Many people complain that when their face is resting in what they think of as a neutral expression, that they are actually displaying an upset or angry look. In this video, we explore what causes this, and how an intelligible understanding of the "smile behind the eyes" concept can help us bring due tension to the fascia and muscles of the face and head. I offer lessons in the Initial Alexander Technique, which are conducted one-on-one with a teacher over Zoom. They are designed to help you gain conscious control over how you move your body. Most people have no idea what they’re doing with their body, and as they misuse their body, they end up with discomfort, pain, and other issues that they may not even realize are caused by what they’re doing to themselves. But how do you figure out what you’re doing wrong? And how do you change what you're doing and overcome lifelong habits? In an Initial Alexander Technique lesson, you will record yourself through Zoom, so you will be able to see and understand what you are doing when you stand, sit, walk, and perform other simple gestures. With the assistance of your teacher, you will come to understand how you are misusing the mechanisms of your body, and you will gain the ability to choose to use yourself in a more sensible way. You can learn how to use your body without pain. You can break free from long held habits. All you need is a system that works. For more information or to book a lesson, please visit my website: mechanicsofpoise.com/ You can contact me at: DelsarteAlexanderMasoeroYou@protonmail.com "If the "deep breath" be taken through the nasal passages there will be a loud "sniffing" sound and collapse of the alae nasi, and if through the mouth, a "gasping" sound. The pupil has not been told that if the thorax is expanded correctly the lungs will at once be filled with air by atmospheric pressure, exactly as a pair of bellows is filled when the handles are pulled apart." F.M. Alexander
hey brother, I'm sitting here going through your videos; years of how I taught my body to prepare for pain and tension, anxiety etc, are melting away. I've tried PRI, mewing, physio, septoplasty, but what you're getting at in this series is changing my life. Could you please give me some sort of way to donate? This is deeper than the physical, its helping how I feel as a whole.
I'm very glad to hear you're getting a lot out of the videos! While on the surface this field of thought might be seen as "physical," we more often use the word "psycho-physical." The problems caused by poor posture/use go well beyond the physical, and the solutions require the efforts of our entire psycho-physical self. If you really want to send a donation, you could send through paypal to my email address - Delsartelessons@protonmail.com But if you're going to send some money, I would also say, you might just want to take some lessons (done through Zoom), as that way you'll get something for your money. Thanks for watching, and thanks for your kind comment!
Can you help a brother out. I’m currently spending tons of money on my health, what has this series taught you? What have you been doing what exercises?
@@millionareplug You won’t find conventional “exercises” on this channel, though there are procedures you can work with and experiment with. This system is all about engaging the reasoning mind into what are typically thought of as “physical” activities. Most people are largely enslaved by their habits when it comes to how they move - they sit and stand and walk in the same way all the time. Nearly everyone in the modern world tends to bend and shorten their torso and bend their limbs during any activity. The more unusual or strenuous the activity, the more people bend in reaction. That bending is a problem because it makes our fascia limp, so we end up overworking certain muscles to make up for that and consequently underusing other muscles. The question is: can you lengthen your torso and extend your limbs in reaction to physical demand or a challenge to your equilibrium? That’s what we explore on this channel and in this system. What directions can you consciously give yourself to control how you move? Can you guide yourself into moving in a way that is totally different from your habit? We use visual feedback from video recording or a mirror to verify that we are actually making an observable change - this is necessary because our feeling sense is used to our familiar habit, and so change feels uneasy and strange. By actually seeing what we’re doing, we can measure and assess how we are changing our posture and changing how we make movements.
Thank you very much for your effort to convey complex concepts in understandable way. Not easy to become aware of current baselines then do the conscious change resulting in a healthier new baseline. You are up against tragical loss of awaresness of spacial positions and movement of parts of our body. Current lifestyle changes are pushing us all and specialy young generation into more alienation from our own body. I wish you geather resources to invest into 3D modeling/ simulation. Believe that can make understanding concepts easyer.
