Body Rising

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

• This Is Not a Posture Book
  Why “sit up straight” failed you, what Alexander’s ideas really offer, and what will actually change in your life.

PART I — Switching On Easy Mode

• Your Body Is Not Wrong
  Seeing your current habits as attempts to help, not proof of failure, and making the first small shift in how you use yourself.
• Gravity as an Ally
  Letting the ground do its job so you stop “holding yourself up” and feel supported instead of strained.
• The Head–Neck–Back Secret
  A plain-language version of Alexander’s key relationship — how freeing the neck unlocks the rest of you.
• Doing Less, Getting More
  Why extra effort makes you stiff and clumsy, and how to subtract unnecessary work from everything you do.

PART II — Real-Life Routines

• Standing in Real Life
  Queues, conversations, kitchen tasks, and mirrors — simple checks that keep standing light, grounded, and calm.
• Walking That Feels Like Gliding
  Turning everyday walking into a smooth, easy reset instead of a march or a drag.
• Sitting Without Destroying Yourself
  Working, driving, and relaxing in chairs without slowly folding into them.
• Screens Without Shrinking
  How to use phones and laptops without collapsing into the screen and losing breath, space, and attention.
• Lying, Resting, and Recharging
  Floor work and simple rest positions inspired by Alexander that let your body reset itself.
• Transitions: The Hidden Gold
  Getting up, bending down, and moving between tasks as built-in training for a new way of using your body.

PART III — High-Skill Situations

• Being Seen: Social and Dating Moments
  How your body behaves when you care what someone thinks, and how to stay soft, grounded, and available.
• Bodies That Speak: Presenting and Leading
  Letting your body back your voice when you speak up, teach, or lead — without acting or posing.
• Training Without Locking Up
  Bringing Alexander principles into strength work, yoga, and movement practice so you gain power without rigidity.
• Travel, Stress, and Long Days
  Airports, cars, offices, and late nights — how to get through demanding days without ending them as a knot.

PART IV — When You Crash (and How to Come Back)

• When the Old Shape Grabs You
  Noticing when you shrink or harden, and using a simple in-the-moment sequence to come back online.
• BodyRising on Bad Days
  What to do when you don’t want to “practice” anything — minimum effective moves to keep the thread alive.

PART V — Making It Your New Normal

• Building New Defaults
  Using tiny repetitions and daily anchors so your new way of moving becomes automatic.
• Aging Into Strength, Not Rigidity
  Keeping space, range, and easy movement over decades instead of slowly folding forward.
• Living the Body Rising Way
  Letting these principles run quietly in the background so your body can support everything else you care about.

APPENDICES

• The 5-Minute Morning Start
  A short sequence to start the day with space, breath, and clear direction.
• Desk & Laptop Survival Sheet
  Fast, repeatable moves that keep long desk sessions from grinding you down.
• Alexander in One Page
  A distilled summary of the key Alexander ideas behind this whole approach.
• Audiobook Exercise Index
  Timestamps and quick references so you can find every practice by ear.