The Alexander Technique

Does horse riding make you ache? 

When you return to riding or begin riding when you are older, it can make you ache for a while in places you didn't know existed.  For me, it affects mostly my hands and feet - other people suffer with stiff backs and knees.  It can be worse if you start to suffer with arthritis as you get older.

So what is the Alexander Technique?
 Some people will tell you that Alexander is about good posture, but having good posture is just a side effect. It's really about recognising, reorganising and releasing tension in the body, and not doing the things to yourself that give you pain. It's about letting go of holding on to muscles too tightly.

 Before I started riding, I used to have lots of headaches - tension headaches. Someone suggested I had Alexander lessons as a way of helping headaches as it releases tension in the body. Well, my headaches are far fewer now as I've learnt to release the tension in my neck and shoulders, by just letting go of the holding on I was doing. And when my hands and feet started aching from riding, I tried the same thing - and on the whole, it works.

Learning the Alexander Technique has helped me in all sorts of ways with my riding. Because it teaches you to pay attention to what you are doing with your body, I know that when I start to get stressed on a horse, I hold my jaw so tightly it begins to ache, my shoulders come up, and I learn forward. Now, if I can stop doing these things, not only do I become less stressed and less achy, I also become a better rider. Being able to recognise and then release the tension in your muscles stops a lot of the pain.

To learn the Alexander Technique, you really need a teacher, as it's almost impossible to get a feel for it unless someone shows you how - a lot like learning to ride really. It's not a quick fix - it took me at least six months before I had any idea what my Alexander Teacher was trying to say to me - but if I had to choose between riding or Alexander lessons, I would choose Alexander every time. My lessons have gone on for over two years now, and from going initially every week, I now go about once a month. It's taught me to notice what I do to myself, where I hold on and cause myself pain, and how, if I notice how my horse moves, I can move with her and become a better rider.

Just because Alexander works for me, doesn't mean it will for you - we all have to find our own solutions rather than try to use someone elses. But I would imagine that other techniques that release tension such as yoga and pilates would also be good. The important thing is not to give up when you have a set back in achieving what you want to do, but see what other people have done and hunt around for a solution that suits you.

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