Stop for a moment and analyze how many muscles you have tense at this very moment. Probably, if you are in front of the computer, with the mouse in your hand, you should only have tense muscles in your hand; However, it is very likely that your entire arm, shoulder, and part of your neck are tense.
This happens daily because we do not know how to relax so we tense more muscles than we need to undertake an activity. Obviously, this continuous body tension is one more factor that adds to everyday stress and does not allow us to feel relaxed and comfortable.
What is eutony?
Eutony is a technique that helps to obtain the correct degree of tension in each movement or simply while we are not moving. I clarify that it is not about giving us instructions about what is right or wrong but about learning through a process of inner discovery where self-exploration plays a primary role. The general idea is: a movement that hurts or causes great effort is performed poorly since it is normal to perform the movements with minimal effort and feeling relaxed.
How this technique arise?
Eutony as a discipline arises from the personal experience of Gerda Alexander and her critical reflection on the different theoretical currents of philosophy, psychology, sociology, health and education of the 20th century. The word eutony is a synthesis (eu =harmony, tonía =tone, tension) which was coined to account for a dynamic concept, the ability to constantly adapt to the situation and the moment.
It represents a double synthesis both because it is a new type of transdisciplinary knowledge (that is, a discipline itself with its own identity and autonomy from the disciplines that compose it) and in its way of understanding the human being by integrating psychosomatic aspects, emotions, experiences, movement, expression and consciousness.
Although eutony was born in the field of movement, many experiences allow us to realize that the practice of eutony and the results such as the psychological and creative growth of the people who practice it, have surpassed this field. Its influence has expanded towards the integral development of the human being, with its healthy repercussions from the psycho-physical point of view and the development of their creative abilities. That is why it is used today in areas such as: education, health prevention, quality of life, sports, stress management and art in all its manifestations, in the different stages of life from pregnancy to older adults.
The exercises of eutony
This technique, also called stretching or tone education, focuses on making our perceptions conscious. Therefore, we can apply it at any time, whether while walking, getting up from a chair or writing. At these moments we must focus our attention on the muscles that tense to perform a task. We will realize that we tense many more muscles than we need and that is why we feel much more fatigued and subject ourselves to greater muscular suffering.
However, to go step by step with eutony, it is first proposed to lie down on a flat surface, if possible on the floor, and concentrate on the different muscle groups, simply feeling whether they are tense or not. Then we must relax the entire body, as if we were completely abandoning ourselves, without offering any resistance.
Subsequently, perform the progressive muscle relaxation technique and pay particular attention to the sensations experienced when the muscles contract or relax. It is recommended to perform these exercises with adequate breathing (for which learning diaphragmatic breathing can be useful).
Then, move your hand but be careful to tense only the lower muscles, keeping the shoulder relaxed and so on. In this state of relaxation, different parts of the body move, trying to activate only the closest muscles truly necessary to perform the movement.
Once we are aware of the activation of the muscle groups, we can move on to performing these exercises by inserting them into daily life. The simplest thing is to do it while we write on a piece of paper, trying to write without tensing the muscles of the arm, but only those of the hand.
Once the technique is mastered, we can feel how a large part of everyday tension disappears as if by magic.
Finally, it is worth clarifying that there are many exercises for eutony and that those presented below are just some of them, eminently focused on relieving stress and tension.
Reference:
Alexander, G. (1979) Eutony. A path to total body experience . Buenos Aires: Paidós Editorial.
