Hello my friends,
 
Anne O. Glausser and Anne-Marie Corley, of the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing, created a radio broadcast about the Alexander Technique.

They interviewed Dr. Donald B. Levy, of Harvard's Osher Clinic. They also met with and took a lesson from Kitty Breen and recorded some of the lesson for this broadcast. Ms. Breen is an AmSAT Certified Alexander Teacher in Cambridge, MA.

Dr. Levy is the Medical Director of the Osher Clinical Center For Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies. He speaks about back pain and Alexander Technique, and refers to results from a study that was published in the British Medical Journal. Dr. Levy speaks clearly about what the Technique is, and what it is not. I was impressed!

I’ve heard it and think it’s very good. If you have anyone in your life who might find the Technique useful, this is a nice way for them to find out about it, and the piece is brief; only 4 minutes, 25 seconds.

The piece originally aired on WMBR's Soundtrack Science show on Monday, April 6 from 4-5pm EDT (1-2 pm, PDT). It is posted here, with permission.

Click on this link to hear the broadcast. You will have the option to listen online, or to save the file on your computer. 

It is also available in WMBR's archives. To listen via WMBR, click on this link to their main page. Scroll down the page to the link for Sound Track Science, Monday April 6 broadcast. The link offers the option to either listen online, or download the MP3 file of the broadcast.

Please let me know what you think of this!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Good morning, my friends!



Here's some news!

The April, 2009 issue of O, the Oprah Magazine was just released yesterday, March 17th.

It has a very nice article about back pain and  the Alexander Technique, titled A Dramatic Cure for Back Pain. I am very happy to have been interviewed during the writing process even though not quoted, and I hope you enjoy the article!

The article discusses the study on back pain and Alexander Technique that was published in the British Medical Journal on August 19, 2008.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Please share this with everyone!

Making the Crooked Straight by Simona Fuma - reprinted with permission.

They're the words a girl loves to hear: "Have you gotten taller?" "You've lost weight!" Such were the unsolicited comments I received when I visited the United States from my home in Israel recently, where, for the last three months, I had been practicing the Alexander Technique (AT)—a movement re-education program that involves hands-on adjustments to improve posture and coordination.

 

While yoga, Pilates and other posture-enhancing methods have swept the U.S. in recent years, AT has enjoyed a thriving presence under the radar. Its hubs include London, New York, San Francisco and Israel, which boasts one of the highest numbers of AT teachers per capita (300). Stateside, there are an estimated 800 certified teachers and tens of thousands of students.

 

Oscar-winning actress Hillary Swank was one of those students while preparing for her 2001 role as an 18th-century French countess in The Affair of the Necklace. "Jean Louis [her AT instructor] taught me that an aristocrat didn't just sit down in a chair," Swank famously told the The New York Times. "She floated down. And she floated up and down stairs. She certainly didn't climb them, for that implies effort." AT also counts Lady Judi Dench, Paul McCartney and Sting among its famous fans.

 

According to Dana Ben-Yehuda, media spokesperson for the American Society of the Alexander Technique (AmSAT)—and, perhaps fittingly, the daughter of an Israeli father—in the U.S. the Alexander Technique is popular among two categories of people. "Singers, actors and musicians use the technique to enhance their performances," she explains. In fact, the father of AT, Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), was an Australian actor who developed the method to help him overcome chronic laryngitis.

 

The other category comprises people who are in pain and looking to AT for relief. After all, most health experts agree that good posture and proper muscle relaxation go a long way toward preventing back pain, the fifth most frequent reason for all physician visits in the U.S.

 

Dr. Howard L. Rosner, medical director of The Pain Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says that the number one complaint of the patients he sees is lower back pain, and he recommends the Alexander Technique, along with other forms of physical therapy, to treat muscular-skeletal pain. "The Alexander Technique can retrain people to use their bodies more constructively," he says. "It can impact neck pain, low back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome."

 

The overarching goal of AT is to guide patients through a series of simple movements that teach control and coordination in everyday activities, from sitting and walking to lifting a shopping bag or playing a musical instrument. It is usually taught one-on-one with a certified teacher, and, according to AmSAT, it will take at least 6-10 sessions, lasting anywhere from 30-60 minutes each, to feel the effects. (For those looking to significantly improve their posture, however, AmSAT recommends a series of 30 lessons across a three- to six-month period. Cost depends on the instructor. For the best results, find one who has completed an AmSAT-approved 1,600-hour, three-year training course.)

