The breakthrough moment in my first Alexander lesson was when I lay on a table and my teacher, Julia Caulder, slid her hands down my back and released my shoulders. Suddenly all the tension was gone and I felt great. It was an identical move to what my acupuncturist had done. I had an acupuncture […]
I just watched this cool video by Alexander teacher Sarah Chatwin. If you’re in pain, that’s going to change the way you sit, stand, walk and talk. It will likely change the way you breathe. Most people try to immobilize the area where they feel pain. If their shoulder hurts, they’ll tighten all around it, […]
Alexander teacher Sharon Jakubecy says: “Our bodies never lie. So if you or someone you are flirting with is faking a smile, the body will tell the truth. A fake smile has no warmth or joy. It looks forced. The sides of the lips move up but the eyes are flat and expressionless.” And is […]
It’s impossible to really feel down unless you physically compress. If you allow your head to retreat into your torso and your back to collapse in, then you can truly access despair. If you stay tall and poised, it’s impossible to feel despair. Every emotion is only possible with a certain alignment of the body. […]
Out of all the groups I’ve offered a free introductory lesson to the Alexander Technique, I’ve found that doctors are the most open. Psychiatrists, family doctors, sports medicine, ENTs, all were far more open than MFTs. From the Irish Times: A RETIRED west of Ireland consultant has advocated far greater awareness of the Alexander Technique […]
Dr Loren Fishman is the Medical Director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in New York City and the Author, ‘Cure Back Pain with Yoga’. She writes in the Huffington Post: The Alexander technique, developed more than 100 years ago by Frederick Alexander, helps students become aware of and stop habits and muscle use that […]
There are no good ways to sit. No matter how beautiful you sit, you are going to put at least one-third more pressure on your spine than when you are standing up or lying down. No matter your poise, sitting for more than ten minutes is going to do you harm. It will deform your […]
I have a bad habit of looking at my cell phone every couple of minutes to check for emails and voice messages. It’s easy to get sucked into destructive habits like this and you lose your life to distractions. How to stop and get into the present? Report: Penelope Carr wants to help fix bad […]
I’ve only met one group of people who have bad things to say about the Alexander Technique — some chiropractors. And they’re reacting to the bad things many Alexander teachers say about them. Other than that, everybody I’ve met who knows about the Technique and has experienced it regards it with great respect. It’s cool […]
Most of us just want to be fixed. We want other people to solve our problems. We don’t want to work on ourselves. If you’re addicted to shopping or eating or sexing or movies to escape from your inner pain, then you are your problem in that respect. Until you stop fleeing from your pain […]
All of us adults have debauched kinaesthesia (a favorite phrase of the Alexander Technique to indicate a faulty kinaesthetic sense). Through paying attention to your habits and letting go of ones that hurt you (such as unnecessary tightening and compression), you can develop an increasingly accurate kinaesthetic sense. It’s rare to unheard of to find […]
After a car accident at age 19, Lauren Hill developed chronic pain in her neck, shoulder and back. She went to the doctor and got some tests. She searched for somebody to fix her pain problem. She went through physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, acupressure and the like. Nothing helped long-term. Six years later, Lauren’s […]
It is very tempting as a new Alexander Technique teacher to offer your friends free lessons because you just love teaching so much. It rarely works out. Alexander Technique demands a lot from the student and somebody taking a free lesson is unlikely to do the work necessary. It’s not just that people will show […]
I’m listening to a great interview by Robert Rickover with dentist and Alexander Technique teacher Martin Goldman of the San Francisco Bay Area. This interview will be of interest to anyone who has to work in odd positions doing precise work. Martin: “The Alexander Technique is a 100-year old method for streamlining how you perform […]
Laura Klein is an Alexander Technique teacher and professional jazz musician in Berkeley, California. Laura tells Robert Rickover: “In a way, musicians and singers are athletes. We don’t think of ourselves as athletes, but we are athletes of small movements. We need optimal coordination. If you are doing something that is even a little bit […]
Even though I keep telling my students I am not a therapist, some of them use me in that way. As we work with Alexander Technique, they find themselves releasing unneeded tension and at the same time releasing emotions. The two work well together. Emotional release tends to lead to tension release and vice versa. […]
I’ve never done any kind of illegal drug. I’ve never smoked marijuana. I’ve never felt tempted to indulge this way. I’ve never led a dissolute life. While I’ve hung out with dissolute people at times, I’ve not participated in that life. When I took up the Alexander Technique, I learned a term called “debauched kinaesthesia.” […]
Thinking about writing on this topic, I Googled “Alexander Technique and beauty” the other day and found no consequential results. Nobody that I can find has written on this topic. Call me shallow, but I not only prefer to look at beautiful people rather than ugly people, I much prefer to be around beautiful people […]
Alexander teacher Ariel Weiss tells interviewer Robert Rickover: “I want to debunk the myth of sitting still. We’re not designed to sit still. People get in trouble when they stiffen themselves and make themselves still when they sit.” “I ask people to take a break. Set an alarm on your computer. The computer is a […]
Many of my students have a habit of cracking their neck. I know this brings momentary release but it damages your neck in the long run. It’s best not to crack your joints. Report: If you often crack or pop your neck yourself, it probably means that the joints are hypermobile. The ligaments are a […]
