Faulty Sensory Perception
The Alexander Technique by Pedro Souza
Everything is inside of the cosmos. Every inhalation and exhalation are unique - fresh air comes in, warm air goes out, our lungs expand, our fluids move, we move, we dance. Thanks to our human physiology for allowing us to experience the beauty of existence.
One of the remarkable experiences I had in my first Alexander Technique lessons was to learn about faulty sensory perception. When my teacher was working with me, I noticed my posture differently. My first reaction was to assume that I was in the wrong position.
I spoke to her about how I was feeling, and her explanation was: "you cannot trust your sensations because up to this moment, you are undergoing faulty sensory perception. It happens when we do not receive accurate sensory feedback about our physical status or when we interpret that information inaccurately".
I was intrigued by her answer, and it made me want to know more about this so-called faulty sensory perception and how it works.
So anatomically, we have receptors within our joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments responsible for providing information to the central nervous system regarding our body situation. The receptors involved in our kinaesthesia are called proprioceptors. It is a neuromuscular sense that informs the brain about our body position. The sense of proprioception can be classified as our sixth sense, or more commonly known as somatosensation.
The term somatosensation embraces the subcategories of:
Mechanoreception (pressure, vibration, discriminatory touch);
Thermoception (temperature);
Nociception (pain);
Equilibrioception (balance);
Proprioception (sense of positioning and movement).
Kinaesthesia is a sub-modality of proprioception referring to as the sense of movement. It is the ability to recognise joint movement and its duration, direction, amplitude, and speed. So Kinaesthetics is the study of body motion and the perception (both conscious and unconscious) of one’s own body's movement.
That moment when you decide to change from hunching to an up-straight posture, there is when your thinking comes into play.
So, when my teacher told me about faulty sensory perception, she was referring to my automatic response to my bodily sensations and taking them as a priority. I understand and agree that it is essential to listen to what our body is telling us. However, when we want to understand ourselves deeply, we need to go beyond bodily sensations.
For instance, it is common for us to assume that to improve our posture, we must straighten our back, move our shoulders back and stay in this position. After a couple of minutes, we will probably feel uncomfortable in our body, and the best solution is to go back to where we were, slouching.
That moment when you decide to change from hunching to an up-straight posture, there is when your thinking comes into play. It is an idea of what is right that makes you believe that the position you put yourself in was correct.
It is easy to say “stand up straight, “put your shoulders back”, “hold your head up”, but these directions are easily influenced by how we perceive those movements. Every movement is related to thought. Our body starts to adapt to the way we think, and we tend to rely on how we perceive our body’s position, resulting in a misconception of reality - faulty sensory perception.
So if I can’t rely on my sensory perception, how could I know am I doing the right thing?
In the Alexander Technique, we have the help of a teacher and a mirror. The teacher will guide you into a more aligned, fluid position, while the mirror will give you visual feedback. In my case, while I was feeling awkward, my teacher gently asked me to look at the mirror and tell her what I was seeing. I remember laughing because what I was seeing was completely different from what I was sensing. My body was elongated and aligned, and I pre-judged that experience as wrong.
That experience opened a whole new way of understanding myself, not just on the physical level but also on an emotional level. Things that I used to believe seemed to start to dissipate into this new relationship with myself.
I started to have insights about my personality and understanding that my idea of self was an accumulation of ideas created by me and borrowed from others. Life is an ongoing experimental journey, and it is up to us to live it consciously or not. As an Alexander teacher and Yoga instructor, I apply the Alexander Technique in almost everything I do, especially at work. It helps me to use myself (mind/body) more efficiently and manage my emotions.
The Alexander Technique is an educational method. It is an approach to understand how our body expresses our thoughts and vice versa. It is a practical study of movement efficiency that goes well with any activity.
I would love to provide the support for you to embody and understand deeper aspects of yourself. I’m currently teaching the Alexander Technique online or by the presence at Alphaville, SP.
Some references:
Photo by Alexandre Meneghini