A lot of firsts

This is the first fall that hasn't seen me going back to school.

Last week was my first experience as a teacher.

This week I had my first visit with a Chiropractor.

I've always vaguely felt that chiropractors were hookum, feel-good hippie doctors, and I'm not convinced that I am wrong. I mean, yeah, it involved x-rays and impressive looking diagrams, but it also involved some guy cracking my back and spending ten minutes on a water bed that shoots bubbles at my back. Apparently, my spine is out of alignment and my neck is very confused about how to hold itself. I am told that cracking my back and water bedding will be an effective remedy. Despite my skepticism, I did notice that afterwards that my neck felt the same way it does after Alexander Technique, so I am more or less convinced it will be helpful.

For those of you unfamiliar with AT, it is a technique that was developed by an actor around the turn of the century when he discovered that the way he walked, sat, and generally held his body effected his voice. Through further study, Alexander Technique has become like a special kind of yoga for singers, because it is so effective in  bringing about good posture, which in turns promotes good breathing, which leads rather directly to healthy vocal production.

I realize that, to most of you, AT will sound a lot more like "hippie medicine" than a chiropractor. I recognize the inconsistency of my prejudices and defend myself with the ever so mature "You're not the boss of me! It's a free country!"

I also begrudgingly admit that if I had gone to a regular ole doctor, he/she probably would have just referred me to a chiropractor to clear up my back pain. I guess I wouldn't still be struggling against my prejudice if  I hadn't seen a sign in the office that says that medicine doesn't cure people, it just covers up the symptoms. I guess these guys were still living under their hippie rocks when antibiotics and vaccinations happened.