Are you you are feeling Zoom-fried? Does your work set up feel more and more uncomfortable the longer you work at home?Even the most sophisticated embodiment teachers are reporting Zoom exhaustion, and they have worked years on their skills, so don’t feel bad. There is hope! I’ve been teaching embodiment online for 5 years and leading webinars for online educators since the COVID pandemic began. I want to share with you a few simple tips that will help you reconnect with the wonder and joy of your body, which is an endless resource.
Learning to use it, however, requires a shift in attitude and a willingness to change behavior.
George Russell, an expert chiropractor, said to me in response to one of my newsletters about joy being more important than expertise: “I’m not interesting in finding a “teacher.” I’m not interested in mastering a system. I’m living in a world of wonders, and I want to walk around some.” It’s this state of wonder that we are missing as our movement life has narrowed during COVID. It’s up to us to re-claim it. If you are determined to do so, please read on.
Here are some of the things people say during and after my webinars:
“It’s strange to feel better after a Zoom meeting instead of worse!”
“I think some of my exhaustion has been because I’m learning so much about myself and this new medium, not because there is anything wrong.”
“I want to be able to help my students stay in their bodies when they’re in my classes online – I don’t want them to have to learn a whole new embodiment form like Yoga or something. Now I feel like I have a few tools that I can use to help them right away.”
Alexander Technique has always offered powerful tools for adapting, changing, and letting go of habits that no longer serve us. Letting go of what is familiar (like connecting with humans in person!), however, also brings grief. Yes, there is joy at discovering new ways of connecting to our own bodies, finding out what is really important to us during times of stress. But also grief. Both are present in my webinars, and both are present these days as I absolutely thrive in my online classes and private coaching.
Thriving and grieving are good friends. Nothing to be afraid of.
Connecting through our computers is possible, but it is different. It fools us into forgetting the ground we are standing on and the parts of our bodies that cannot be seen on screen. Much of the stress, visual burnout, and exhaustion we experience comes from our vulnerability to these stimuli, fueled by our beautiful desire to connect with one other.
Our unconscious responses to the computer itself, which distorts perception in many ways, are often the cause of disconnection, frustration, and feelings of isolation. If you accept this, you can give yourself some time and space to deal with it.
Here are some simple resource you can tap into for relief right away:
– 360 DEGREE HORIZON:
seeing the horizon line/ground in your own space as your main focus or as the background to the image of the computer. This lets your body know where the ground you are standing on is, where “up” is.
– YOU ARE ALLOWED TO MOVE:
Move your body gently – it won’t distract people. Movement brings sensation, and helps you remember that your body has volume and exists in three dimensional space outside the screen.
– LET YOUR ATTENTION WANDER AWAY FROM THE SCREEN:
Allow time and space for the world that contains your computer, even if it means you miss a movement on screen. You can look out the window and still hear what people are saying – your body is amazing!
– GET COMFORTABLE WITH BREATHING THROUGH A PAUSE: Allow time between speaking, listening, and being heard. There is a time lag inherent on Zoom that confuses us. We tend to jump in and squish it. What if that time could be used to remember your body and the space it has around it?
Stepping away from our screen a little bit goes against instinct because we have been taught to sit still and pay attention. Participants in my webinars have found that instead it makes us feel more rather than less connected. Some people find that if they let their visual and physical attention wander while in meetings, they hear everything and are actually more able to stay connected and retain content of the meeting or class.
Our body is our real home. Remembering that the camera is seeing us, in our room, in our whole body, takes an effort of awareness – it’s new. It takes time to be able to practice these simple things in each others presence. The payoff is huge, however. If we ignore our body, we suffer greatly. If we include it, we are so much more able to get energized and truly connected.
If you’d like to get some individual coaching on this please reach out using the link below. You don’t need to be an Alexander Technique master to try these things. They are simple things I can share with you right away, and you will be able to share them with friends and clients too! It’s a great value:
PERSONAL THRIVE ON ZOOM/WORKSTATION CONSULT:
A 45 minute assessment of your relationship to your computer and Zoom, normally a $100 value, now for $75. Satisfaction Guaranteed 🙂 Go here to book your session!