Thanks for this clarification on the resting face, and alae nasi. I used to wonder if closure of alae nasi in running was cause of breathing discomfort. I’ll have to check out photos of FM to see whether he ever smiled with his teeth showing. I’m very familiar with the smile in the photo that always looks quite cheeky and mischievous. It all makes sense as smiling for a camera is such a manufactured response. The true smile happens from the inside as the inner smile suggests. 😊
I wouldn’t say you need to totally avoid a more-cheeky smile, but you make an interesting point about the (perhaps) performative nature of that more cheeky smile.
Do you think that facial remodeling/growth in adults is still possible after changing posture ? What if stunned growth due to bad posture/diet can be continued afterwards ? Also do you think that good posture can improve width of the palate/dental arch/ occlusion? What is your opinion on cranial strains ?
I think the idea of stunted growth of the face is not really accurate for most people. The deformation of the skull (and the rest of the body) that many people do experience is the result of movements that they habitually make. Usually these movements are subconscious - we are not aware we’re making these movements, but they can be easily observed. Rather than thinking about how we can grow the face, we want to think about how we can move the bones, fascia, and muscles of the face in order to bring the face (and whole body) into the correct orientation and relative position. I do think it’s possible to improve occlusion by correcting your posture. I’ve seen significant improvement in my bite and I’ve also had significant change in my facial form (which was damaged by years of orthodontic work as an adolescent). It’s actually quite common for people to have minor pains in their teeth after working with the Initial Alexander Technique for some time - not typical tooth pain, but the same kind of pain that sometimes occurs during a good stretch or massage. The reason modern people have such trouble in their mouth and throat area is because modern people have such poor posture. Just as the arms are moved out of place to compensate for a bent and shortened torso, the head, the jaw, really every part of us is moved out of place. The way out of this problem is to make the correct movements that bring the fascia back into play (take them from being limp to taut).
Im amazed by your videos bud. You may only have around 1k subscribers, and it might not look reputable because of this, but everything makes perfect sense, I just know this because it feels natural to do and it coexists with how science and physics work. I have a few questions. I think i am able to bring my upper lip forward first of all for the possible remedy for an overbite, does it kind of feel like you're pouting your upper lip forward when doing this movement? For the upper lip being stretched outwards towards the ears using that specific muscle not the zygomatic, should this be a posture? So I should try and make sure this stretch is always subconsciously happening, its not just a way to smile? My last question is I cant get a feel for bringing the upper corner eye forward. I know what we shouldnt be feeling into the movement, but I don't think I am getting the movement right for the upper eye being pulled forward. Appreciate any reply cheers dude.
Thanks! Glad to hear you’re finding the videos useful. You don’t want to pout your upper lip, the movement of the upper lip and corner of the eye should move the head forward and up in space. You should see the face going forward (if you record yourself with a webcam or camera). You want the upper lip to be widened as a general posture, it’s a sort of underlying smile. Sustaining that is not all in the lips though, the issue in the upper lip is tied together with the general postural problems in the head, neck, and torso. The way to check if you’re getting the corner of the eye forward is to use a webcam or camera and record yourself. Movements with the face and head are extremely difficult to feel out. As you said, feeling in general is not very effective, but with the face and head our feeling sense is often highly confused. Make sure you’re involving the torso to begin with. While there is adjustment that happens beyond the rotation of the ribcage, if your ribcage is tilted back and your lower sternum is forward, that will make adjustment of the head very difficult.
@delsartealexandermasoeroyo9147 Thanks for the great information man! So by the upper lip, do you mean the oral commissure? This is the point we are aiming to manipulate? Ive noticed when I try to move this point forward my lower jaw protrudes forward. Still trying to get used to the agonist movement as well with movement towards the ear drum while having sagittal movement. Thanks man.