 

Most AT instructors devote the first few lessons to helping patients let go of unnecessary muscular tension. As my teacher, Aviva Shapira, gently pulled my head and neck up in order to lengthen my spine, she explained to me that by the time we are adults, most of us have developed poor posture patterns wherein all kinds of muscles contract and stiffen just so we can hold ourselves upright. This way of holding ourselves feels natural to us, but it is actually unhealthy and can lead to stiffness and chronic pain. Shapira also had me lie on a padded masseuse table, where she proceeded to manipulate my head, neck, back and limbs into their proper positions. Afterward, as I lifted myself from the table, I could already sense a change in the way I was holding myself.

 

Practicing the Alexander Technique has left me with the beautiful—yet admittedly frustrating—insight that our bad habits are not readily apparent to us. Each of us is equipped with a kinesthetic sense that allows us to assess where our body is in space, as well as the effort needed to move it. However, bad habits distort this sense: a person with poor posture may not be aware of it because being hunched over feels natural. With guidance and practice, we can learn to correct our posture, though such change accumulates so gradually that we may not perceive it ourselves at first.

 

Still, as my recent trip to the U.S. proved, someone who hasn't seen you in a while is likely to notice. For me, I particularly appreciated the comments that I looked thinner—especially since the number on the scale hadn't actually changed!

 

To learn more about the Alexander Technique, visit the American Society for the Alexander Technique Web site, www.alexandertech.org

 

Simona Fuma is the Israel Editor for World Jewish Digest.

Here's what came into my Inbox a few days ago. It's from the e-newsletter, Bottom Line Health. "100-Year-Old Solution to Back Pain -- Alexander Technique Body Movement Method Works Better than Other Therapies for Back Pain, Even a Year Later "

Reprinted with the permission of Bottom Line/Personal.

Wishing you a happy day!

Dana

Bottom Line's Daily Health News
February 8, 2009

In This Issue...

100-Year-Old Solution to Back Pain

Alexander Technique Body Movement Method Works Better than Other Therapies for Back Pain, Even a Year Later

Special from Bottom Line's Daily Health News
February 9, 2009

If you suffer from chronic back pain, you may want to consider a century-old, non-invasive, drug-free treatment method called the Alexander technique, which reeducates people on how to support and move their bodies. Recently an English study involving 579 patients with back pain put the Alexander technique to the test and demonstrated that it was effective and provided sustainable relief.

THE STUDY

Researchers established four groups of patients -- one took six Alexander technique lessons... another took 24 lessons... a third group had massage therapy only... and the fourth group had what the study team called "normal care." (Normal care was defined as care that would be offered by a general practitioner, and could include pain medications, non-mandatory referral to physiotherapy, etc.) All four groups were further divided in half, with one half walking briskly for 30 minutes a day and the others not exercising at all. Participants answered questionnaires about pain and function improvement at three months and one year. Results: The two Alexander technique groups reported significantly reduced back pain and improved functioning, including after 12 months, while there was little change in the massage and normal care groups. Among those who took just six lessons but who also did brisk walking, improvement was almost as great as those who took 24 lessons but did not exercise.

To find out more about the Alexander technique, I called Hope Gillerman, who has taught classes at physical rehabilitation centers and had a private practice in New York City for more than 25 years. Methods like acupuncture can offer immediate pain relief, notes Gillerman, but people with back pain also need a long-term, self-healing regimen -- and that is what the Alexander technique is. Most back pain comes from incorrect posture, poor body mechanics and excessive muscle tension, which increases when people are fatigued, angry, upset or in one position for a long time. Under duress, tension automatically builds in the back of the neck and the shoulders, pulling the heavy head downward into the spine, which causes compression. The fact that the pain becomes chronic further exacerbates all of these problems, Gillerman points out... since pain is upsetting and stops people from doing things and moving as they normally would, people develop more harmful habits. The Alexander technique can be effective because it addresses and helps to correct not only the cause of the injury, but also those harmful habits brought on by the pain.

HOW IT WORKS

At the heart of the Alexander technique is learning to keep the spine erect and properly supported. Gillerman explains that most people are unstable and "collapsed" through their torso, and hold and move their limbs in a rigid and stiff pattern. Without proper muscular support, the spine compresses, harming joints and tissues.

