I’m a baby-boomer.  When I went to Berkeley, there were no personal computers.  Now I see my sons spend hours in front of their computers.  They use a computer for their school work, their entertainment and their social lives -- studying, writing, watching videos, playing soduko, researching basketball scores, or checking out Facebook and YouTube.  At the same time they’re texting on their cellphones, thumbs flying over a two-inch keyboard.  They literally use their laptops in their laps. They take them to bed.   Like the millions whose lives now revolve around the use of computers, they are at risk for repetitive strain injuries.

We normally associate repetitive strain injuries with our activities at work.  The conventional approach to improving the way the body feels at work is to change the external equipment.  There are sloped keyboards, monitors that tilt, a mouse that fits the hand, a chair that supports the back and a headset that spares the neck from gripping a phone against one shoulder. While ergonomically designed objects can improve your working environment, learning the Alexander Technique will teach you to use your own body more efficiently throughout the ever-increasing hours we spend at our desks, at work as well as at home.

*For more information, see www.BEAT.cc