The Alexander Technique

The Alexan­der Tech­nique is an edu­ca­tional approach to over­com­ing harm­ful habits of move­ment and coor­di­na­tion. It’s usu­ally taught in indi­vid­ual lessons, and is a highly effec­tive way of solv­ing prob­lems in every­day activities.

The Alexan­der Tech­nique is an very pow­er­ful and prac­ti­cal method for chang­ing pat­terns of ten­sion and mis­use that cause fatigue, pain or injury. It is not a  treat­ment, mas­sage, ther­apy, or set of exer­cises, but it can be applied to exer­cis­ing, danc­ing, sports, or any other form of move­ment. It enables you to use thought, atten­tion and aware­ness to make changes in all areas of your daily life.

Con­tem­po­rary life, with its fast pace, com­plex­ity, and con­stant change, poses many chal­lenges.  Some com­mon examples:

  • The com­muter stuck in a traf­fic jam, clench­ing her jaw
  • The tex­ter pok­ing his neck for­ward (“text neck”)
  • The stu­dent hunched down at her lap­top, absorbed in her work
  • The gui­tarist twist­ing his back and rais­ing his shoulders
  • The teacher, strain­ing her voice as she addresses the class

We can’t avoid stress­ful sit­u­a­tions, but the Alexan­der Tech­nique enables us to respond to them more con­struc­tively, rather than react­ing auto­mat­i­cally with mus­cu­lar tension.

Covid-19 pro­to­cols:  My stu­dio is well ven­ti­lated, I wear a mask while teach­ing, and request that all my stu­dents do so as well.

To set up an appoint­ment, or for more infor­ma­tion, please email me or call (510) 845‑6619.

News

  • Visit my page on Face­book.
  • Yelp: Read what my stu­dents say about their Alexan­der lessons.
  • Inter­view: Robert Rick­over and I dis­cuss how the Alexan­der Tech­nique helps musicians.
  • Med­ical study: Long-term back pain can be relieved through encour­ag­ing suf­fer­ers to adopt good pos­ture through the Alexan­der tech­nique, say UK researchers.
  • Arti­cle: Read my arti­cle, The Alexan­der Tech­nique: A Great Tool for Pianists, in SoundPoint.
  • Pod­cast:  Josh Wait inter­views me about the Alexan­der Technique.

Watch AmSAT’s video (under 2 min­utes) about the Alexan­der Technique.

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