LEARN TO JUGGLE:
APPLYING PRINCIPLES OF ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

This is the in-depth version of learning to juggle. It's for those of you who have tried to learn to juggle, having been taught the "traditional way," that wasn't successful.

Step One: Get Some Balls
If you would like to try out learning to juggle using principles of Alexander's Technique first-hand, get out the bean bag balls, or three other objects. (Oranges work well, as long as you eat them after you practice.) These instructions are written to give even discombobulated throwers every tip I have ever used to teach over 3000 people to juggle. If you already know how to juggle, try out these instructions by teaching someone else who doesn't have a natural ability for throwing and see how well they work.

How long will This Take?
Your success is directly related to your sense of rhythm, the way you originally learned to throw that you may have to unlearn, and how many functions you can notice and do at the same time. It also has to do with how weird you will allow yourself to feel. Someone can learn to juggle in as little as fifteen minutes if they can already toss a ball easily. Most people take a half hour to an hour. Some people take longer because they have to unlearn the way they were taught to throw as children.

You'll learn faster if you always stop just after you have succeeded at something, even if for a minute or two before you continue.

The first thing to note is that this juggle we are learning goes in a figure eight pattern, rather than around in a circle. This figure eight pattern is easiest to learn, because both hands are throwing the same manner, mirrored. Balls are tossed with an inward circular motion, and caught on the outside.

The Easy Parts
Read and experiment around with one question at a time, then go on to the next. First, use only one ball. (I'll call them balls, even though they may be oranges or bean bags or whatever!) Throw one ball from your dominant hand to your less dominant hand, about the height of your eyes. Describe how you did it.

(Don't worry about it too much if any of these parts are too easy. Just do them at least once and skip on to the next.)

Can you throw with the opposite hand into your dominant hand the same way?

Can you direct your throw in an arc about the height of your eyes from either hand?

How easy is it to make an evenly shaped arc throw with your dominant hand as compared with your less dominant hand? If they don't match, where and when is the best time to alter how you throw?

Throw back and forth from your dominant hand to your less familiar hand a few times. Make your throw the same, regular height, from each hand. If you don't have any trouble doing this, skip to where you can add the second ball, but you might like to read on to have a compassionate understanding of how tricky juggling is for most people.

The Arc Secret
Did someone ever admonish you to "keep your eyes on the ball"? Well, that won't work when you have three balls to keep your two eyes on! Do you really need to look at the hand that is catching the object, or can you just look straight ahead over the top of the arc and the ball sails by, and let your hand figure out where it needs to go on its own? (This phenomena is one of the reasons that juggling looks so magical, but it's a natural hand-eye skill that many people don't imagine they have.)

If the Balls are Flying Away Forward
Next important part: What does your hand do as it releases the throw?

Let's describe what you want to happen: As the bag leaves your hand, it rolls off your fingers last. Relaxed, your fingers curl into your palm by themselves. Use a limp wrist to throw and absorb the motion of the catch and the ball comes toward you with no other correction. Find out how relaxed your fingers and wrist can be and still make the throw. In particular, explore if you can allow your wrists to come down an "stall" motion when the ball lands in your hand. Use the floppy wrist with the ball in it to toss the ball.

Take a moment to pay attention to how your arms move. Can you move your arms (without pushing or stretching your muscles to do it) in every way that you can imagine that arms might move when they throw? Your elbows can move forward as well as inward (as in when you raise your hand,) or backwards, (as in putting your hands behind your back or elbowing someone behind you.) You have elbows and wrists and arm sockets to use for throwing, make sure that they are all moving to help you.

Easy Does It, Less Effort is More Effective
Toss the balls again. Did experimenting with your arms improve anything? Now find how tiny of a movement it takes to make a throw, with each hand.

As a general rule in correcting yourself, use less effort rather than more, timed as you begin to do what you want to change. Wonder how to reduce the extra effort that may be working against you.

If you are forgetting to move some part along with your throwing, you may feel stiff or awkward in the spot below it. You may be able to do the same throw much easier by changing a subtle mannerism like tensing your shoulders unnecessarily, or fidgeting. Take Away What's Unnecessary

Speaking of fidgeting, some people think it necessary to do an extra little "thing" before the throw, such as squeezing the balls before throwing them. Rule of thumb again is; if it helps you, go ahead and do it, if you aren't sure if it helps or not, stop doing it. Whatever you do as you learn something you'll end up repeating from now on. (Now you know how superstitions in baseball get started.)

Rhythm and Counting
We're still throwing one ball. Now we'll play with rhythm.
Can you say ONE out loud as the throw leaves each hand?
Are you really doing what you want to do?

Say it right as your ball leaves your fingers.

Can you say TWO out loud as the bag rounds the top of the arc?
What happens to the easiness of your throwing when you start to add this new task? Backtrack and do what is easy, then try the new thing again. You can use backtracking to help any one of these steps.

Now you can say ONE when the bag leaves your hand as you throw it, and TWO when it goes over the apex of its arc easily. Let's add the second ball.

