A short poem from Ecuadorian-American author Yung Pueblo has been doing the rounds on social media. It’s from his book Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand The Future which was published last month. The poem concerns our reactions, helpful or otherwise.
Rather than say any more about it, I’m going to present it below along with two further quotes. All three give us a glimpse about what the Alexander Technique is about.
Your immediate reaction
Yung Pueblo, Lighter (London: Penguin, 2022)
does not tell you who you are
it is how you decide to respond after the reaction
that gives you real insight
into how much you have grown
your first reaction is your past
your intentional response is your present
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Stephen Covey (First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), p.59). NB. Quote is often misattributed to Viktor Frankl.
My technique is based on inhibition, the inhibition of undesirable, unwanted responses to stimuli, and hence it is primarily a technique for the development of the control of human reaction.
F.M. Alexander (The Universal Constant in Living by F. M. Alexander (London: Mouritz, 2000), pp. 86-87.)
