How Many Alexander Technique Lessons Will I Need?

Feb 22, 2011 by Mark Josefsberg

Asking a prospective Alexander Technique teacher ‘how many Alexander Technique lessons will I need?’ is a fair question. However, if you ask that to a piano teacher, she might answer: “to do what?”  Playing chopsticks is one thing; playing a concerto is another. People ask Alexander Technique teachers that question all the time. How many Alexander Technique lessons will I need to improve my posture, or how many Alexander Technique lessons will I need  for back pain relief?  No one really knows the exact number of lessons before the pain diminishes or ends, or when a person’s posture will be ‘good’. About 100 years ago in a different world, in a different part of the world, as the only Alexander Technique Teacher in the world, Alexander said a beginning course in the Alexander Technique is 30 lessons. There are teachers who now put the number at 10, still others at 5. If you take 5 Alexander Technique lessons, you’ll learn quite a lot, and you’ll have a good idea whether or not you’ll want to continue.

It is common for someone to feel a bit better within the first few lessons; sometimes after the first lesson. There are people who’ve asked the ‘how many Alexander Technique lessons’ question and have gone on to become quite serious about the Alexander Technique and now have studied for years; far, far after their pain has gone. (That’s my story.) Some people come for a number of sessions, relieve their neck pain or back pain or fix their posture and stay just because they like the feeling. The Alexander Technique has become part of their self-care.

My advice as to how many Alexander Technique lessons will you need? ONE. Try one. You’ll know if you want to continue after the very first lesson. I never ask anyone to commit to a number of lessons, until they’ve taken their first. No one can determine what will happen during an Alexander Technique lesson until they’ve tried it themselves.

Are there any Alexander Technique students out there that would like to tell their story about how many Alexander Technique lessons they’ve taken before seeing results? I’m interested in your comments!

Mark Josefsberg-Alexander Technique NYC

Mark@MarkJosefsberg.com

(917) 709-4648