It was a privilege to work again with the British Suzuki Music Association, this time at their National Workshop in Bristol. The three-day event was held at Badminton School in north Bristol in April, attended by around 150 young musicians and their parents or carers. As you would expect from a Suzuki event, the activities …
Continue reading “Alexander Technique at the British Suzuki National Workshop 2024”
Both the NHS and Parkinson’s UK recognise that the Alexander Technique (AT) is useful for people living with Parkinson’s Disease (PwP). In fact, there has been over 25 years of research into the benefits of AT in this context. The first important study was a randomised controlled trial demonstrating that AT had a positive impact …
Continue reading “Alexander Technique and Parkinson’s Disease: the research”
‘Micropractices’ are brief practices which can be as short as 20 seconds, and which can lower anxiety or stress. They are convenient, accessible and can be practised almost anywhere. An article in Psychology Today has even called them ‘the next disruptive innovation in stress and anxiety treatment’. A recent study of a 20 second micropractice …
Continue reading “‘Micropractices’ and the Alexander Technique”
Alexander Technique Awareness Week is 1st to 7th April, and this year it wraps around ‘Sustainable Healthcare Day’ which is on 6th April. Stress causes a variety of negative effects on our bodies, mood and behaviour. The Alexander Technique can help to manage stress in various ways such as by: Scientists have suggested that improvements …
Continue reading “‘From Stressed to Poised’: Alexander Awareness Week 2024”
The Alexander Technique community is a broad church and yet there is one thing it can agree on: the importance of ‘Direction’. It is an essential Alexander Technique skill. The best introduction to FM Alexander’s own use of the term is by Jean Fischer. But this article has a different purpose: to provide a practical …
Continue reading “Demystifying Alexander’s ‘Direction’: a guide”
Almost a million people in the UK are now too sick to work because of back or neck pain, according to a recent Guardian article. This number has apparently increased by 28% in the last four years. Over the last few weeks, The Guardian newspaper has devoted several articles to the topic, but there has …
Mari Hodges, pain management therapist and Alexander Technique teacher, wrote recently that ‘many people living with persistent pain have felt unvalidated, unheard and stigmatized in their encounters with western medicine’. She continued: the complexities of pain have long been misunderstood and ignored in western society, largely due to a division of mind and body that …
It’s a privilege again to be on the faculty at the European String Teachers Association (ESTA) summer school, this year held at Dean Close School in Cheltenham. Check out their Facebook page for updates on signing up. I’ll be presenting a broad range of themes for attendees under the heading ‘Seven wonders of wellbeing’. First …
Continue reading “‘Seven wonders of wellbeing’ – for musicians”
A recent article about the emotional challenges during the Christmas season – and how we tend to revert to our childhood selves – caught my attention. It reminded me of some insightful writing on how the Alexander Technique can give us a new perspective on tricky personal relations. The passage ends with a thought on …
Continue reading “Dealing with family during the holiday season”
Most professional actors have come across the Alexander Technique. The list of famous names endorsing the Technique is long and includes actors such as Judi Dench, William Hurt, John Cleese, Jeremy Irons and Keanu Reeves to name a few. Now a recent documentary about Lily Gladstone, lead actor in Martin Scorcese’s recent film, ‘Killers of …
Continue reading “Why Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) loves the Alexander Technique”
