About Posture Release Imagery
John Appleton
I was born in 1945 and grew up in Denver, Colorado, graduating from Colorado State University in 1967. Since the years following this graduation, I have been on a quest for greater understanding of mind/body unity. Along the trail were experiences in and study of Reichian therapy, encounter group therapy, Rolfing, Tai Chi, and the Alexander Technique. I was certified as a teacher of the Alexander Technique in 1986 following a three-year training course with Joan and Alex Murray. In addition, years spent as a carpenter were valuable in providing me numerous opportunities to experience the physics of use and the exhilaration in the physical.
Finally, what should not be left out for this short bio is the added stimulus I had (to explore the mind/body connection wherever it led) from severe lower back pain. This happened a year or more before beginning training in the Alexander Technique. Pain can be a wonderful motivator.
History & Discovery
Years ago (1992), I was giving a lesson in the Alexander Technique to a young theater student. I was working with him seated in a chair and having difficulty getting him to “lighten up.” When my verbal suggestions and light (but still novice) hands-on cues failed to produce change, I happened to suggest that he imagine that he is a cheetah looking over a savanna for prey. This mental image had been a suggestion that I, off-handedly, had heard from my A.T. teacher when she was having trouble getting me “up” (Alexander Technique language). I never heard the suggestion again from her nor any other A.T. teacher. However, it obviously worked for my student in a way that my earlier approaches had not. He “shot up” in stature (without leaving the chair).
This event of providing a student with “colorful” direction marked the beginning of years of experimentation with imagery. It resulted in numerous new levels of excitement and understanding for me, along with more pain relief and freedom within myself.
The development of the imagery became useful for new students, most of whom were unfamiliar with the Alexander Technique. And musing on my own drawings of simplified evolution brought about my first new principles. They related to the appropriate relationship between the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body.
Where the dorsal and ventral surfaces on the body are actually located is currently (June, 2025) not accurately displayed on the internet. I hope that some of my illustrations, which show how we evolved from our animal “forefathers”, are someday available there. It is an evolutionary model of human development that shows how we became “secondarily” upright. (All animals are upright in a very meaningful sense).
I hope that one day, my model is accepted and available to people who google: “illustrations of dorsal and ventral surfaces on humans.” Having many people see PRI’s images and explanations could be of considerable value in assisting people toward a healthier understanding of ourselves and how we evolved to where we are.
