Every Alexander Technique teacher has their own favourite descriptions of the Technique’s core concepts. Sometimes I come across an elegant new definition; here’s an example: Endgaining means ‘the downsides of over-focusing on our goals’. David Anderson Two further concepts – ‘Inhibition’ and ‘Non-Doing’ – are in a sense the antidote to endgaining, and I’ve recently …
Continue reading “‘Inhibition’ and ‘non-doing’: creative definitions”
Going into a ‘lunge’ is something we explore in the Alexander Technique. The idea is simple: let’s move down to a slightly lower level but without interfering in the head-neck-back relationship, or what Alexander calls the ‘primary control’. Or, to put it another way, can I leave my spine long while bending freely at the …
A short poem from Ecuadorian-American author Yung Pueblo has been doing the rounds on social media. It’s from his book Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand The Future which was published last month. The poem concerns our reactions, helpful or otherwise. Rather than say any more about it, I’m …
In certain actions, we seem to have a real-time sense of our movements as they unfold. For example, if you close your eyes right now and draw a large circle in the air with your forefinger, I’ll bet that you have a sense in real time that your forefinger is making a circular movement. However, …
Continue reading “Overcoming movement ‘blind spots’ with the Alexander Technique”
This Sunday November 13th, neuroscientist Dr Tim Cacciatore and Alexander Technique teacher Andrew McCann are presenting a workshop on the science of how the brain and body create our posture. Tim is an expert in the field of postural tone, having worked with the renowned Dr Victor Gurfinkel and published key papers on postural tone, …
Sometimes an image speaks a thousand words. The following is an elegant summary of the process of the Alexander Technique: The aim of the Alexander Technique is to improve how we ‘use’ ourselves in activity, and by doing so improve our overall functioning. The benefits range from addressing musculoskeletal pain to improving movement, balance and …
The 12th International Alexander Technique Congress took place this summer in Berlin. Luckily for those who couldn’t attend (including me), many of the presentations and panel discussions are still available online. But hurry! All videos and audios are only available until 30 November 2022. It costs €100 to access this wealth of relevant and cutting …
Continue reading “Alexander Technique International Congress – watch online!”
Saturday was the first day back after the long summer break for young musicians at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. It was also the first time many of them would have lessons in the Alexander Technique. I wanted to begin sessions by giving students a sense of why the work we do together could be …
As a trustee of the FM Alexander Trust, I’ve been in charge of a project to bring to life some of the science behind the Alexander Technique. The result is this fantastic two minute animation created by the science animation specialists, SciAni. If you have any interest in the Alexander Technique, do share the video …
This week I gave a presentation for the Bryanston International Summer School where I shared my expertise on performance anxiety for musicians. First, I concocted a tale of a lumberjack’s journey, and then ‘translated’ it into its significance for musicians onstage. You’ll enjoy it, I promise! Here are the two parts below. The lumberjack’s journey: …
