Alexander Technique lessons

Discover how to move with more ease and less effort with one-to-one Alexander Technique lessons

So what happens in a lesson?

In a typical lesson, we look at the simple mechanics of movement (the way the body is designed to move).  We use everyday movements (sitting down, standing up, picking things up and walking) to see how you may be unknowingly interfering with this

A lot of the work that we do is referred to as ‘chair-work’ because it involves looking at what happens to your body when you move from standing to sitting and back to standing.  It’s a process of discovering what your habits are and how these habits affect your body’s overall length, balance and musculo-skeletal system.  Some work is also done lying down in a semi-supine position (on your back with your knees bent).  Using gentle ‘hands-on’ and verbal guidance, you will gradually learn how to let go of unhelpful habits and to allow a more natural ease of movement to emerge

How many lessons will you need?

To really benefit from the technique, pupils need to have regular lessons for a period of time (24 lessons on average).  This is because we are looking to change our habits

If we have a pain in our back, we may want to take some painkillers or be given some exercises or have some manipulation in order to get rid of it.  That’s understandable.  However, if the discomfort in our back is caused by a habitual way of moving or holding our body, then the problem will keep returning.  The Alexander Technique offers a holistic approach to changing these less helpful habits.  We may have spent many years reinforcing our old habits, so it takes a little time to undo them

Initially, if a pupil is shown that they have a habit of pulling their heads back and raising the shoulders every time they sit down, they will probably try very hard not to do this.  In the process, they will end up tensing lots of muscles elsewhere in the body.  This is how we have learnt to approach things; something is wrong – what do I need to do to fix it?  The Alexander Technique recognises that we don’t need to do anything, we just need to stop doing the unnecessary.  We need to learn to stop tightening or contracting our neck muscles because this is what is pulling our heads back.  This isn’t easy because it is very habitual and feels ‘normal’

So Alexander Technique lessons involve learning a completely new approach – one that involves becoming more present, more conscious and uses less effort.  We are learning how to stop doing the ‘wrong’ thing so that the ‘right’ thing can do itself – letting the body’s intelligence emerge as we get out of our own way