General

Neck and shoulder pain

The number of people coming for Alexander Technique lessons complaining of neck and shoulder pain and even nerve tingling in the arms and hands seems to be increasing. Nearly all mentions that they do a lot of computer and desk work, and in recent years also a significant amount of texting, emailing from a phone…

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Sensory awareness

Feeding our senses with stimuli to ever heightening levels seems to be a current trend in lifestyle but I worry that it has dangerous consequences. By assaulting ourselves with so many stimuli, we can actually reduce our sensitivity to alarming levels. A quick glance along the London underground carriage instantly shows 80% of fellow commuters are…

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Dozing off in the Alexander lesson

Sultry weather can make us all sleepy after lunch. But if we’re having an Alexander lesson it’s important to be awake, aware and to contribute to the session. So although we may lie down on the table in semi-supine as part of the lesson, we cannot really sleep.  I personally will always have a nap after my lunch to ensure that I…

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Not what we do, but how we do it…

I am frequently asked during Alexander Technique lessons with a new pupil, would it be OK for them to go the gym, or do some running. On the face of it, it would seem to be an excellent idea as any exercise is considered to be good for us and provide wide ranging health benefits. However when we…

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Falling back into old habits

A pupil yesterday commented after his month’s trip away travelling in Europe that his posture had ‘slipped back’ and he’d lost some of what we’d achieved in his earlier Alexander Technique lessons. He’d had a short course of lessons during the few months period before his trip but he had clearly got a little rounded and stiff in his back and neck during the…

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Doing less

In our work with the Alexander Technique I am constantly reminded of how in our society we are constantly striving to do better at things. There is a sort of underlying principle of ‘needing to get things done’; to complete incompletions; to achieve more; fit more things in the day and generally ‘try harder’.  Such…

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Learning from my chair

It’s not so long since I bought a new chair for my Alexander Technique teaching room.  Well, it’s not actually a new chair being around 250 years old, but it was new to me and with a good clean, antique waxing and a new cover to it’s gently padded seat, it looks perfect in my teaching room. However…

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Unexpected improvements

An early morning pupil was saying how the Alexander Technique was helping her game of tennis…. how she could get to the ball faster.  Her coach had commented on the speed of her reactions and she firmly puts it down to the change of her ‘use’; how she uses her body to do things. She is…

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Thinking not doing

When people first come for lessons in the Alexander Technique, it’s a frequently held idea that they are coming for treatment and the practitioner will ‘do it’ for them. However this is not the case. We will actually be in the role of ‘pupil’ (not patient) and we will be participating in the process.  We will be learning how to apply…

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