The body often holds up to five times more tension than it needs to, resulting in hunched shoulders, stiff necks and avoidable back pain, costing businesses and individuals dear in terms of reduced concentration, less vitality and absenteeism, a conference in Dublin heard last week.
Mr Richard Brennan, an author and teacher of the Alexander Technique, told a conference on Stress at Work - Emerging Issues with New Technology, organised by the EAP Institute, that an increasing number of people feel "trapped in an accelerated spiral of speed and stress at work". This can result in "chronic muscle tension, acute anxiety, fidgety or restless behaviour or a distinct lack of peace of mind".
While many people turn to sleeping tablets or antidepressants for a short-term solution, these can lose their effect over time and can be potentially addictive. Stress during the working day will often not dissipate by the time we return home, with adrenaline remaining in the body for many hours or even days afterwards. Indeed, stress induces specific physiological changes. "The adrenal glands become more active, the heart rate increases, the breathing becomes more rapid, the entire muscular system becomes tense, the pupils dilate and the level of sugar in the body increases".
While this physiological process primes us for action at work, prolonged stress can be detrimental. When the stressful stimulus is extended, "lapses in concentration, irritability, lethargy, physical tiredness and mental fatigue" result, he says.
If stress is further prolonged, exhaustion sets in. Adrenal exhaustion, which occurs when blood sugar levels decrease and the adrenaline supply becomes depleted, leads to physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. This in turn will lead to illness or collapse, unless the stress is redressed.
Citing US research, he says the person who is over-stressed can suffer fatigue, headaches, trembling hands, loss of sex drive, changed sleep patterns or digestive problems. He or she will be more susceptible to infectious diseases, diabetes, ulcers, blood clots, heart problems and the spread of cancer cells. "The Alexander Technique isn't so much something you learn as something you unlearn, he says. "It is a method of releasing unwanted muscular tension throughout your body that has accumulated over many years of stressful living."
The Alexander Technique helps people to become more aware of balance, posture and co-ordination while performing everyday actions, bringing into consciousness previously unnoticed bodily tensions. The technique teaches new ways of moving while carrying out everyday actions like sitting, standing and walking, which involve less strain for the body. It also has a positive impact on our mental and emotional wellbeing, he says.
The Alexander Technique involves examining posture, breathing, balance and co-ordination. If children enjoy a great ease of movement, adults tend to tense their muscles in reaction to the stresses and strains of work and life, with posture deteriorating "into what often borders on deformity", he says.
By often holding four or five times more tension in our bodies than is necessary, "many of us make life much harder for ourselves than it really needs to be. Our shoulders become permanently hunched, our necks become stiffer and stiffer, and we sit either slumped or holding ourselves in a very rigid fashion." The Alexander Technique involves learning how to release unwanted tension that has accumulated over the years by sitting or standing in an uncoordinated manner. It involves learning "new ways of moving, standing or sitting that are easier, more efficient and put less stress on the body" and "new ways of reacting physically, emotionally and mentally to various situations", he says.
Frederick Matthias Alexander, who first developed the technique around 1900, discovered that when he tried to release tension in his neck, he actually tightened his muscles even more. "Similarly, millions of people suffer with back pain because they think they are standing up straight when they are in fact leaning backwards, placing undue stress upon the lumbar spine," says Mr Brennan. As well as learning a more efficient way of everyday bodily movement, the technique teaches what it perhaps misleadingly calls "inhibition", that is, pausing before acting or reacting to any situation. "A clear example of this is the cat as it stops to assess the situation before it pounces upon its prey: this assures success nearly every time," he says.
The full papers from the conference, which explored increased stress and ill-health arising from the use of new technology, are available from the EAP Institute, 143 Barrack Street, Waterford. Price: £65. Telephone: 051-855733. Email: eapinstitute@eircom.net jmarms@irish-times.ie
