Hands on the back of a chair?
Before and after
A peaceful morning
I had a clear Sunday stretching in front of me. I was looking forward to a peaceful morning pottering about the house, baking a cake, listening to podcasts, and perhaps going for a walk if the sun didn’t disappear.
That wicked winter sun, being low in the sky, sent its merciless rays straight across to the glass door of my oven. That’s when I remembered! I hadn’t cleaned the oven before Christmas, reasoning that it would only get dirty during the festivities. But neither had I cleaned it after Christmas - and there was no ignoring the fact that a deep clean was desperately needed.
No tight necks or hunched shoulders
Self-cleaning ovens are wonderful, but of course you still need to tackle the racks and shelves. This is exactly the sort of activity that invites tight necks and hunched shoulders. Obviously I wasn’t going to fall into that trap! Just because your fingers are firmly gripping the narrow bars of an oven rack doesn’t mean to say your upper back needs to narrow. Scrubbing away at baked-on splashes doesn’t need to involve your jaw. What is important is to have your whole body switched on, working in harmony to support you, without any one part needing to do too much.
If you’ve ever done an Alexander lesson involving ‘Hands on the back of a chair’ this should all make sense! You’re releasing your armpits, activating the lower back, and finding your inner spring.
Becoming elastic and resilient
The self-cleaning oven gets really hot and I realised I should take advantage of the warm kitchen to make bread. I do the absolute minimum of kneading and again was able to use my AT thinking to make it an easier experience. In fact, I felt an affinity with the bread dough, both of us becoming more elastic and resilient during the process.
Needless to say, the sun had disappeared by the time all this unexpected activity was over but I felt pleased with myself and, very importantly, comfortable around my neck, arms, and shoulders. Oh yes, the baked goods turned out well too!