WEEKEND COLUMNISTS One of the best things I’ve found to do recently has been to lie on the floor in my study with four Chicago paperback translations of Greek tragedies under my head. The virtue of this exercise has had nothing whatever to do either with Chicago or with Greek tragedy (no references to hubris and nemesis in this column). It is a practice recommended by F Matthias Alexander, the Australian actor and reciter who originated the Alexander Technique.
Lying on the floor in this way does something subtle but powerful to the alignment of your head, neck and back. You can actually feel your vertebrae slowly shifting and settling and, after a while, a pleasurable sense of relaxation and mental calm sets in. If you’re feeling particularly energetic, you can stretch out your right leg and extend your left arm, and then repeat the process with your left leg and right arm. But I wouldn’t want you overdoing it.