@@Matty-H The upper lip is definitively on the upper lip, so I would say the oral commissure is too low. Make sure you’re including the corner of the eye, because if your jaw is going forward, I would guess that the corner of your eye is going back at the same time.
@@delsartealexandermasoeroyo9147Interesting, thanks. I can imagine and get a feel for pulling the upper lip spot forward, but when it comes to the smile behind the eyes, I can only get the corner of my mouth (oral commisure) to follow this muscle to the ear drum. Would this still not work do you think?
What do you think about teeth posture Should teeth be clenched? Should front teeth sit on each other or lower front teeth should be behind upper front teeth? Do you have any video about chewing?
I would not say clenched, no. The lower front teeth will be behind the upper front teeth. I don’t have a video on chewing specifically, but opening the mouth and using the jaw, yes, it's the previous video in this series.
I dont get the buccinator part. Does you buccinator muscle get bigger when doing a zygomatic smile or a upper lip to ear smile. because I want to avoid using the buccinator muscle
There’s no reason to avoid using any muscle, what matters is how you’re using the muscle. If you follow the directions in the video, the effect on the pterygomandibular raphe will tend to put a widening force on the upper palate and the upper lip. This has nothing to do with suck-swallowing, which is what I assume your concern with the buccinator is related to.
Yo, could you maybe shave off the beard so I can somewhat see the lines of the face stretching? Or have someone do the demo to show how the smile behind the eyes is supposed to look like. With the amount of wrinkles on the old man, I don’t know which line is which that is supposed to appear when I smile. PS: My upper lip shakes and vibrates when I do this sometimes, but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right. Also maybe you might want to shave off that beard to show off your immaculate jawline. I could be wrong though. No offence bro
Many people complain that when their face is resting in what they think of as a neutral expression, that they are actually displaying an upset or angry look. In this video, we explore what causes this, and how an intelligible understanding of the "smile behind the eyes" concept can help us bring due tension to the fascia and muscles of the face and head.
I offer lessons in the Initial Alexander Technique, which are conducted one-on-one with a teacher over Zoom. They are designed to help you gain conscious control over how you move your body. Most people have no idea what they’re doing with their body, and as they misuse their body, they end up with discomfort, pain, and other issues that they may not even realize are caused by what they’re doing to themselves. But how do you figure out what you’re doing wrong? And how do you change what you're doing and overcome lifelong habits?
In an Initial Alexander Technique lesson, you will record yourself through Zoom, so you will be able to see and understand what you are doing when you stand, sit, walk, and perform other simple gestures. With the assistance of your teacher, you will come to understand how you are misusing the mechanisms of your body, and you will gain the ability to choose to use yourself in a more sensible way. You can learn how to use your body without pain. You can break free from long held habits. All you need is a system that works.
For more information or to book a lesson, please visit my website: mechanicsofpoise.com/
You can contact me at: DelsarteAlexanderMasoeroYou@protonmail.com
"If the "deep breath" be taken through the nasal passages there will be a loud "sniffing" sound and collapse of the alae nasi, and if through the mouth, a "gasping" sound. The pupil has not been told that if the thorax is expanded correctly the lungs will at once be filled with air by atmospheric pressure, exactly as a pair of bellows is filled when the handles are pulled apart."
F.M. Alexander
hey brother, I'm sitting here going through your videos; years of how I taught my body to prepare for pain and tension, anxiety etc, are melting away. I've tried PRI, mewing, physio, septoplasty, but what you're getting at in this series is changing my life. Could you please give me some sort of way to donate? This is deeper than the physical, its helping how I feel as a whole.
I'm very glad to hear you're getting a lot out of the videos! While on the surface this field of thought might be seen as "physical," we more often use the word "psycho-physical." The problems caused by poor posture/use go well beyond the physical, and the solutions require the efforts of our entire psycho-physical self. If you really want to send a donation, you could send through paypal to my email address - Delsartelessons@protonmail.com But if you're going to send some money, I would also say, you might just want to take some lessons (done through Zoom), as that way you'll get something for your money. Thanks for watching, and thanks for your kind comment!
