Alexander Technique
“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. …
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“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: …
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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 …
I was talking to a group of psycho-therapists the other day. I said every emotion requires a particular alignment of the body. Lose that alignment and you’ll lose the emotion. For instance, when you take up your full space in the world, your full height and width, it’s hard to be overcome by the disabling …
A familiar and painful emotion I feel frequently is shame. It got instilled in me early in life that I was bad. That I didn’t measure up. That I was a real rotter. I was letting everyone down. I was selfish and slovenly. I learned to talk to myself in this harsh way and to …
Fewer than one percent of the world’s Alexander Technique teachers teach the Technique full-time (more than 25 hours a week). Almost all Alexander teachers have fewer pupils than they’d like. Alexander pupils are scarce and therefore particularly precious to the teacher. So it hurts when you lose one. So why do Alexander teachers lose students? …
Many Alexander teachers hate the question, “So can you give me some exercises to do at home to get good Alexander Technique?” Alexander isn’t so much a set of things that you do as a letting go of needless postures. Still, there are Alexandrian things you can do at home or in the office or …
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Most Alexander Technique teachers can’t teach family members. They can’t teach their spouse. They can’t teach the kids. There’s too much emotional baggage. But some can. Why? What enables some teachers to teach their lover? What makes some relationships open to this kind of learning? In what things, are you open to learning from your …
I’ve become much more active over the past three years. Rising cholesterol and blood sugar levels convinced me I had to get more exercise. So I’ve been taking yoga and riding my white steed across the internet, doing battle with dark knights and rescuing damsels in distress. During the course of my adventures, I’ve tweaked …
Jennifer Mackerras writes the popular Alexander blog Activate You. She’s from Armidale, Australia and now lives in Bristol, England. She has a PhD in Drama. Here are some highlights: Jennifer: “Most students when they walk through the door want to be given things to do to make whatever it is that hurts to stop hurting. …
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