Body Learning Part II

Primary control: 

 "There is a primary control of the use of the self which governs the working of all mechanisms and so renders the control of the complex human organism relatively simple"

• The relationship of the head, neck, and torso is of primary importance in deterring the level of functioning and in organizing the reactions into a coordinated whole. This is how the phrase "primary control" was coined. The head is also the locus of the two main balancing mechanisms, the optical and vestibular. This is all a result from evolution. The upright posture is the result of millions of years of development and advancement. 

Unreliable sensory appreciation:

"Everyone wants to be right but no one stops to consider if their idea of right is right"

• Since kinesthetic information is a deterring factor in our perception of use it follows that any interference with kinesthetic functioning will have a distorting effect on our awareness of ourselves. kinesthetic sense can be describe as the habitual misuse which adversely affects the reliability of kinesthetic sense and that most startling of all, the feelings of rightness in an action. Another practical example concerns out inaccurate understanding go the amount of muscle tension or energy needed to perform even the simplest of movements. 

Inhibition:

"The right thing does itself"

• The ability to stop, to delay our response until we are adequately prepared to make it, is inhibition. Alexander discovered that the importance of inhibition is human behavior paralleled a similar discover in neurology. Inhibition is an integrative element in the consolidation of the animal mechanism to a unity. It is the central function of a nervous system.

Direction:

"The conscious mind must be quickened"

• Alexander would consciously project a psychological pattern that can be described in words as allow  the neck to be free to let the head go forward and up so that the back may lengthen and widen taking care to inhibit the translation of these directions into habitual muscular action. The elements of the new pattern were to be projected sequentially and simultaneously

Ends and Means:

"When you've got it, be prepared to throw it away...throw it away and get it again."

• Alexander always emphasized the process of attaining his goal, rather than a narrow focus on the goal itself an approach which differs from tat ordinarily taken in dealing with the material world. Alexander calls the indirect method of change the "the means whereby approach" which can be defined as "awareness of conditions present, a reasoned consideration of their causes, inhibition of reoccurring responses and consciously guided performance of the indirect series of steps require to gain the "end".

Reflection:

One thing i found interesting about the reading is that i discovered that evolution had a big influence on the the primary control of a mechanism. I found that Unreliable sensory appreciation is something people deal with every day, and not just in performance. I get into debates with my friends all the time, and I realize that our conversations always turn into debates because either of us are trying to see another version of what is right. We constantly try to prove our point, and end up getting know where.