The reason most people try to find an Alexander Technique teacher and start Alexander lessons is to fix their posture. Additionally, some may have made a connection between their poor posture and their neck pain or back pain. Having the motivation to fix posture is as good a reason as any to start studying the Alexander Technique. Not too far into the process of learning the Alexander Technique, however...
Working with NYC actors is similar to working with non-actors with a few significant differences. As with singers, the actors' body is his/her instrument. If your 'instrument' is being tensed or strained unconsciously, if you have a level of body un-awareness, you'll be less expressive at the very least. Actors I've worked with have told me that after our Alexander Technique lessons they're better able to approach roles and auditions with a blank slate. From that neutral place...
When speaking of musculoskeletal problems and pain, the damage has been done are five of the most depressing, disheartening, unintentionally cruel and very often untrue words a health professional can say...This is what a doctor recently told one of my new students, who was trying the Alexander Technique for pain..as an Alexander Technique teacher in NYC, part of my job is to help people reverse or prevent damage, and I see back pain, neck pain etc. minimized and eliminated all the time, every day. People get better, and better, and better. The power of the human body (and mind, and spirit) to rejuvenate is well known. People start the healing process the minute they stop hurting themselves. The Alexander Technique teaches you how to stop the pain. The Alexander Technique teaches you how to stop the damage, so you can start getting better...
"How can I use the Alexander Technique in my life?" I hear this question, and versions of it, frequently at Alexander Technique lessons. It's really a great question and gets to the heart of the matter of the benefits of the Alexander Technique. The Alexander Technique is done as you think about it. If you're thinking about the principles of the Alexander Technique, you're using the Alexander Technique, or you're doing the technique, or you're practicing the technique, or you're performing the technique, or you're applying the technique, or you're incorporating the Alexander Technique into your life. As an Alexander Technique teacher I emphasize awareness of initiating movement; how you start actions like moving your hands, initiating walking, so...
