A workshop on "SubtleYoga for AT Students and Teachers" with Mika Hadar-Borthwick

SubtleYoga workshop for AT Students and Teachers

A workshop with Mika Hadar-Borthwick

Notes by Jessamy Harvey

“Yoga must not be practised to control the body: it is the opposite, it must bring freedom to the body, all the freedom it needs.” Vanda Scaravelli (1908-1999)

Mika Hadar had a warm and welcoming approach from the start of the day, as she invited us to share who we were, what stage of the training we were at and if we had any yoga experience. Of all those present, I was probably the only one who had but a mere passing acquaintance with yoga but at no point did this appear to matter. Mika, in her own words, “developed the practice of Subtle Yoga through healing and her work in teaching yoga and Alexander Technique”. This workshop was, therefore, an opportunity to appreciate what Mika could teach us about the connections between these somatic fields. The Alexander Technique, which is part of a Western tradition in mind/body integration, and Yoga, which emerges from the East and has ancient roots; though, as in any tradition or field, yoga has experienced mutations, adaptations and translations as it has travelled through time, across the globe and been transmitted via different practitioners. In introducing herself, Mika spoke about Vanda Scaravelli as well as mentioning that her Alexander Technique training was with Misha Magidov.

It was useful to learn about her connection to Scaravelli. Mainly because Mika wanted us to understand that yoga is a practice that is accessible to anyone. Scaravelli came to yoga in her mid-forties and continued to practice until the end of her life. Mika clearly wanted to challenge the idea that yoga is predominantly about flexibility and strength so that we might let go of stereotypical ideas about the yoga body which could be holding us back. This had the effect of making us all feel much more at ease and created a sense of openness to experiencing subtle yoga through movement and breathing in the day ahead. However, although the day was primarily about exploring yoga through practice, Mika’s wealth of knowledge afforded us a glimpse into the spiritual and philosophical aspects of this tradition. Although I only managed to scribble down some names, her explanations throughout the day have since lead me to look more into Scaravelli, who wrote Awakening the Spine (1991), and the connections between her and the yoga master Iyengar (1918-2014) and the philosopher Krishnamurti (1895-1986). 

So Mika was introducing us to a specific strand of yoga, which she has further developed as her own (‘subtle yoga’), and set about helping us see the differences between it and the Alexander Technique whilst also showing us the points of contact. The day was well structured, and we explored stretches and poses, the importance of exhalation over inhalation, and the wave in the spine. Mika maintained the distinctions between each practice so, for example, she noted that in the Alexander Technique one tunes into the exhalation because that is when there is softness, but in yoga there are different moves depending on whether one is inhaling or exhaling. She shared some of yoga’s key concepts, like aparigraha (non-attachment), and asked us to talk about those central to AT: inhibition, primary control, and directions. Although there were a number of movements explored throughout the day, from unwinding the body’s memory by working in pairs to each one of us practicing the downward-facing dog pose, my personal favourite was the meditation talk-through. Lying on our mats, Mika talked us through the art of observing our breathing allowing us to enter a mode of deep relaxation whilst also gently bringing us back to a state of rested alertness. Though in different ways, both the practice of meditation and the semi-supine position awakens the parasympathetic nervous system allowing us to take time out to rest, repair and refresh. I left the workshop with the sense that Mika had not only demystified yoga for me, by making it more accessible, but that she had helped reinforce some of the concepts of the Alexander Technique through her comparative approach. I may not take up saluting the sun on a regular basis, but now I know that there isn’t a right or a wrong way to do it and, as in the Alexander Technique, it is all about learning to work with our body rather than against it.

A workshop on "Experiments in The Unified Field of Attention" with Penny O'Connor

Experiments in The Unified Field of Attention

A workshop with Penny O'Connor

Notes by Jenny Bond

I was intrigued by the title of this workshop and knew Penny and her way of working so I was really pleased to spend a day exploring her ideas. By the end of the day we felt enriched and energised and ready to take what we had learnt out into the world with a sense of exploration and playfulness. 

We met in the foyer of ArtsEd, it was nice to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. After a quick cup of tea Penny led us upstairs. She invited us to imagine that as we take each step on the stairs we are stepping into a cardboard box. I liked the ease of movement this gave me.

