In November 2022, I presented a workshop for the sports and music scholars at City of London School for Girls, as part of their Aspiring Performers Wellbeing Programme.
It was a great opportunity to introduce the benefits of the Alexander Technique in a fun and practical way, and I had some fantastic feedback.
Below is a summary of what I offered. It is a very adaptable workshop that can be tailored for any group of young people.
- Warm-up walk: how we think alters how we move and feel. 1) think ‘heavy knees’ 2) think ‘up’. What do you notice in yourself and others?
- Less effort can result in better performance among athletes – a fascinating story from top coach Robert Kriegel.
- Big Idea: Use affects Functioning. Even Bigger Idea: Thinking affects Use affects Functioning.
- Endgaining, or overfocusing on goals instead of staying easy with the process. General examples: Holding your breath at a difficult passage. Tightening your muscles because you’re anxious to get something right. Just wanting to get to the end of your practice. Specific examples: A trumpeter loses height on their outbreath, rather than staying tall. A singer leans forward rather than staying balanced. A cellist tightens up in preparation for a shift. A pianist arches their back and tightens in their hip joints at the piano. Do you recognize yourself in any of these?
- Importance of whole self awareness. Your best coordination comes about when you’re aware of your whole self. Your full potential is released when you’re aware of your whole self. We need to find a way to stop reacting with tension.
- Principle no.1: Inhibition, or stopping. Three Inhibition games: feel the tension then come back to balance and open awareness. 1. threading a needle. 2. looking for lost key 3. cycling through a blizzard.
- The Ready List. 1. Am I breathing? 2 Am I balanced? 3. Can I see the world around me?
- Some Alexander Technique science. See here.
- Principle no.2: Direction. ‘Directing is having the wish, the intention, the aspiration, to be going in those directions that are expansive rather than contractive, but the wish must be expressed through muscular release rather than tension and effort.’ (John Nichols).
- Julia Duschenes’ anchor visualisation.
- An Alexander Technique étude. See here for details.
- Summary, Q&A and further resources.