People, Places and Things – Living Between Here and There
Updated: Sep 25, 2025
Jamee Culbertson integrates Taoist practices, the Alexander Technique, and spiritual healing for transformative experiences. She is a Senior Healing Tao Instructor teaching Tai Chi, Qigong, and Taoist meditations at the Universal Tao Boston School of Taoist Practices. Jamee is a teacher trainer certifying teachers in both disciplines.
Most days, we move through life on a wide and often crowded horizontal plane, interacting with people, navigating places, and managing things. In the midst of this busyness, what gives us stability is the vertical axis, the sense of being rooted to the ground, while at the same time we’re lifted upwards, supported in balance. Balance is the new strength! The Alexander Technique, together with mindful movement, offers practical ways to experience this integration. By exploring how width, depth, and height meet within the body, we can bring more steadiness, openness, and ease to our daily actions and gain the clarity to choose how we engage with the world around us.
The horizontal plane
One sunny afternoon in the late 1990s, I was walking on a beach in Cape Cod with my friend and colleague Bob Lada during the annual meeting of Alexander Technique International. We paused to do some Alexander Technique practice together and talked about how downward motion corresponds with the upward feeling through the body as the spine lengthens.
Bob said something about there being a meeting place for length and expanse, a confluence of sorts, where rivers meet.
The way we engage with daily life is on the horizontal plane, the conversations we have with people, the spaces we move through, and the objects we use. It’s the plane of people, places, and things. It’s outward-facing. Our attention, actions, and interactions move across the surface of the world on the horizontal.
The horizontal plane is where life’s relationships and interactions unfold. It’s the realm of connection, exchange, and orientation, the field of the everyday, the tangible, and the relational.
But the horizontal alone is not enough. Without vertical balance, it can become flat, merely transactional, overwhelming, and distracted. We either boost ourselves upright into a stoic rigidity or collapse under the weight of our goings and doings. It’s not sustainable. This is where the vertical dimension comes in.
The vertical axis: Earth, human, and sky
The vertical axis is what supports us as we meet all those horizontal demands. It offers orientation, depth, and grounding.
Earth: Your contact with the ground, gravity supporting you. Earth grounds us, reminding us of nourishment and belonging to something larger beyond ourselves.
Human: The upright spine and natural poise, feet on the ground, head raised to the sky. We stand as a living bridge between above and below.
Sky: The lengthening upward, the openness above your head. The sky offers spacious awareness, inspiration, lightness, and wonder.
This axis is neither separate from the horizontal axis, it complements it. The vertical brings depth and orientation to our horizontal living.
The balance of horizontal and vertical: Living dynamic equilibrium in daily life
If we only live on the horizontal plane, we feel pulled outward, rushed, overwhelmed, and reactive. But when we consciously connect to the vertical axis, we bring steadiness into those outward interactions.
Meeting people becomes less about reaction, more about presence.
Moving here and there from place to place becomes easier, we feel oriented and balanced rather than rushed or lost.
Handling things becomes more efficient and less stressful because we’re supported by our structure with no need for excessive effort.
When these two planes meet, a cross or intersection forms, a living and spacious mandala within the body. In this meeting, a field of potential arises. No fixing is needed, just a pause of spaciousness and acceptance from which clarity and choice can emerge.
The horizontal allows us to engage with people, places, and things. The vertical keeps us oriented, balanced, and supported. Without verticality, the horizontal becomes scattered. Without horizontal engagement, the vertical risks a feeling of isolation or a “me against them” experience. Together, they create wholeness.
Practical examples
At your desk: The horizontal is your screen, keyboard, and tasks. The vertical is your spine, your feet on the ground, your head balanced. When both are working together, you can type and think clearly without strain.
Walking down the street: The horizontal is the flow of people, traffic, and movement around you. The vertical is the way we are organized upright. It’s the spring in our step, the easy sense of “up” as you move forward.
In practice
In Tai Chi, the vertical root from the earth rises into the sky to support smooth, connected movement through the horizontal plane.
In the Alexander Technique, vertical poise frees us from collapse so our interactions with people, places, and things are fluid rather than strained.
Spiritually, it suggests that we are not just drifting across surfaces, we are interconnected beings, living in relationship with the depth of earth and the never-ending expanse of sky.
Why it matters
The balance of horizontal and vertical is what keeps us integrated. The vertical axis gives you orientation and stability. The horizontal plane gives you engagement and connection. Together, they create a way of moving through the world that is both grounded and open.
When the horizontal and vertical work together, you can meet the demands of people, places, and things without losing your balance and without losing your sense of self. The vertical supports us so that our engagement with the world is not just reactive, but steady, intentional, and easeful.
People, places, and things are on the horizontal plane, but they are balanced and animated by the vertical axis of Earth, Human, and Sky. Together, they form the cross of existence, presence in the world with a solid foundation and a sense of wonder.
The dimensions of presence: Breadth and depth
The horizontal plane also offers breadth, the wide reach of our relationships, activities, and experiences. It stretches outward into variety and connection, helping us engage with the diversity of life all around.
The vertical axis provides depth, inner orientation, rootedness, and meaning. It connects us deep within ourselves. As we connect deep within the earth, we can experience a reflex upward towards the sky. Presence is anchored so we’re not just spread thin across the surface.
When breadth and depth are balanced, we move through life with both reach and resilience. Too much breadth without depth leaves you scattered, pulled in too many directions. Too much depth without breadth can become isolating or overly inward. Together, they form the dimensions of presence, a way of living that is gathered, grounded, connected, meaningful, and expansive.
Join the conversation
You are welcome to visit my website for more information. I’ve also created a new Facebook group devoted to exploring conscious movement, presence, and embodied well-being. My expertise is in the Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Taoist Inner Alchemy. You are invited to apply to be a part of this nourishing community. I’d love to welcome you to apply here.
Read more from Jamee Culbertson
Jamee Culbertson, Senior Instructor, Teacher Trainer
Jamee is a Senior Instructor at the Universal Tao Boston School, teaching Tai Chi, Qigong, and Taoist meditation. With nearly 40 years of experience, she integrates Taoist practices, the Alexander Technique, and spiritual healing. She is an internationally certified Alexander Technique Instructor and teacher-trainer at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Jamee has taught at Harvard University, Mass General’s Home Base program for veterans, and community wellness events like Rosie’s Place. Her work blends ancient wisdom and modern techniques to support healing, balance, and self-awareness.
