Posts Tagged ‘Robert Rickover;’
IT and Us – The Segway and Human Balance
September 2nd, 2006 | 
Author: Late in 2001, a great deal of media attention was focused on Ginger, a.k.a. “IT” – a secret invention that the brilliant and eccentric inventor Dean Kamen had been working on for over a decade. Some reports said it would be an even bigger deal than the PC!
What finally emerged in early December was the Segway, a self-balancing “human transporter”. It uses a combination of gyroscopes, tilt sensors and high performance motors – and vast amounts of computing power – to produce a scooter-like device that lets you travel over virtually any kind of terrain without toppling over.
Asthma – A Breath of Fresh Air
Research at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center casts serious doubts about the prevailing medical view of the cause of asthma and suggests an entirely new way of thinking about a disease that affects a growing number of people today, particularly children.
Until now, doctors assumed that asthmatics were hypersensitive to irritants like dust, pollen or pollutants. This hypersensitivity was thought to cause the airways in the lungs to contract, blocking the flow of air and leaving the patients gasping for breath. This lung airway constriction process was assumed to be absent in nonasthamatics.
Tags: Alexander Technique;, Alkis Tongias;, allergy;, asthma;, Canada;, F. Matthias Alexander;, hypersensitivity;, Infectious Diseases;, Johns Hopkins Medical Center;, Lincoln;, Marshall Plaut;, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases;, Nebraska;, New York Times;, Robert Rickover;, The New York Times;, Toronto;, Warren Leary; | 
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Mind-Body Unity – A Practical Approach
“No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.” -
Albert Einstein
“No one would deny that we ourselves enter as an agency into whatever is attempted and done by us. This is a truism. But the hardest thing to attend to is that which is closest to ourselves, that which is most constant and familiar. And this closest ‘something’ is, precisely, ourselves, our own habits and ways of doing things…
The Alexander Technique and the Pilates Method Today
Anyone familiar with the original writings of Joseph Pilates and F. Matthias Alexander will be struck by the parallels between their analyses of why the physical functioning of most adults has become compromised. Both men began their investigations as a result of serious personal challenges. Both men were in part inspired by their keen observations of the way animals moved. Both placed a tremendous emphasis on movement quality and both were aware of the close link between mind and body. Both developed specific systems designed to help others improve their physical functioning. Both men lived into their mid-eighties and were actively teaching their methods until shortly before their deaths.
Nirvana in Your Neck
I was chatting with some friends over dinner, attempting to explain the basic principles of the Alexander Technique. I spoke a little about the importance Alexander teachers attach to having a free neck so that the head can easily balance on top of the spine. If a person’s neck is tense, it tends to upset that head balance, causing harmful repercussions throughout the entire body. Releasing that tension is basic to releasing those harmful effects.