Here are three ways Gillerman helps her students envision what to do...

• She instructs students to envision their body as a tree -- the trunk (the torso) rooted and stable, freeing the limbs to move easily. Students learn how different it feels to move with the torso thus stabilized and supported, with posture that lengthens the spine and opens the spaces between the vertebrae, enabling discs to function as shock absorbers.

• For further illustration of what proper posture and body mechanics looks like, Gillerman points to elite runners -- their torsos don't move but their legs and arms move constantly, in a powerful yet flowing fashion.

• To help students better understand the degree of tension they need for proper back support, she has them tightly grip a spoon. They then release their grip slowly until they can comfortably hold the spoon... but not loose enough to let it slip from their grasp. "We teach students how to achieve that amount of tension in their back," she says.

HELPFUL TIPS

Regular exercise fits well with lessons in the Alexander technique, but the kind most people do at the gym, working on one muscle at a time, may not be effective. Abdominal strength is key, but workouts should include the muscles in the back and legs, not just pelvic muscles, Gillerman says. Crunches, for example, train the abdominal muscles to flex the torso -- this is useful when you get out of bed in the morning, but does not train the abdominal muscle to keep the spine lengthened. Instead she says, people should exercise to train their muscles to lift and stabilize the spine, not crunch. Vigorous walking, with arms swinging, abdominals pulled in, is great for this and is an excellent way to practice the new body mechanics students learn through the Alexander technique.

Gillerman says that many students find Alexander technique lessons so pleasurable and relaxing, they take them for months or even years -- but the real purpose of the technique is as a tool for change. People often feel better after just one lesson, but it is important to take a full introductory course of about 10 lessons over two to three months. Those who need yet more pain relief should take an additional six months of lessons. The technique works by changing neuromuscular patterns -- the bad habits you have formed -- and that takes time. "In the beginning students don't feel like themselves because we take away their familiar habits," says Gillerman. "When students get to the place that the old habits are the ones that feel wrong, they are ready to self-regulate."

Gillerman suggests doing at-home exercises to help make the subtle adjustments that correct posture and change habits and reinforce new self-care techniques. Here is one to try that may soothe your back pain...

• Lie down on your back on a mat or carpet, with your head resting on a telephone book.
• Bend your knees, bringing your feet close to your hips.
• Place your hands on your rib cage, elbows pointing out to the sides of your body.
• Notice your breathing. Practice making your exhalation longer than your inhalation.
• Visualize images that help you release muscle tension -- for instance, your back melting into the floor... or the crown of your head sliding away from the shoulders. These are excellent ways to help correct the common problem of letting your skull sink into your neck.
• Do 10 to 15 minutes every day, or more often if you need to relax.

You can find a qualified Alexander technique trainer by going to the American Society for the Alexander Technique (http://www.alexandertech.org/). Costs vary greatly according to where you live and lessons are generally from 30 minutes to one hour. Though insurance does not cover these, Gillerman says that employee flexible spending accounts can be used to pay for them.

Source(s): 

Author: Hope Gillerman, a certified teacher of the Alexander technique, and founder and creator, H. Gillerman Organics, New York. hgillermanorganics.com.


Required Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The information is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well-being other than  to suggest that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The information and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on information in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

Bottom Line's Daily Health News is a registered trademark of Boardroom, Inc.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Boardroom Inc.

Reprinted with the permission of:
Bottom Line/Personal
Boardroom, Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 8th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
www.BottomLineSecrets.com

Media/journalists: Dana Ben-Yehuda is the Media Spokesperson for the American Society for the Alexander Technique. Contact her at dbenyehuda(at)comcast(dot)net

Hi Friends!

Here's a video from The Alexander Educational Center (TAEC).

Find out what the training course is like, but more importantly, get a sense of the scope of the work. This is where I did the bulk of my training, and also have worked assisting in teacher-training.  I highly recommend it!

Hello my curious friends! 

Are you curious as to what the Alexander Technique is all about?

I mean, how does it work and what does a lesson look like? 

My friend and colleague, Annette Schmidt, has published an introductory video to show you exactly what it's about.

Does this make you wonder if it may help you, and if so, how? 

Send a note to me; your questions and comments are welcome!  Curiosity is where it begins....

March is National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month.

