By Jean McClelland

In 1937, the choreographer Martha Graham was in despair over the Spanish Civil War and the rise of fascism in the world. She wrote to the American composer Henry Cowell, “Whether the desperation lies in Spain, or in a memory in our own hearts, it is the same.” She had channeled her despair into a new work that she called “Immediate Tragedy,” of which she wrote, “I was dedicating myself anew to space, that in spite of violation I was upright and that I was going to stay upright at all costs.”

Right now, many of us are feeling despair, and we are finding it ever more difficult to “stay upright.” Hours spent sitting on Zoom, and what seems often to be the absence of hope, conspire against us to pull us down.

However, there is something we can do to help ourselves. 

The first step is to recognize when we are physically (and perhaps mentally) “down” and to acknowledge that we have tools to change that dynamic. It is helpful to remember that the human body was built with gravity in mind. We have antigravity reflexes and muscles that actually use gravity to go up and away from it. Often, though, it can feel like a tug of war. Our natural inclination is to give in to gravity and sink. That’s why we are shorter in the evening than we are in the morning. Sadly, this collapse in the body may lead to fatigue, lack of vitality, joint pain and difficulty breathing.

It’s not hard to learn how to be “up”; it just takes a certain awareness. One way that singers, actors and Alexander Technique students have learned to be “up” is to sense the earth rising under their feet to literally “uphold” them. 

Try it yourself: Imagine that the earth is like an elevator moving up under your feet. When you’re sitting, let the chair uphold you rather than sinking down into it. When you’re walking, let yourself be walked by the earth. It should feel like you’re on a moving sidewalk in the airport—something moving you rather than you moving yourself. It’s a great, gliding feeling, almost like you’re walking backward while you’re moving forward. In time you will feel flow and movement throughout all your muscles, like a massage. Your vitality will increase, and your mood—and body—will become lighter.

The great psychological benefit of learning how to stimulate “up” is that it helps us become totally present, and we leave behind the worries and doubts that pull us down. We feel alive, buoyant and free. Colors are more vivid, and we become more aware of our surroundings. We are learning how to “stay upright at all costs.”

Jean McClelland is on the faculty of the Columbia University School of the Arts and the New York Open Center, through which she teaches Awakening Your True Voice. For more information and videos, visit