How Zoom Can Benefit Your Posture

With increased remote work and remote learning these days, many of us are spending more time in front of the computer and online classes have suddenly become the norm.

I keep hearing people saying that they're all Zoomed out.  "Love to chat, but I've been Zooming all day." 

Like Googling, Zoom has invaded languages and is popping up as various parts of speech.  

And what does it mean to have had enough "Zoom"?...Enough time glued to the screen.  Straining to hear.  Speaking lounder than you need to.  Tuning out the rest of your environment as you focus on someone else's...maybe with a fair amount of neck, back, and shoulder pain and eye strain.

Though I would like to be able to Zoom away from Zoom sometimes, I'm finding distict benefits to running my own lessons and classes in this format...namely that I get to work with people in their own environments.

What is the #1 challenge that my clients have faced over my 13 years of teaching the Alexander Technique?  

Remembering to use what they've learned outside of lessons whe they get home or back to work and suddenly find themselves distracted by their routine.

I provide may resources for helping my clients and they do make progress in leaps and bounds, but I've always had the sense that people wanted more support...to be fast tracked into bringing their improved posture into their office, kitchen, living room...

What I'm learning through the amount of online teaching I'm doing now is how valuable this tool is to transfering what's learned in the studio into everyday life.  And once I am able to see people in person, I will continue to offer online classes and I will encourage folks I see in person to connect with me over Zoom for at least one session to help them apply what they are learning in real time in their actual space, which can give people more confidence to do it themselves.

Though there are many disadvantages to the current situation, one advantage that I've discovered is the unique value of online learning, which was certainly less apparent to me up unitl a few months ago.  My training to become an Alexader Technqiue teacher involved three years learning to teach with hands-on guidance, which is hugely valuable.  And so is Zooming!

Another advantage of taking a class on posture, body awareness, and movement over Zoom is that you learn how to Zoom better in real time with the help of a teacher.  By "Zoom better" I mean Zoom with less eye, neck, back, and shoulder strain, with better breathing, and feeling more relaxed and present.