It’s been freezing lately in NYC. I hear that this February is one of the coldest Februaries on record. It makes the top ten most awful list. I feel that we New Yorkers have been recently lucky in our winters…well that is…up until last winter and now. Eh. We had gotten a little spoiled. But real NYC winter stuff is back with a vengeance.
Here is what my frozen and barren little fire escape garden looked like recently:
In the cold, I used to scurry around with my shoulders hunched and rounded over, to try to protect myself from the cold. My faulty habit. Somehow I thought that if I made myself smaller in this way I would stay warmer. Not so. Here I am, smack in the middle of my Alexander Technique teacher training, and said training has straightened me out, both literally and figuratively, in this regard. Now when I walk in the frigidness, I do not round my shoulders in. I find that if I widen my back and my shoulders, and lengthen my spine, I’m not any colder than when I’m hunching in. And, I feel a whole lot better to boot. I’m walking with more elasticity, with less pulling down of course, with more fluidity, with more up. This is all revolutionary for me.
I brought this stuff up in training, and Tom my trainer said that when we hunch in, we try to stop ourselves from feeling…either the cold…or whatever…hmmm…this statement sure is thought provoking!
You know, widening like this across the shoulders was almost scary for me, as I felt vulnerable not “protecting” my chest et al. Now, not so scary. Now this new and better habit is feeling normal-ish while my old faulty, habitual habits are feeling uncomfortable, even in the extreme cold. Too uncomfortable to do anymore. And remember, moi, je suis frileuse…me, I’m susceptible to the cold. So, I just rely on bundling up. Wearing layers: warm undershirt, thermal long shirt, long wool sweater, down vest with hood, long (hey but pretty) underwear under my jeans, wool socks, toasty boots, long down coat with hood, wool hat under the two hoods, wool gloves, wool long scarf wrapped around me. If you see this bundle of clothes, in other words, me, walking down the street, you might not be able to see it, but rest assured…I am not hunching in…well…to the best of my ability at this moment! 🙂
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