Two Balls, Staggered Timing
With a ball in each hand, (no counting this time) you are about to throw them both up at the same height, so that they exchange places.
This time, throw them at the same time.
Did they hit each other? Good, that means that you were directing them on a consistent rainbow path. Jugglers call that Kissing. Now you're going to toss them at the same staggered timing as you were counting before - the balls occupy the same space, but at staggered timing.

For instance, you would say ONE when the first bag leaves your hand. At the moment the first bag rounds the top of the arc, the other bag leaves your other hand when you say TWO. At the TWO the other ball leaves your other hand.

Now play until you can easily catch each of the two balls. You want to pay attention to improving the way you throw, then the bags will be easy to catch. Remember the wrist trick, the arc trick and to count.
(You can practice dramatic saves later.) Maybe you could stand over a bed for learning with other objects that roll away from you. Less chasing them and you could wait until breakfast to eat the oranges.

It may help to pause slightly after each attempt and tell yourself exactly what you are about to do. The words you use will help your success, so be as descriptive as you can. This is another learning tool you can use later, even when you are doing more complex tricks.

One, Two THREE! When you can easily do two throws while counting and catch them most of the time, the next step is to merely say THREE.
...At the right time. Say it at the time when the second throw rounds the top of the arc, even though you don't have another ball in your hands just yet.

Then go get another ball. Starting with Two in One Hand
Starting off three balls is a little different than juggling them, because you have to toss one while holding the other, tossing it later.

Feel what is it like to hold two balls in one hand.
Are the bags small enough to hold one in your palm between your thumb and little finger, and another in your three other fingers?
What is it like to throw up the ball that is in your fingers, and let the other ball in your palm roll down so it can also be thrown from your fingertips?
Go on to the next step when you can roll and throw two bags from the same hand in succession, with rhythmic timing. Once you can do it easily, try teaching your other hand.

Three in Your Hands, Finally
The big moment we have all been waiting for.... Now you are ready to have three balls in your hands at the same time. OK, see if you can throw them all up at once and have them go the same height! The next thing to keep in mind that the first throw starts from the hand holding two bags.

You don't have to count to yourself, but counting out loud helps with timing. Tossing a little higher may give yourself more time. Count to yourself out loud, first without throwing.
Pretend you are throwing imaginary balls. Then really throw up the real ones. No eating yet.

The timing of all the counting and throwing are when the balls are thrown, hopefully just before it rounds the top of the arc, just after the second throw leaves your hand.

Just like Throwing Two, but get the Third Ball in the Air
On your first attempt at three throws, just see if you can let the third bag leave your hand at the time you want. Yes, intentionally get it out of your hand anyplace in the air and refuse to try catching it. Later when you are better at directing that third toss, it will come right into your other hand.
You may direct the path of the throw only after you are a pro at tossing and watching the ball drop. Time your tosses when you would regularly say, "Three," as in, "One, Two THREE!" You're still counting, aren't you?

Most people get a little wild at this point, it's so exciting. If some of your throws are getting too wild in a repeating pattern, here's what to do:
Sometimes one of the tosses are too weak. The first is OK, the second is OK, but the third just stays in your hand. You might say, "One, two, THREE" in that case. If your second throw is too high and wild so it's difficult to catch, you might say, "ONE, two, THREE" If your second throw needs to be higher, you'd say "one TWO three." You get the idea. The other trick is to make the first throw with the hand that wants to go a little wild.

Make Throwing Easy, Catching Will Take Care of Itself
The idea is to work on throwing easier, rather than being a stupendous catcher. After you are comfortable with counting to three throws, meaning you like the way you don't have to reach all over creation to catch them.

...Then the next step is saying FOUR at the apex of the third throw.

This may be the time to reflect what experienced jugglers know; if you ain't dropping 'em, you ain't learning. Surrendering ever really being able to do this sometimes helps being able to do it, if you can appreciate that paradox. Practice until you can throw three times and catch three times at least once.

Four is a Little Like Three
Sometimes, if you can throw three counts easily, you may get a chance to say four out loud. Just say it, and get the fourth ball (that happens to be in your hand because you caught the second throw) somewhere up in the air. Does this sound familiar?

After you are satisfied with the timing of dropping the ball on the fourth count, then think of directing the fourth throw so that it is easy to catch, somewhere, up there, where it might be...drop into your hand.

Incubate a Two Minute Break
When you get an improvement, take a break, and take advantage of "incubation learning." This works by stopping for a couple of minutes after a success. Somehow it makes the positive, new thing you just did sink in, supposedly lessening the stress of learning when you start back in.
To start again, think of what you did right before it happened the way you wanted, what you wondered, what you looked at, how the balls felt... and see if something interesting might happen again.

Don't Give Up Just Yet!
If you aren't already juggling by now, you can guess the next step in the lesson is just like the steps for THREE and FOUR. Only the numbers you say get larger.
(FIVE, and SIX, in case you are crazed by now!)

By the way, you were already juggling when you had one bag in the air, and two in your hand. So, Congratulations!
You're doing it! Real jugglers learn another new variation every day!

To go on to the page where you can learn Alexander Technique in a REAL juggling lesson...

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