Can you help a brother out. I’m currently spending tons of money on my health, what has this series taught you? What have you been doing what exercises?
@@millionareplug You won’t find conventional “exercises” on this channel, though there are procedures you can work with and experiment with. This system is all about engaging the reasoning mind into what are typically thought of as “physical” activities.
Most people are largely enslaved by their habits when it comes to how they move - they sit and stand and walk in the same way all the time. Nearly everyone in the modern world tends to bend and shorten their torso and bend their limbs during any activity. The more unusual or strenuous the activity, the more people bend in reaction. That bending is a problem because it makes our fascia limp, so we end up overworking certain muscles to make up for that and consequently underusing other muscles.
The question is: can you lengthen your torso and extend your limbs in reaction to physical demand or a challenge to your equilibrium?
That’s what we explore on this channel and in this system. What directions can you consciously give yourself to control how you move? Can you guide yourself into moving in a way that is totally different from your habit? We use visual feedback from video recording or a mirror to verify that we are actually making an observable change - this is necessary because our feeling sense is used to our familiar habit, and so change feels uneasy and strange. By actually seeing what we’re doing, we can measure and assess how we are changing our posture and changing how we make movements.
I want this for my life. Glad I found this channel.
brother is a hero
Thank You for this channel!👍❤️👏🏻
Thank you very much for your effort to convey complex concepts in understandable way. Not easy to become aware of current baselines then do the conscious change resulting in a healthier new baseline. You are up against tragical loss of awaresness of spacial positions and movement of parts of our body. Current lifestyle changes are pushing us all and specialy young generation into more alienation from our own body.
I wish you geather resources to invest into 3D modeling/ simulation. Believe that can make understanding concepts easyer.
You are a hero man!
Thanks for this clarification on the resting face, and alae nasi. I used to wonder if closure of alae nasi in running was cause of breathing discomfort. I’ll have to check out photos of FM to see whether he ever smiled with his teeth showing. I’m very familiar with the smile in the photo that always looks quite cheeky and mischievous. It all makes sense as smiling for a camera is such a manufactured response. The true smile happens from the inside as the inner smile suggests. 😊
I wouldn’t say you need to totally avoid a more-cheeky smile, but you make an interesting point about the (perhaps) performative nature of that more cheeky smile.
Do you think that facial remodeling/growth in adults is still possible after changing posture ? What if stunned growth due to bad posture/diet can be continued afterwards ? Also do you think that good posture can improve width of the palate/dental arch/ occlusion? What is your opinion on cranial strains ?
I think the idea of stunted growth of the face is not really accurate for most people. The deformation of the skull (and the rest of the body) that many people do experience is the result of movements that they habitually make. Usually these movements are subconscious - we are not aware we’re making these movements, but they can be easily observed. Rather than thinking about how we can grow the face, we want to think about how we can move the bones, fascia, and muscles of the face in order to bring the face (and whole body) into the correct orientation and relative position.
I do think it’s possible to improve occlusion by correcting your posture. I’ve seen significant improvement in my bite and I’ve also had significant change in my facial form (which was damaged by years of orthodontic work as an adolescent). It’s actually quite common for people to have minor pains in their teeth after working with the Initial Alexander Technique for some time - not typical tooth pain, but the same kind of pain that sometimes occurs during a good stretch or massage.
The reason modern people have such trouble in their mouth and throat area is because modern people have such poor posture. Just as the arms are moved out of place to compensate for a bent and shortened torso, the head, the jaw, really every part of us is moved out of place. The way out of this problem is to make the correct movements that bring the fascia back into play (take them from being limp to taut).
Brilliant, i guess this also influences the shape of staches men have
How long we can stretch the upper lip? And how long could take for results?
thanks man
I’m unclear on how I’m supposed to achieve the correct resting face.