The following article was published in MS Focus, the magazine of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Winter 2006

COME TO YOUR SENSES WITH THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Would you like to improve the way you function, the way you move, the way you look, and the way you feel? Would you like to experience the physical sensation of lightness and buoyancy? Would you like to rid your body of unnecessary aches and pains, increase the sense of space between your joints, and reduce stress, fatigue, and general anxiety? All of these things are possible with the Alexander Technique.

Not to be confused with an exercise program, the Alexander Technique is a gradual learning process, an awareness, that you will eventually bring to the activities you perform each day. You will find yourself practicing the Technique while you are walking, having a conversation, sitting in a chair, shampooing your hair, reading, talking on the phone, working on your computer, and waiting in line at the grocery store. But first, you must go back in time . . .

It all began in 1869, when Frederick Matthias Alexander was born in Tasmania, Australia. A naturally curious, independent, and patient boy, his favorite pastime was studying the plays of Shakespeare. As he grew older, he also became intrigued by the art of public speaking. Eventually, he decided to become a Shakespearian actor.

In those days, microphones and other electronic amplification had not yet been invented, so performers had to rely solely on their natural vocal ability. As fate would have it, Alexander began having trouble with his throat, which soon affected his voice. Sometimes, he would gasp audibly during a performance or lose his ability to speak altogether, a condition known as aphonia. Numerous doctors and voice trainers recommended that he rest his voice, speaking as little as possible between performances. He followed their advice, but his condition failed to improve, and it seemed his acting career might come to an untimely end. But Alexander was not easily daunted. Ever inquisitive, the young man wondered if it might be something he was doing when he spoke that was causing the problem. He asked his doctor, who was receptive to the idea, so Alexander decided to use a mirror to help him see precisely what he was doing while reciting Shakespeare.

THE THREE PRINCIPLES
Much to his surprise, close observation in the mirror revealed that as he spoke, he lifted his chest, arched his spine, tightened his lower back, stiffened his legs, and pushed his toes into the floor, all the while retracting his head, which reduced the efficiency of his voice. The mirror revealed habitual movements to Alexander of which he had previously been unaware. Encouraged by the possibility of returning to the stage, Alexander continued his experimental work, patiently undoing his habits of misuse, a process he called inhibition. Then, he focused on releasing the unnecessary tension in his body using direction, which resulted in the four concepts of good use. This is the foundation of the Alexander Technique.

HOW YOU CAN LEARN THE TECHNIQUE
The Alexander Technique is generally taught privately in order to address the student’s specific patterns of misuse. Lessons are usually 45 minutes to one hour, during which the teacher uses verbal and gentle hands-on guidance to help you recognize and begin to undo your habitual patterns of misuse. Comfortable clothing is appropriate, as is taking off your shoes. The Technique can be done sitting, standing or lying supine. Group lessons, which may be more feasible financially, are often available upon request. While some Alexander Teachers discourage self-teaching, videos and books are available that can help you begin your journey into the three principles and the four concepts of good use. Private lessons with a qualified instructor may be most advantageous, but the work can also be done alone in the comfort of your own home, using a mirror – just as Alexander did!
A WORD FROM ALEXANDER TEACHERS
“The reality is that true understanding of the Technique comes only with experiencing it, not from reading or talking about it,” writes Robert Rickover in Fitness Without Stress: A Guide to the Alexander Technique  (Metamorphous Press, 1998). “Still, it is incumbent upon those of us who want more people to experience the benefits of Alexander’s work to write and talk about it, too.”

“It is an educational tool, a process – not a quick fix,” explains Jane Kosminsky, a certified Alexander teacher at the Julliard School in New York City. “The more you use it and stay with it, the more it unfolds for you and the more it empowers you. Alexander Technique is not so much about learning something new as it is rediscovering something forgotten.”

“The Alexander Technique is about learning to undo the harmful patterns of tension and compression, allowing for a proper expansion, both in stillness and in motion,” adds Dana Ben-Yehuda, Media Spokesperson for the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) and AmSAT Certified Alexander Technique teacher. “It is quieting to the whole psycho-physical being and the nervous system. The work can only be done in the present moment, and anxiety is fear of something unpleasant happening in the future. Consequently, as your grow quiet and work in the moment, your anxiety lifts.”

