Candia Raquel Garibay Camarena Founder of Centro De Poder Sensualist, Scientist, Artist and Clare Maxwell, Embodied Learning Systems Founder, Dancer and Alexander Technique Teacher in the Cover of The Sensual Sessions Episode 57 Pleasure In Movement By Giving Up Control

#57 Pleasure In Movement By Giving Up Control — Clare Maxwell

How giving up control unleashes pleasure in movement

Being a control freak is a priced virtue in the culture of achievement. Running by the book, keeping track of everything and climbing the ladder of success requires tremendous self-control.

But control can be disastrous for pleasure. Imagine counting each chew of your favorite meal while looking at your watch aiming of the perfect chewing length. What could be the magic of savoring delight turns into a boring set process.

When control is relinquished, flesh takes over. Then you open to the pleasure movement itself brings.

Curious how to control less and delight in pleasure more?

Learn about finding pleasure in movement by giving up control here at The Sensual Sessions episode #57 with Embodied Learning Systems, Founder. Dancer and Alexander Technique Teacher, Clare Maxwell.

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About Clare Maxwell

Sitting still and being quiet was never my forte! I was born with joyful connection to my body and a natural trust in my physical intelligence. I loved dancing just for fun. I was aware of my body and loved my body.

That connection was broken by overtraining when I became a professional dancer. I worked so hard at it that I started to dissociate from my body just to get through the pain.

My standards for myself during my dance career were extremely high. I was forced by multiple injuries and emotional pain to re-examine those standards and see that they were destroying my career, not sustaining it.

The Alexander Technique, which I encountered by accident in a dance class, showed me how to let go of self-destructive attitudes and replace them with positive movement practices that were more in harmony with the actual design of my unique body, mind, and spirit.

The Technique calmly centered me in my own perceptions. I could stay present in myself without dissociating even under stress. I recovered my ability to dance easily and expansively—to fly!—with just the right amount of tension. I found my real voice as an artist and stopped trying to be like other dancers.

The Technique restored my trust in and love of my own body. I healed multiple injuries while still staying active professionally and was astonished at the growth in my technical skill and range. All this was possible without toxic overthinking and unnecessary muscular effort of the past.

The Alexander Technique became the foundation on which I built an joyful and sustainable career as an independent dance artist and embodiment educator.

I worked with choreographers John Jasperse, Ann Carlson, and many others. Surprise surprise, I became one myself! I toured the US and Europe and had a blast. Eventually my dream to train as a teacher of the Alexander Technique came true, and I settled down in NYC. After two decades of teaching, however, I became frustrated with the lack of life-affirming motion in traditional Alexander Technique teaching and practice.

I wanted to help my students and fellow teachers apply the AT principles more freely to all movement. To that end, I trained extensively with a group of AT teachers that use developmental movement as a framework for learning, inspired by Professor Raymond Dart and the Dart Procedures. This led me to a deep inquiry into the central nervous system and the segmental structure of the human body.

I created Mobile Body Alignment™ four years before the pandemic as a way of communicating what I had learned. Now it is taught worldwide by a growing group of teachers because it can be used easily in activity and online. MBA helps all kinds of teachers use movement freely and fearlessly in their class room, whether they teach art, music, theater, dance, or the Alexander Technique itself.

I also mentor embodiment professionals in their creative & business development. I believe that it is our responsibility to communicate the value of embodiment in the marketplace and create profitable businesses. This is the only way to really change a profoundly disembodied culture.

I continue to work on live theater productions as a movement coach. Over the years I've worked with Sarah Cameron Sunde, Marielle Heller, and most recently on the brilliant play What to Send Up When It Goes Down by Aleshea Harris.

Learn more about Clare Maxwell´s work at:

https://embodiedlearningsystems.com/clare-maxwell/

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLis_Kr0eYqwBVb7v0394D2V_0KDMhRqgV

https://www.instagram.com/claremaxwelldotcom