Alexander Technique
Brooklyn/Manhattan

Newsletters (will open in a new window)

Winter 2007-08 Newsletter: Stillness

When we are busy—not only during the Holiday season but generally in life—we often get stuck. But not "stuck" in the sense of being unable to move; we become "stuck" in our efforts to get things done. We end-gain to meet our goals and leave little enjoyment for the process.

Fall 2007 Newsletter: We Can Throw Away the Habit of a Lifetime If We Use Our Brains

I'm climbing to the top of a very narrow 25-foot ladder. The truth is, I lost count after about 18 rungs up. From the safety of the ground it didn't seem so high up, but I am still climbing and the cold metal rungs are hurting the soles of my bare feet. I am wondering why I ever let my friend talk me into trapeze lessons, and why in the name of all that is holy this seemed like a good idea.

Spring 2007 Newsletter: Dealing With the Weight of the Bones

You could say that all day long our muscles are dealing with the weight of our bones as they respond to gravity. Often we think of movement as occurring first in the muscles, but I believe that in a well coordinated system the muscles should respond after the movement is initiated in our joints. 

Fall 2006 Newsletter: Functioning Without Interference

The goal of this work is to attend to these directions not by trying to actively achieve them, but rather by considering how we interfere with them and by inhibiting that interference.

Summer 2006 Newsletter: Get Out of Your Own Way

What is most challenging about this work is not learning the physical mechanics involved in moving through space with more freedom, but learning to adapt and involve our thinking and believing that this is enough to sustain the coordination.

Winter 2006: Thinking With More of Yourself

It seems that we often want to go through the day on autopilot and to "check out" from our daily activity—to let our activities "do" themselves. It is often our goal just to finish our current task without any real involvement, so we can just move on to the next task. This habit of thought is the largest obstacle in an individual's learning and incorporation of the Alexander Technique. 

Fall 2005: The Way You Think of Yourself is the Way You Move Yourself

Most people think that good posture is about holding a shape, and that to correct a slump (or any “bad” posture) you just need to hold yourself in the “correct” position. But posture is about balance, not holding a shape, and it is a direct result of how you think about about your body and the way it moves. 

Summer 2005: Starting at the Top

Think about your head. It is a heavier object than you might think, weighing anywhere from 8 to 15 pounds. Now remind yourself what a 10-pound bag of potatoes feels like, and imagine that weight, in the shape of your head, balancing on top of your spine. That is a substantial amount of weight to carry around all day. 

Articles

The Spine as a Compression Spring: 
Weight-bearing with the Alexander Technique

By altering the balance of the head on the spine not only is the overall length of the spine affected, but all the parts of the body are energized differently.  Tension (or sometimes a lack of it) in any of the parts affects the general springiness of the spine. 

We Don't Know Squat:
Recovering an Active Opposition Between Legs and Torso

“Posture” is not a position to be achieved but a movement of our whole structure as it constantly balances and rebalances itself in response to activity.

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