OCTOBER

Brrrrr there's a chill wind and we put the heating on last night for the first time, just for a bit. For some reason the colder weather came as a bit of a shock to me this Autumn - thermal socks, thicker jumpers; yes, do store those sandals away now - of course, it's that time of year!

Getting cold makes us react in various physical ways to protect ourselves, one of which is to hunch up and make ourselves small. We round our shoulders, pull forward and tense lots of muscles, and this helps us to conserve heat and leave less of ourselves exposed.

But what if we tense up more than is necessary? Or what if we tense up, then forget to un-tense as we warm up? These are useful things to consider from an Alexander Technique point of view. As ever, I like to have the choice of how I react; I like knowing how to use my muscles with efficiency -

making the best of my circumstances :)