A WORD FROM THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY
“From the beginning doctors and scientists realized that Alexander had discovered a fundamental principle in human movement and behavior,” writes Glynn MacDonald in The Complete Illustrated Guide to Alexander Technique (Element Books, 1998). “During Alexander’s lifetime several doctors testified to the effects of his technique in journals like The Lancet, and, in 1937, 19 doctors urged in a letter in the British Medical Journal that the Alexander Technique should be included in medical training.”

In 1973, when Professor Nikolaas Tinbergen won the Nobel Prize for Medicine, much of his acceptance speech was devoted to the Alexander Technique as he and his family had experienced tremendous benefits from lessons. “From personal experience we can already confirm some of the seemingly fantastic claims made by Alexander and his followers, namely, that many types of underperformance and even ailments, both mental and physical, can be alleviated, sometimes to a surprising extent, by teaching the body musculature to function differently.”

A WORD FROM ALEXANDER STUDENTS
Elementary School Principal Ana Bonilla was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 1999. Always open to alternative therapies for her MS, which manifests with significant fatigue and left-side numbness, she has studied the Alexander Technique for close to two years. “I attend class once a week for an hour. I am learning to use my body in a different way, to expend less energy and improve my mind-body connection. Now that I am able to sit and stand in a more balanced and easy manner, I move with less effort and am less fatigued. My concentration has improved, too.”

Ten years ago, Carole Bellinger-Kawahara, a 56-year-old microbiologist, was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disease that symptomatically mimics MS. “I have been surprised at the effects of Alexander training,” she says. “My lower back pain started to improve within the first month of training. After six months, I was pain-free for the first time in years. I rarely see my chiropractor anymore. I was astonished! As I learned to open my body and release some of the constant tension in my muscles, I gained a sense of greater freedom of motion and less tension. That sort of low-level, nagging, residual soreness in my joints went away. Alexander feels to me like something that my body had been hungry for on some very basic level.”

 “I would absolutely recommend Alexander to anyone, especially those with chronic illness,” Carolyn says. “Chronic conditions, in particular, sap strength from us in many ways and I have found Alexander has helped me cope better. It is an ongoing process, but the postural changes bring better breathing, less physical stress on the organs, and a feeling of increased well-being. Habitual patterns die hard, especially in my case. But I have seen a real difference in my body and the way it feels and I have begun to think that maybe a few things have changed for good!”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Balance of Well-Being (VHS: 75 min.)
An Introduction to the Alexander Technique
With William Hurt & Jane Kosminsky
This first lesson teaches you how to begin to use the Alexander Technique, by yourself, at home.

The Alexander Technique: Solutions for Back Trouble (VHS: 75 min.)
With Master Teacher & Physical Therapist Deborah Caplan
Learn to keep your back healthy and free from pain by using the Alexander Technique in the activities of everyday life.

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Alexander Technique
By Glynn MacDonald
Element Books, 1998

Fitness Without Stress
A Guide to the Alexander Technique
By Robert M. Rickover
Metamorphous Press, 1998
A comprehensive guide that addresses the history of Alexander Technique, how it can help with specific medical conditions, how to find a teacher, and more.

American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT)
P.O. Box 60008
Florence, MA 01062
Phone: 800-473-0620 or 413-584-2359
www.alexandertechnique.org
Contact AmSAT to learn more or to find a teacher in your area.

BOX IN CENTER OF ARTICLE
FOUR CONCEPTS OF GOOD USE
Let your neck be free and your head go forward and up.
Let your torso lengthen and widen.
Let your legs release away from your hip joints.
Let your shoulders release out to the side and float on your ribcage.

The four concepts of good use are accomplished through thought and visualization.

Copyright (c) 2006 by MSFocus

Reprinted with the permission of The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

A very dear friend recently brought my attention to infrmation from a study about chronic pain, and a possible connection with the Alexander Technique.

The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, February 6, 2008 issue.  The idea is that being in chronic pain causes the neurons in your brain to fire continuously, and that in turn could cause permanent changes that are damaging to your brain. The researchers’ theory is that chronic pain causes changes in the brain. Those changes could be the connection between pain, depression and other difficulties.

Pain can be increased dramatically by our own response to it. The biological pain level can be multiplied by a factor of ten due to our own reaction, fear and tightening up. Most of us tighten up in response to pain, but that can make pain ten times worse. Therefore, by learning to loosen up we may reduce or eliminate the effect of the multiple.