When I teach my new students to free their necks, they always try to do something and end up with a sore neck. What the heck does it mean to free the neck? It means to release the neck from needless holding and tension. What does that mean? Well, you know what the opposite feels […]
Juliet Carter is a psycho-therapist and Alexander teacher in London. Britain has several psycho-therapists who are also Alexander teachers. I don’t know of any such combo in the States. The Alexander Technique is better known in Britain and in Israel than it is in the United States (though it has become better known here over […]
Mike Cross is an Alexander teacher in England. He writes: The essentials of Alexander work are the same for children and adults alike: – learning to say “No” – consciously sending messages from the brain to parts of the body – going into movement. FM Alexander was born in 1869; he was born two months […]
Alexander teachers would benefit from publishing more before and after pictures. I like what Amira Alvarez does here. I was shocked by the before and after picture of Lulie Westfeld in her book on her Alexander journey. These kind of photos are powerful. Most people I know would like to look more attractive and Alexander […]
I’ve rushed around most of my life trying to get a lot of stuff done. This has not been an efficient way to live. I’ve often had to repeat my shoddy work and often felt like a chicken running around with his head cut off. I had bosses who complained that I would get tunnel […]
Most people when they stand with their feet together will lean back and compress their lower back. That’s going to cause them back pain and possible injury. Look at Peyton Manning here. Notice how leaning back and compressing, he’s given himself a paunchy stomach. Not attractive! Be hot! Don’t be a shmo. Use Alexander Technique. […]
DirectionJournal.com hosts an excellent interview with David Gorman. Robert Rickover recorded this interview. I spoke to David for almost two hours this morning via Skype. Here are some highlights: David: “F.M. Alexander had problems. When he was a kid, he had problems with breathing. Then he had problems with his voice. He tended to have […]
After an unsuccessful introductory lesson the other day, I spoke to a veteran Alexander teacher. I complained that I was unable to teach “direction.” What the heck is “direction” in the Alexander language? It is messages that you send to yourself to lengthen and widen (which are really just messages to yourself to stop contracting […]
I’m listening to Dennis Prager interview Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College and author of this new book. Coming back from a commercial, Dennis introduces Larry, who makes an audible inhale. Dennis: “I heard you inhale. That means you want to say something.” I’d have to think that when you make a noticeable inhale, that […]
This woman is lovely! I wondered if she had Alexander Technique lessons. Her loose limbs and expressive face go together with the absence of excess tension. It’s hard to do any decent writing when you have a teaching job as this story notes: “Teaching — for Ms. Edson at least — is a full-time occupation. […]
“Loren Shlaes, an Alexander Technique teacher and Occupational Therapist in New York City talks with Robert Rickover about ways that parents can help their children develop good posture.” Loren: “When you’re carried in a car seat, you’re moving in one plane. When you’re carried on your mother’s hip, every time your mother turns, you turn. […]
“Loren Shlaes, an Alexander Technique teacher and Occupational Therapist in New York City talks [to Robert Rickover] about ways the Alexander Technique can help Occupational Therapists.” Loren: “An occupational therapist looks at who you are, what your life is, and all the things you have to do to fulfill all of your roles and responsibilities. […]
As I move around in the world, I see people talking on their cell phones. At least one half of the conversation I do not hear, but I often see the effect of what is said on the person in my vision. Many times, things get heated, and I see people contract, tense up and […]
“Amy Ward Brimmer, an Alexander Technique teacher in New Town and Philadelphia, Pennsyvania again talks with Robert Rickover about her experiences with negative directions and about their usefulness for teachers and students.” Amy talks about a mindfulness course she took recently. “The teacher, in preparation for meditation, was asking folks to sit with their spines […]
Sarah Chatwin blogs: “…I would have been far better off paying attention to the fuzzy feeling of illness when it first wrapped it’s tentacles around me, instead of soldiering on and achieving nothing except making my own life a little more difficult. But isn’t this typical of what most of us do, especially when our […]
According to Wikipedia: “Alexander arrived London in June 1904, and quickly acquired a fine wardrobe, a manservant, and a smart address at the Army & Navy Mansions in Victoria Street. As he later said “In those days, you just couldn’t get on here [London] unless you appeared to be the right sort.”” Even though he […]
Author Malcolm Balk tells Robert Rickover: “The energy in the body follows your thought. When you have the thought of going up towards the head, they become live weight. They’re not dead weight. It’s the difference between carrying a kid who’s asleep and the same kid who wants to jump up and snuggle. The weight […]
“Shirley Wade-Linton, an Alexander Technique teacher and Registered Dietitian in Courtenay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia talks with Robert Rickover about ways in which the Technique can help people with eating disorders.” Shirley: “Because people with eating disorders almost by definition are out of touch with their bodies… They have a terrible relationship with their bodies. […]
“Robert Rickover talks with Dr. John H. M. Austin, MD, Professor Emeritus of Radiology at the Columbia University Medical Center and internationally known chest radiologist about a study he conducted with the late Pearl Ausubel, an Alexander Technique teacher in New York City, which showed that lessons in the Alexander Technique improve breathing capacity.” John: […]
Usually, you will feel great after an Alexander lesson. You’ll feel more at ease in your body, more balanced, and more tranquil. But there’s also a good chance that once you let go of your body armoring (unnecessary tension), you’ll be overwhelmed with fatigue, emotion and frustration. Once you notice how much you interfere with […]