| First published in STATNews vol. 5, no. 5, September 1999. |
The book concerns itself mainly with the foundation level of equitation: rider’s seat position and posture at walk, trot, canter and jumping. Relaxation, postural correction and enhanced awareness are the means and the goals of the work. As such it is a useful book and I have no doubt that many riders would benefit from the advice it contains which is based on Bentley’s riding experience, her familiarity with various systems such as Yoga and, of course, on her knowledge of the Alexander Technique.
All would be well if Bentley had been content to leave it at that, but she takes it a step further and presents the book as an introduction to the Alexander Technique. If that is her aim then in my opinion she has not achieve it. Throughout the book there is a lot of praise for the Technique and the reader is often prompted to take it up; there is also a detailed biography of Alexander. What is missing here is a reasonably detailed description of the Technique, its concepts and how it is taught in practice.
Some examples: The author mentions briefly (page 14) the primary control but because she does not relate it to inhibition and direction she finds it hard to explain and is content with a drawing of the head and neck which, in effect, turns it into a question of correcting ones head carriage. At the same time she quotes from Dilys Carrington who seems to have managed it rather well.
Four chapters later (page 43), after many unrelated topics, we come across “Stopping” which is presumably another word for inhibition. I say, “presumably” because I am not sure. All she has to say about it is that it is to do with noticing where one feels tight and with choosing to let go of the tightness. There is no mention of direction let alone an explanation, and as regards breathing, she recommends a Yogic practice which she calls the “Darth Vader breath”. This is possibly very effective (I have not experienced it myself) but I would have thought the whispered ‘ah’ would have been more appropriate.
The book raises a very big question which concerns all Alexander Technique teachers. What does it mean to teach an application with the aid of the Technique? This question applies to any subject, e.g. cycling, running, music, etc. and not only to horse-riding. In my opinion, unless the pupil has had sufficient grounding in the Technique to have acquired an understanding of inhibition and direction then he/she is not equipped to benefit from the Technique as an aid in application. All they can hope to receive is superficial help through manipulation and exercises which may well be derived from the Technique but are, at the end of the day, only a poor substitute for the real thing.
Bentley, is very hot on people who claim to be teaching horse-riding with the Alexander Technique without being qualified to do so. But at the same time she invites others to enrol on her Riding Without Stress practitioners training course, which is a combination of the Alexander Technique and the classical school (i.e. not a straight Alexander teacher training course). How then will her trained practitioners differ from all the others whom she condemns?
© Gloria Pullan. Reproduced with permission.
|
This edition © Mouritz 2005. All rights reserved. |
