What can I stop doing?

Until some time ago, I used to fill my life with activities and endless to-do lists: the days would vanish before I could cross off the last item. And yet the feeling of being in debt to myself was still there. On top of that, carrying photo gear all day while dealing with my scoliosis meant I lived with back pain.

After spending decades trying — unsuccessfully — to control every aspect of my life, I decided to change my approach. I adopted an idea that was eccentric for me: I stopped asking myself “what more can I do?” and started asking “what can I stop doing?”

The question appeared in my Alexander Technique classes, where I had gone to deal with that little back “issue”. The teacher introduced me to the idea of non-doing. As I moved my arm or my leg slowly, she invited me to release tensions I hadn’t known existed until then. I was amazed that thought alone could trigger such a deep release, as if my brain flipped a switch that let me loosen my grip.

The first classes exhausted me. Although I perceived them as centred on my body, I experienced them as mental gymnastics. And surrendering to that confusion, I began to understand the unity of mind and body.

If you watched a class from the outside, it would look like the teacher simply has the student sit down and stand up from a chair many times — but what is really happening reveals itself little by little, in layers. That is how teacher and student become explorers of habits.

Watch a video of a little piece of a class at the end of this post.

Mr. Alexander, the creator of the technique, discovered that the root of many of our problems lies not in external factors but in how we use ourselves. As he put it, the crux is not the excess of stimuli in modern life, but our response to them. He speaks of the misuse of oneself, which could be described in several ways — one of them is that extra effort we tend to add to whatever we do, especially when we chase goals without considering how we reach them.

For me, the essence of the Alexander Technique is discovering unconscious habits and transforming them into conscious actions. By observing how I do what I do, I can choose with greater freedom. As the classes went on, it became visible how my habits governed my life; it turned out that sometimes I could choose and change things I had until then perceived as fixed and immovable.

Experiment:

Right now, as you read this text, there may be something you can stop doing: notice whether there is tension in your eyes. Can you soften your gaze? Do you notice any difference when you imagine smiling with your eyes? What if you tried to see your periphery as well as what’s in front of you? Is your torso leaning towards the screen, or are you upright? Are you aware of the sounds around you?

When reading, comprehension deepens when unnecessary effort is removed and a more receptive, calm attitude is adopted.

Changing ingrained habits isn’t easy, but the first step is recognising they exist. I cannot change what I don’t yet know I’m doing.

The question — what can I stop doing? — became a mantra, seeping into every area of my life.

Through the classes I understood that letting go is neither collapsing nor relaxing; it is simply doing less. Letting go of what is surplus.

Would you like to receive essays like this in your inbox (in Spanish)? Subscribe!