Sunday, January 29, 2012

Rejecting The Extreme Orthodox Position On Bugs

Dr. Marc B. Shapiro blogs:

See Eitam Henkin’s post here. For another post by Henkin on this book, see hereEnglish readers are probably unaware of Henkin, the son of R. Yehudah Herzl Henkin. In the last few years he has really created a reputation for himself as he has authored a number of important articles which show an incredible amount of knowledge on the history of Torah Judaism in modern times. He has also published a sefer, available here, which deals with the halakhot of bugs in food. Unlike the rage today, he rejects the extreme positions, one of which is that due to bug infestation, strawberries are no longer permitted to be eaten. See e.g., here.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Live In Response, Not In Reaction

Alexander Technique lessons helped me to:

* Feel great, more energetic, and more calm
* Let go of unnecessary tension, back and neck pain, and Carpal Tunnel problems
* Overcome Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
* Beat plantar fascitis
* Move more easily and exercise without injury
Project my voice without strain
* Be less compulsive and more patient 


Hello, my name is Luke Ford. I studied daily for three years at the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles to help myself and others to lead a better life. Just as the way you drive your car affects the way it functions, so too the way you drive yourself affects the way you function. 

Alexander Technique is a way of noticing how you respond to stimuli and how you can let go of those responses that don't serve you. For instance, most people respond to stimuli by compression. Whether they are lifting a bowl of soup, talking to the boss, or getting in and out of a chair, they tend to scrunch. They feel like if they can just make themselves smaller, other people will hurt them less. But that doesn't work. We can compress ourselves and other people are no more gentle with us. By contrast, when we learn to expand into activity by letting go of our interfering tension patterns, we think and feel more clearly and move more gracefully and our friends and co-workers are relieved to be around somebody who's tranquil and poised. 
Life is hard, but we can learn to be gentle with ourselves while simultaneously meeting our responsibilities with ease and joy.

When most people age, they get caught in a tightening strait-jacket of their own habits until the tasks of daily life like driving, reaching into a refrigerator, or working at a computer become difficult. This is not necessary but it has become the default trajectory for Westerners. When I see friends click a mouse or lift a beer or project their voice across a room, I notice that most of them tighten up and pull down and in on themselves in these simple acts, thus setting the stage for pain and poor performance. 


It doesn't have to be this way. Most people can learn the basics of Alexander Technique within a few lessons and begin to notice and to let go of destructive habits of needless tension.
I charge $100 for a 45-minute lesson (bring a friend or five friends to the lesson, the same price holds). With package deals, the price can go down to $50 per lesson.

Luke Ford 264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Phone: 323-528-5814