Alexander on the Rocks (and Lakes)

Last week, I spent 6 days canoeing, hiking and camping at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. I went with Tyler and Soren Olsen and Tyler's friend, Jason. We traveled approximately 30 miles in those 6 days.

When I was in the wilderness, my well-being depended on good self-use. If I wanted to avoid lingering aches and pains, I had to become more aware. Adding a huge metal object helped. Here are two brief examples:

Example #1:

I've never canoed before. (I take that back - I think I paddled around a lake once when I was 14.) Well, I've never canoed with purpose for long periods of time before. It became painful very quickly, so from my Tai Chi and Alexander training, it was glaringly obvious to me that I wasn't using myself well at all. Tyler gave me some pointers on efficient ways to paddle. It didn't make any sense to me at first. But the more I paddled, the more pain I was in, and the more I had to adapt my use.

Eventually, I came to a shift in my thinking: I realized that when I thought about grounding the paddle in the water and moving the canoe forward, rather than simply moving the paddle in the water, I found myself paddling from my core, rather than just my arms. By the 6th day, my stamina sky-rocketed and consequently, my canoe moved much faster than the other canoe in our group.

Example #2:

There's a lot to learn from carrying a canoe on your shoulders for a mile and a half (with breaks.) I learned quickly that I have a solid sense of balance. I also learned how important it is to be aware of every step on a narrow, rocky path with a canoe overhead because that balance is easily lost.

****

And now a tangential rant:

We're turning into robots. All of us. With cell phones and GPS and Ipads and Ipods and every other doo dad and gadget we can get our hands on, we're becoming dependent on our technological/mechanical parts. So we HAVE to get away. We have to remind ourselves of where we come from and that we're just fine without all of it. We can get around okay. Our instincts are strong enough. If we keep adapting to a technological world, we'll become completely desensitized and lose our connection to our ground, our foundation, our earth. And for the actor, if we lose that connection, we lose our life force. We might as well be dead.

****

If anyone's interested in going to the Boundary Waters, feel free to talk to me. I'd be happy to show you pictures from my trip and tell you all about it. I HIGHLY recommend going. And Tyler's guided trips are SUPER cheap, so there's no excuse!