THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

 

Do you have back or neck pain?

Do you struggle with headache?

Do you feel so uncomfortable in your body that it affects your mood and reactions?

Would you like to achieve your full  potential in some activity (work, music, dance, sports)?

 

The Alexander Technique can help you.

 

"Although no one would claim that the Alexander Technique treatment is a cure- all in every case, there can be no doubt that it often does have profound and beneficial effects, and I repeat once more, both in the 'mental' and 'somatic' spheres". Nikolaas Tinbergen, Nobel Prizewinner for Medicine and Physiology 1973

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The Alexander Technique through direct and practical experience teaches us to use ourselves more effectively in all activities of living and how fundamental a contribution to health and well being it can make.

WHY 

In young children we often see an alertness and poise that allows them to sit, stand and move gracefully without strain. Yet we rarely do see that same poise continuing into adult life. Most of us have developed habits that interfere with our natural co-ordination and functioning. We become disconnected and find ourselves reacting automatically in ways that are frequently harmful to our well being and reduce our effectiveness in whatever we do.
The integration of our system as a whole is primarily determined by the co- ordination of our head, neck, and back. When we interfere with this subtle relationship we create distortion and strain throughout the organism and we can be said to be mis-using ourselves.
The result of this misuse may be experienced as specific symptoms such as headache, backache, stiff neck and shoulders, RSI or more generally as a lack of poise, lack of vitality or as a sense of being "out of touch" with our body. Since the body and mind are part of one system, lack of physical poise can affect our state of mind and our ability to cope with life.
People learning the Technique come from all walks of life and backgrounds: doctors, therapists, musicians, actors, managers, secretaries, writers and sportsmen and women.

HOW 

The Alexander Technique is usually taught on a one-to-one basis. Along with verbal instruction and gentle use of their hands, Alexander-teachers help bring about a better co-ordination in their student. As students become more aware of
what constitutes a better use of themselves, they are taught to consciously refrain from habitual patterns of interference and to allow a better functioning to take place. Students develop their ability to attend to the way they react to the various stimuli of life and to change so as to have more choice in how they respond - both physically and mentally.

BENEFITS

The benefits can include relief from aches and pains associated with misuse, improved physical and mental health, enhanced performance and improved appearance.

“The Alexander Technique gives us all the things we have been looking for in a system of physical education; relief from strain due to maladjustment and consequent improvement in physical and mental health; and along with this a heightening of consciousness on all levels. We cannot ask more from any system of physical education; nor, if we seriously desire to alter human beings in a desirable direction, can we ask any less” Aldous Huxley

IN A NUTSHELL

• It is a simple and practical method of mind/body integration.

• It leads to ease of movement, poise and vitality.

• It relieves pain and stress caused by everyday misuse of the body.

• It teaches the appropriate amount of effort for a particular activity.

• It gives you more energy for all your activities.

• It can be applied to any everyday activity (siting, standing, walking, bending, lifting)

• It can be applied to specialized activity (like deskwork, house work, cooking, playing an instrument, Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, sports, meditating etc.)

• It is and intelligent way to solve body problems.

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GERMANA GOMEZ

Alexander Technique teacher, graduated in the Alexander Technique Centre of Amsterdam.

Member of the Asociación de Profesores de Técnica Alexander de España (APTAE)

 

 

The Alexander Technique has been a life changing method for me. It relieved the chronic back pain that I suffered for many years and it helped me to feel comfortable in my body again, not anymore stiff and over worried about what was wrong with it.

 

The Alexander Technique is a well known method for relieving muscular pains and aches and for improving posture but, in fact, it it is much more than that. It makes us aware of our habitual way of reacting, moving, breathing and so on. By learning it, we become more aware about "how" we do what we do (walking, sitting, cooking, playing an instrument) and also we discover that there's a possibility to solve our body problems in a new way and react to what happens to us more consciously.

 

Gradually, we leave behind the ‘automatic pilot’ and begin to be more aware of our emotions and thoughts and through this awareness we become more free to choose to be how (and who) we really want to be. Then our body and mind are not anymore separated concepts within us. They are together and we begin experiencing their unity in our daily life. We finally learn to let go the excess of unnecessary tension.

 

I first had Alexander Technique lessons in the Leeds College of Music, where they are offered to help musicians in many ways. They interested me so much that, after getting my degree in Musicology in Barcelona, I took more lessons  with remarkable AT teachers: Nica Gimeno, Cat Jary, Malcolm Williamson, Elizabeth Walker, Belén Cobos… Later I decided to deepen my knowledge and to become an Alexander Technique teacher, so I went to the Alexander Technique Centre of Amsterdam directed by Tessa Marwick and Paul Versteeg.

 

My aim is to help you improve your health and wellbeing with all the knowledge I have gained through the years thanks to the Alexander Technique and to my own life journey. The Alexander Technique can help almost anybody in many different ways whatever their age, condition or background is.

 

If you are interested in knowing about this process and how the movement mechanisms of your body work, just book your first lesson here.

 

Looking forward to meet you,

Germana