We had some time to find out about the person sitting next to us and share what we’d learnt about them with the group. We all had different reasons for being there but there seemed to be a shared sense of curiosity. It was nice to hear a bit about Penny’s backround and how she came to this kind of work.

We then took turns to read out loud a small section from ‘Freedom to Change’ by Frank Piece Jones. Most of us noticed that our attention narrowed towards the task of reading before, during and for some people after we had read. I noticed a tendency to worry about when it was my turn and therefore not be as receptive to listening to others as I’d like. 

We discussed what we mean by attention and how we often narrow it in fear. I was interested in thinking about how traditional Alexander directions relate to what Penny calls spatial directions – bringing our awareness to the space around us. We also discussed ways we already use to bring ourselves back to the present and how a chattering mind can be a narrowing away from an awareness of the space around us. 

We played with these ideas with some movement. We walked around the room speaking out loud the things we could see. I was amazed by how much more I noticed about the room! I really liked using words to help me notice what’s around me so that the mind was occupied and was less judgemental. It was interesting that most of us noticed a lot more about the room but didn’t really include each other in this exercise that much. We then stood still to notice what we could hear, and where in space the sounds were coming from. Walking again we spoke out loud other things we noticed of the outside world such as smell, taste and touch. We also experimented with bringing ourselves into the moment by speaking through an action such as walking across the room, picking something up and placing it somewhere else. This got fun and we began to interact with each other a lot more. After this we sat in a circle and each took turns to say one sentence each on what we were experiencing. For example 'I can see the door', 'I can hear a bird'. I loved how listening to each other brought us into a sense of shared group experience of the now.

We then played with spatial orientation in a group. We walked around the room moving into spaces. We were asked to become aware of another person in the group, then two, then to keep them equidistant from each other. We were asked to stay close to one other person then far from another person then both of these at the same time. This led to lots of laughter and it was interesting to observe the use of space within the room with these activities as well as our own reactions. 

The next game saw us walking around and choosing a moment to bring attention to ourselves by saying ‘me’ as a signal for everyone else to stop walking and look at the person who spoke. I found it really helpful to observe my reaction to having everyone look at me! I really lost a sense of the space around me at that moment. 

Throughout the morning Penny invited us to become aware of the distance between the top of our head and the ceiling, the distance between our backs and the wall behind, and distances between either side of us and the walls, a sense of a panoramic view, where sounds come from and a sense of the ground beneath our feet. We then took these ideas into working in pairs with hands on before lunch. 

After lunch Penny led us in a lovely semi-supine. Again thinking of external spatial parameters as well as internal space and distances. I felt very light and effortless although a little sleepy too until I started to move around again! We thought about how the space around us changes shape as we move

Penny’s game ‘port and starboard’ certainly woke me up. This helped us become aware of how our attention changes as we want to be the first or last to get somewhere.

We then experimented with walking across the room thinking that the other side is travelling towards us, we also had a little explore around the corridors of ArtsEd being aware of the apparent movement of the walls moving past us. 

We then came back to the room to play the ‘sticky hands game’. One person closes their eyes and places their hand on another persons who leads them in movement. It was interesting to watch each other in this activity and think about how spatial awareness effects hands on work. This led really well into some hands on work in pairs during which we explored where our attention was. 

We had some discussion before we finished. Penny suggested that inviting pupils to be in the space of here and now they are more likely to be responsive and out of habit. I’m now going to experiment with how this awareness effects the traditional internal directions, perhaps they’ll begin to happen anyway or maybe take on a different quality. So far it’s been fun to explore. I often feel uncomfortable after working on a computer. However, I’m pleased to say that writing about the day with Penny has given me a great opportunity to keep coming back to the sense of space around me as I write and I actually feel great and excited about the possibilities of sharing these ideas and bringing them into my work in music, with my Alexander pupils as well as in everyday life. Thank you Penny! 

Books Penny mentioned during the day:

FM's MSI chapter 6 Habits of mind and body

Les Fehmi's 'Open Focus Brain
Frank Pierce Jones Freedom to Change (appendix D)
Joseph Sanders Art and the Fearless Brain, article from HITE's recent publication 'Connected Perspectives'