Alexander Technique Lessons
Why learn the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is extremely practical and anyone with an interest or curiosity about the ideas mentioned above is welcome to take lessons.
Many people suffering from pain or other chronic health issues, myself included, have benefitted from Alexander Technique lessons. This is why I decided to train as a teacher.
Although the Alexander Technique helps address health issues, it is important to recognise it as an educational, rather than a therapeutic approach. As a teacher, I want to convey to you the principles of the work with practical work so that you can gradually become more aware of your psycho-physical use patterns.
It is very useful to read some of the vast literature on the Alexander Technique as you consider taking lessons. F.M. Alexander’s third book, ‘The Use of the Self’ is always a good place to begin. If you would like more recommendations for reading material, contact me.
What happens in a Private Lesson?
The Alexander Technique is conventionally taught one-on-one. There is a very good reason for this–we are dealing with ‘the use of the self’. Each individual has unique patterns of psycho-physical use. The teacher works with her hands and verbal guidance to help the student to recognise these patterns in themselves and work with the principles of the Technique to bring about a change where it is required.
Lessons are 45 minutes long.
Students are advised to wear clothes that are non-restrictive and that they feel comfortable sitting and lying down in.
Do you offer group class?
Group classes are a good introduction to the principles of the Alexander Technique. These can be arranged on special request by a group of students.
Beyond this introduction, one-on-one lessons work best to understand, explore and apply the principles in your life.
Enquire about introductory workshops for groups below:
Photograph above by Sania Hashmi
My story
with the
Alexander
Technique
Around 2013, while working full-time as a performer and dance teacher, I began to suffer from recurring back pain. My first course of action was to visit medical doctors, specifically orthopedic specialists, and physiotherapists. A neurosurgeon who also happened to be a neighbour, explained to me that back pain of the kind I was experiencing was usually caused by more than simply a physical ‘injury’ or problem, and that it was the result of a feedback loop between the muscles and the brain that had gone into a protective, and therefore, faulty mode of functioning. Based on his advice, I began to look for alternative treatments to address the pain, in addition to staying in contact with medical doctors.
Over the next two years, yoga helped to some extent, ayurvedic medicine too, and physiotherapy. My dance teacher suggested one day that I find out about the Alexander Technique. Luckily, Padmini Menon, the only certified teacher in India was visiting Delhi to teach a workshop in 2015. I signed up for it and although I only took a few lessons and mostly in groups, I felt that this work may be what I was looking for. I decided to do teacher training in my early thirties–a time when I knew that I needed more than Odissi to navigate my life.