If the study is basically correct and chronic pain harms the brain’s wiring, then techniques that interrupt the chronic pain cycle may help your brain as well as unhooking you from the pain cycle.

The Alexander Technique is one of the many ways in which people learn to reduce their level of pain. If it helps you learn not to tighten as a reaction to pain, then you might be able to reduce your pain level by as much as 90%. It may also prevent the disruption of brain function described in this article. One of my students wrote about how the Technique helped with his chronic pain:

       "I think it is the stopping of thoughts and the complete relaxation of the body, letting go of everything, including the pain.  I think we bottle up the pain with tension in the body, and Alexander Technique lets go of the tension."

The core is learning to deal with our own reactions to stimuli, both internal and external.

What does that mean in practice?

Not to react.

I have what I have; don’t react to it.

This is the lesson and gift of the Alexander Technique.

If there is pain, it’s there.
Don’t react to it.

Learning not to react is the ultimate. As a human being, oftentimes I’m still stuck with the more primitive version. That is, I may notice that I have already reacted to something. When that happens, I’ve learned how to stop and allow that reaction to undo. As I give my Alexander directions, any pain or tension melts away and I feel lighter and freer.

Maybe you’re reading this because you are in pain, or maybe you know someone who is. Whether it is for yourself or for someone you love, the Alexander Technique is a very good way to help people who are in pain to feel better.

We started talking about what happens in an Alexander lesson.

One part of the lesson is often done standing, or sitting in a chair.

Another part is done lying on a table, or a “table turn.”  We also call this Constructive Rest. Here's how it's done:

You lie on a padded table, with your knees bent and feet placed flat on the table. Your head will rest on a couple of paperback books. This is to keep your head from falling back and compressing your neck. Generally, you’ll put your hands on your stomach, so your elbows will be slightly away from your body. This work is done fully clothed, except for removing your shoes.

I will very gently put hands on your head and neck and lightly move your arms and legs to help you learn to release patterns of tension. Most of the time we don’t even feel the tension in our bodies, unless it is so extreme that it is disturbing us. This work on the table helps you notice and release excess tension.

You will very likely find that it is very helpful for relieving pain and stress. When we’re in pain, there is an automatic response to tighten. Constructive Rest helps undo this tightening. It creates a sense of expansion and ease and can be helpful in many specific conditions and situations.

Thanks so much for stopping by to learn about ways to feel better. It’s like an indoor breath of fresh air. We all need those moments of quiet and this is a great way to give to yourself.

Would you like to find out what happens in a first lesson? I’ll try and explain it in a 1-2-3 process.

First of all, we sit down to talk for a couple of minutes. I’ll reiterate that I am not a physician and I do not diagnose or treat illness or injury. However, I still want to understand what issues are of concern to you so I’ll ask you to tell me about them.

Next, I might ask you to do a simple activity such as walk around the room, pick up an object (phone, etc) and put it down, and take a seat. This gives me a chance to observe you in movement and notice how you move when you sit and stand. If you wish, you could bring a musical instrument or a tennis racket or a golf club and I’ll observe you using it.

Then the learning begins.

We’ll work together, using a chair or perhaps walking about. I’ll use words as well as gentle, hands-on guidance to help you begin to move differently and also to understand what it is that you are doing that perhaps is connected with the problem you’re having.

For instance, many times the first thing that happens when you begin to move is tightening your neck and snapping your head back. This is part of a pattern of compression that is often at the root of many physical ailments.

Do you want to find out if you do this? Here’s a way you may be able to notice on your own.

Sit in a chair and put one hand on the nape of your neck.
Now stand up.
Did you feel your head come back into your hand?
Try it again, if you cannot tell.

Then stand up and put your hand on the nape of your neck.
Now sit down! Did you feel your head pull back into your hand?

You may notice this more by sitting or standing, or perhaps both.

If you are doing this, I will help you become aware of this pattern and then learn how to release your neck. This works well with gentle hands-on guidance from a trained teacher. It is not easy to do on one’s own, but it is certainly possible. Alexander did it, however he spent about nine years working out the method. It is much, much easier with a teacher to show you how.

My goal is to have the best functioning possible with any given condition, and also to have a sense of ease in movement in whatever you’re doing. The skills you learn in the Alexander Technique help to release excess tension. You’ll gain a sense of expansion rather than compression or contraction. That’s a great start!