This is a brief description of an Alexander Technique rest position. Please, see any book on the Alexander technique for more information and photos. You will need a phone book or similarly high stack of soft covered books for you head. This technique should be utilized 2 or 3 times a day through out your 10 series and then whenever you feel yourself getting stressed out there after. This position, with the help of gravity, forces the body to lengthen. Especially, it helps the ever shortened psoas to lengthen and fall back. This is why we have you in this position most of the time we are working with you.

Lie on a firm surface. Preferably a carpeted floor. Place your head, but only your head, not any part of your neck, on the appropriate height of books(see video below for description). Place your elbows out to the side with your hands on your abdomen,hips or upper legs. Place your feet on the floor with feet slightly wider than hip distance, knees pointing straight up to the ceiling. (or place your lower legs on a chair or couch so that the knees make a right angle- this is known as the silver bullet for back pain in the Egoscue Method(book of the same name by Peter Egoscue).

Now, either just rest (yes that helps) and/or think about letting your neck be free. Let your back lengthen and widen. let your arms lengthen. let the hands lengthen out through the figners. let your legs be free. let the upper leg lengthen. let the lower leg lengthen. let the feet lengthen from the heel to the toes.

At anytime you feel like you’ve lengthened. Ie the position feels cramped just lift your head (preferable with your hands) off the books and place it down again and/or lift your hips up off the ground and place them down again. Notice how the back starts to lie flatter and flatter on the ground. Don’t worry about losing the curves of your back- trust me we are all way to curvy. While lying down the back could be able to lie totally flat on the ground. Again, let it happen. Undo all the tightening you’ve accumulated throughout your life.

The video below may be the slowest video in the history of lying down but it describes the book height wonderfully and just shows the position. You will have to get over the fact the backmagician doesn’t blink.