“Everyone has to do the real work themselves. The teacher can show the way, but he cannot slip into the student’s brain and control his reactions for him. Each person must apply this for themselves.” F.M. Alexander
Procedure
What happens in a lesson?
A lesson lasts about 50 minutes. You get to know everyday movements in a new way: sitting, standing, walking, lying down.
I accompany you with words and with my hands. You will learn how to guide yourself sensibly and how to find into egonomic movements.
The learning effect is not limited to these movements, but is universal and holistic: how do I use myself in general? How do I react as a person to stimuli – from inside and outside? How do my muscles react? What effect does this have on me on altogether? What helps me and what hinders me?
A conversation about your experiences or experiments may develop during the lesson and possibly working on a specific topic – but the procedure may also take place in silence – just as it is needed.
Teaching or therapy?
The Alexander Technique is not a “treatment” or “therapy”. It has healing aspects, and many people find their way to this work through their own suffering. However, it is a journey of discovery and a learning process.
During a lesson, you not only get to know yourself better, but also your own possibilities for dealing productively with yourself and your environment. The lessons can help you to recognize more quickly in which situations you hinder yourself, what exactly you need in order to feel good, how you can find your way back to a relaxed state when you are tense or in pain. You learn – in addition to a very pleasant “treatment” – to act responsibly and in good contact with your environment.
Topics
Depending on your personal wishes and interests, topics can be found on various levels, to name just a few
- quality/wholeness of movement
- presence/ awareness
- (over)concentration – relaxation
- holding on – letting go
- how to learn
- balance
- how emotions and thoughts relate to the body
Special movement sequences and topics can be included, for example
- on the instrument
- with the voice
- when writing and drawing
- on the computer
- sport/ gymnastics/ movement sequences
- during meditation