Primal Alexander Primer, Ep 10 CuriousThinking™
When first introducing students to PrimalAlexander™, the most important elements to emphasize are curiosity and openness. We must try to remove end-gaining from the process as much as possible, helping students find ease without turning the experience into a treasure hunt.
The mindset of searching for something “valuable” can actually prevent the work from succeeding. That’s why the specific wording of the phrase “where else do I seem to be easing a bit?” is so important, particularly for beginning students. Here’s the breakdown:
The phrase begins with “where” which, from the get go, positions the person to be curious. It creates a investigative stance: “I don’t know where this is—let me see.”
The word “else” serves a crucial function by preventing students from picking one comfortable place and then returning to it repeatedly. That pattern defeats the purpose of remaining present and noticing what’s changing in the body moment to moment.
Emphasizing the concept of relative ease is equally important. We’re not seeking a perfect place of relaxation, ease, or flow. We’re simply comparing sensations and noticing which areas feel relatively easier than others.
I always precede teaching CuriousThinking™ with an exercise called Ima where students simply notice a place of tension, then ask themselves whether any place in their body feels even slightly less tense than the particular spot they’re focusing on.
The word “seem” in the phrase “where else do I seem to be easing?” also carries significant weight. People naturally want certainty; they want to get it right. The word “seem” helps them trust their intuition even amid uncertainty. “I’m not sure, but I seem to be easing a bit over here”—this tentative quality is essential to the practice.
The choice of “easing” over “ease” reflects a deeper understanding of how the nervous system works. Ease is not a static thing, not a noun we can grasp and hold. Ease is a process, a flow, a verb. “Easing” captures the dynamic quality of our being in the process of getting easier, of experiencing flow rather than fixating on a particular state.
Finally, “a bit” matters tremendously. We’re not seeking lots of easing or total relaxation—just a tiny sensation somewhere in the body, a small shift that we’re not entirely certain about. Whenever somebody pursues certainty, they inevitably return to their habits. These carefully chosen words help beginners remain open, observant, and free from agenda. The goal isn’t improvement or finding the easiest place; it’s simply experimenting and noticing.
The key is to experiment extensively with yourself, exploring different ways of thinking about the practice. As people gain experience using their conscious mind in this way, the language can evolve. For example, the word “zero” can be used as a cue to think the phrase right before moving. However “zero” doesn’t work so well for brand-new students because their nervous system hasn’t learned how to initiate the process in activities.
As in classic conditioning, something remarkable happens after practicing for a while. As soon as you have the intention to notice ease in your body—having done it repeatedly over an extended period—your nervous system recognizes the pattern.
As soon as you think the first two words; “where else,” your nervous system knows the rest of the sentence: “do I seem to be easing a bit?” It acts on this knowledge automatically. This is precisely the process we’re trying to cultivate in students: learning to practice more efficiently, accurately, and openly over time.
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