The short answer to this question is ‘yes’. The longer and much better answer is ‘yes, but…’. In the Alexander Technique, we’re not learning the ‘correct’ way to sit, stand, walk or play the guitar, for example. As soon as you fixate on such a ‘correct’ way to move, you’re most likely inviting tension. In …
Continue reading “Does the Alexander Technique change how you move?”
Maaike Aarts, an Alexander Technique colleague based in Amsterdam, has created a unique Alexander Technique app. From what I’ve seen and heard so far, it’s a well executed and brilliant idea. Maaike writes, This app will help you put the Alexander Technique into practice while you’re doing all kinds of daily activities. So you’ll be …
New figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that more than a million people in the UK were experiencing ‘long Covid’ in a recent four-week period. It’s been called the hidden health crisis of the pandemic, with symptoms including extreme fatigue, pain, heart problems and so-called ‘brain fog’. There’s no clinical evidence that the …
This blog post is based on the article, ‘Walking with mechanical advantage’ (The Alexander Journal no.28) by Lawrence Jones, to whom I’m very grateful. Introduction Walking well and without injury involves minimizing both energy expenditure and impact forces. Unfortunately, social and cultural forces, as well as individual habits, interfere adversely with the way most people …
Continue reading “10 steps to better walking with the Alexander Technique”
For all its downsides, lockdown has resulted in some unexpected flourishing. One amazing example has been the inspiring visual art created over the last year by my friend and colleague Judith Kleinman. Through an amazing variety of images, Judith has managed to capture some of the essence of the Alexander Technique – which is no …
Over this tough period of Covid lockdown, I’ve realised that the closest an Alexander Technique student can get to the experience of a hands-on lesson is ‘active rest’. Essentially, active rest entails lying on your back on a fairly firm surface, placing a book under your head, bending your knees and resting the soles of …
Last week I attended a Zoom talk, Mindfulness Made Easy, presented by Shamash Alidina. You can watch it again here. Shamash characterized mindfulness as being present with certain values such as kindness, curiousity, acceptance and openness. A helpful definition, I thought. There are a number of ways in which mindfulness intersects with the Alexander Technique. …
Semi-supine (or Constructive Rest or Balanced Resting State) is a staple of the Alexander Technique. It entails lying down on your back for 10 to 20 minutes, with a book under your head and your knees pointing towards the ceiling. Sounds simple, doesn’t it! It is indeed simple but it has profound effects. This is …
A recent scientific model of the Alexander Technique proposes that its diverse effects – ranging from pain-reduction to changes in mood – are the result of changes to postural muscle tone. In particular, there is evidence that the Alexander Technique improves the adaptivity and distribution of postural muscle tone. This blog post takes a look …
Google ‘Dr Andrew Huberman stress’ and you’ll come across a flurry of articles, podcasts and video interviews from the past couple of months. Dr Huberman, based at Stanford University School of Medicine, is at the cutting edge of neuroscientific research into stress, and recently he has been sharing his lab’s findings with the wider public. …
