takeaways ?
The breath is always present, become more curious and aware of this phenomenal life-giving force which is so connecting and healing
1) Spend at least 20 minutes a day in silence lying in constructive rest or sitting, just observing and practising the art of just “being” “undoing” “non doing” Being present with your thoughts, body, breath, senses and sensations. Equanimity Without judgement, or trying to fix or change anything.
2) We also want to fire up the respiratory system for 20 minutes a day. So, dancing, light cardio exercise, cycling, swimming, yoga etc.
3) With noise breathing (instead of mouth breathing) you get 20% more oxygen intake, tongue resting on the roof of the mouth, jaw, eyes and facial soft and relaxed. Torso extended and expanded. Check in with yourself little but often to notice your body breath emotions sensations. This will help you cultivate mind/body connection which will result in you feeling more human whole and centred.
Nick Brandon - Alexander Technique Teacher
Visit his website: https://poisedandbalanced.com/
Visit his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/poiseandbalance
Visit his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/poisedandbalanced/