Am I just supposed to smile without showing my teeth?
Im amazed by your videos bud. You may only have around 1k subscribers, and it might not look reputable because of this, but everything makes perfect sense, I just know this because it feels natural to do and it coexists with how science and physics work.
I have a few questions. I think i am able to bring my upper lip forward first of all for the possible remedy for an overbite, does it kind of feel like you're pouting your upper lip forward when doing this movement? For the upper lip being stretched outwards towards the ears using that specific muscle not the zygomatic, should this be a posture? So I should try and make sure this stretch is always subconsciously happening, its not just a way to smile? My last question is I cant get a feel for bringing the upper corner eye forward. I know what we shouldnt be feeling into the movement, but I don't think I am getting the movement right for the upper eye being pulled forward.
Appreciate any reply cheers dude.
Thanks! Glad to hear you’re finding the videos useful.
You don’t want to pout your upper lip, the movement of the upper lip and corner of the eye should move the head forward and up in space. You should see the face going forward (if you record yourself with a webcam or camera).
You want the upper lip to be widened as a general posture, it’s a sort of underlying smile. Sustaining that is not all in the lips though, the issue in the upper lip is tied together with the general postural problems in the head, neck, and torso.
The way to check if you’re getting the corner of the eye forward is to use a webcam or camera and record yourself. Movements with the face and head are extremely difficult to feel out. As you said, feeling in general is not very effective, but with the face and head our feeling sense is often highly confused. Make sure you’re involving the torso to begin with. While there is adjustment that happens beyond the rotation of the ribcage, if your ribcage is tilted back and your lower sternum is forward, that will make adjustment of the head very difficult.
@delsartealexandermasoeroyo9147 Thanks for the great information man! So by the upper lip, do you mean the oral commissure? This is the point we are aiming to manipulate? Ive noticed when I try to move this point forward my lower jaw protrudes forward. Still trying to get used to the agonist movement as well with movement towards the ear drum while having sagittal movement. Thanks man.
@@Matty-H The upper lip is definitively on the upper lip, so I would say the oral commissure is too low. Make sure you’re including the corner of the eye, because if your jaw is going forward, I would guess that the corner of your eye is going back at the same time.
@@delsartealexandermasoeroyo9147Interesting, thanks. I can imagine and get a feel for pulling the upper lip spot forward, but when it comes to the smile behind the eyes, I can only get the corner of my mouth (oral commisure) to follow this muscle to the ear drum. Would this still not work do you think?
@@Matty-H It’s hard to say because I can’t see what you’re doing, but you definitely want to see the upper lip widen.
What do you think about teeth posture
Should teeth be clenched?
Should front teeth sit on each other or lower front teeth should be behind upper front teeth?
Do you have any video about chewing?
I would not say clenched, no. The lower front teeth will be behind the upper front teeth. I don’t have a video on chewing specifically, but opening the mouth and using the jaw, yes, it's the previous video in this series.
I dont get the buccinator part. Does you buccinator muscle get bigger when doing a zygomatic smile or a upper lip to ear smile. because I want to avoid using the buccinator muscle
There’s no reason to avoid using any muscle, what matters is how you’re using the muscle. If you follow the directions in the video, the effect on the pterygomandibular raphe will tend to put a widening force on the upper palate and the upper lip. This has nothing to do with suck-swallowing, which is what I assume your concern with the buccinator is related to.
it feels unfair that this Channel is sorta obscure
Yo, could you maybe shave off the beard so I can somewhat see the lines of the face stretching? Or have someone do the demo to show how the smile behind the eyes is supposed to look like. With the amount of wrinkles on the old man, I don’t know which line is which that is supposed to appear when I smile.
PS: My upper lip shakes and vibrates when I do this sometimes, but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right.
Also maybe you might want to shave off that beard to show off your immaculate jawline. I could be wrong though. No offence bro