The American philosopher, psychologist and educator, John Dewey viewed the Alexander Technique as the missing physical link in his educational philosophy, stating that the technique ‘bears the same relation to education that education itself bears to all other human activity’.
Over 25 years of teaching the technique, I have been privileged to have witnessed many positive changes in those who have taken a significant step into the relative unknown and have made the choice to ‘try something a little bit different’.
Those who have made that step have had their habits and ‘sensory awareness’ challenged and for those that have embraced the thought process – which is necessary to achieve the change in posture and movement – there have been some huge discoveries and ‘light bulb’ moments, making the ‘work’ all the more valuable.
In the safe space of my teaching practice, I have seen laughter and tears, anger and frustration, perseverance and acceptance: the whole gamut of emotions as tension is released, muscles move differently, breathing becomes easier. The tight, pinched face releases and softens, shoulders that began at ear level drop and arms are allowed to hang naturally instead of there being a gap big enough to slot a small dog into. The tightly held pelvis and the protruding abdomen, releasing and disappearing in moments with the right thought and attention.
I have a handful of pupils, many now good friends, who have been with me for most of my 25 years teaching. They began lessons for back pain, poor posture, wanting to improve their golf, horse-riding, running and singing among other things. Now they come to maintain the balance and flexibility in movement which is so important as we get older and because they enjoy the gentle reminders of what ‘good use’ feels like in each session.
Many of my female pupils are now post-menopausal (including me) and lessons have helped them – and me – deal with things that this time of life surprises us with: a lack of confidence, increase in anxiety, poor posture due to skeletal or muscle changes and poor balance being a few.
As Cameron Diaz said: ‘Ageing isn’t about getting old, it’s about living…learning that you can age well will actually help you to age better’. And a big part of learning the Alexander Technique is about how to age well.
If you are interested in learning how the Alexander Technique can help you to age well – contact me.
