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Waiting to exhale

Photo: Bhagya Prakash k.

Stress buster Padmini Menon: ‘The Alexander Technique is an effective way to manage tension’

The big red bindi adorning her forehead, her face calm and with a steady voice Padmini Menon explains the Alexander Technique.

“The pattern of using your muscles are effected by your lifestyle, emotions and problems you face. Each individual has certain patterns of tensions in him and the Alexander Technique makes him aware of this tension and helps release it using the mind.”

Padmini is the only resident teacher of this technique in India. She is just back from her three-year training in Brighton and has worked with ten people here.

“It is neither a therapy, a treatment or an exercise. I am not treating your eye sight, asthma or BP. But I teach you to recognise the tensions in certain muscles and train you to release them by applying your mind to it. By doing this, you realise that you put in a lot more effort than needed for a simple thing such as sitting in a chair and getting off it. This technique you helps you save up a lot of your energy and live life as tension free as possible,” assures Padmini.

How did she get drawn to this technique? “In college I came across a book that said this technique helped singers. I was interested for I was singing at that time. It immediately caught my attention because it talked about doing less in order to achieve more; about stopping the wrong thing so that the right things could happen; about freedom, ease and effortlessness in action. But there was no way I could pursue it any further as there were no teachers in India.”

Padmini again came across the technique while teaching at The Rishi Valley School. “The school has a well-stocked library and I found a couple of books on the Alexander Technique which re-kindled my interest. It also helped that we had an actor, trained at the Juilliard School in New York, who led us through some of the procedures that she had gone through when she was a student.”

So Padmini quit teaching and took off to Brighton to study this technique.

“I trained under Carolyn Nicholls who has 25 years experience in this field. And it does not make sense just reading about it. You have to experience it to comprehend its effects. For it is neither yoga, therapy nor medical treatment.”

“It is an effective tension and stress management technique that comes in very handy for those with RSI. It is different and it gets you to the fundamental level in yourself. You can use it while sitting, standing, walking or while doing house chores. It is as basic as breathing and that is what I like about it,” says Padmini.

Padmini has started a 15-class package priced at Rs. 12,000 or you can opt for one class of 30 to 45 minutes for Rs. 900 per session. In 15 days you will be able to recognise the tension-prone muscles, she adds.

Those who are apprehensive but would like to give it a shot, can try the “taster session” for Rs. 500.

Padmini can be emailed on nekfree@gmail.com

This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track

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