New York Magazine asked me to write a few sentences on the Alexander Technique for the January 18, 2010 issue. The article is entitled: ‘50 Steps To Simple Happiness.’ Included in the few sentences I was to give instructions about the Alexander Technique, and when to ‘do’ the Alexander Technique. Yikes… When to do the Alexander Technique? When not to do the Alexander Technique would save words!

The Alexander Technique offers a different kind of posture training, a different kind of posture.You can apply the Alexander Technique to any situation. You can be more easeful, with less tension and compression. You will look like you have better posture.

One of the problems of trying to achieve ‘good posture’, or ‘perfect posture’ is that these terms imply rigidity. Some Alexander Technique teachers attempt to avoid the word posture altogether, calling it the ‘P’ word.
One could learn to have ‘good posture’ in a few minutes, especially if you think of military posture. Military posture is standing up as straight as possible, with your stomach in, chest out, chin tucked in, shoulders back…

What kind of person studies to become an Alexander Technique teacher? At first, I believe, it’s the same type of person who decides to take a few Alexander Technique lessons, and there’s no ‘type’ of person. To become a certified Alexander Technique teacher, you enter an Alexander Technique training…

Alexander Technique teachers have to coach during Alexander Technique lessons. It is not enough to know and be able to teach Alexander Technique principles; you want to know both how to apply them yourself and show students how to apply them. In addition, encouragement is vital because the student may be changing lifetime habits. This takes energy and dedication from the student, and an empathetic…

The Alexander Technique is useful for everyone but especially valuable for musicians.

If you slump in front of you computer, you may ‘just’ cause yourself discomfort, pain or worse. If you slump at your instrument, whether sitting or standing, you may be causing additional difficulties.
When slumping we may not be getting the best sound vocally or instrumentally. The combination of our misuse plus the demands of…

“Stand up straight!” “Pull your shoulders back!” As children, we were told to have good posture. Yet we were seldom taught effective ways to accomplish this. Indeed, we were often not even told just what “good posture” is. The consequences of this information gap can be seen all around us: stiff necks, shoulders hunched forward or pulled tightly back, restricted breathing, and tightness in the thighs, legs and ankles. Backaches, headaches, and other painful symptoms are often the unfortunate result…

This short Alexander Technique post contains two MP3’s. Both are audio interviews of myself conducted by Alexander Technique teacher Robert Rickover. The first interview concerns my Alexander Technique teaching; why I became an Alexander Technique student and subsequently an Alexander Technique teacher here in New York City. The second interview is geared more for Alexander Technique teachers, as we discuss the Alexander Technique and Alexander Technique teachers’ use of the web. This interview calls on my expertise regarding websites. I think it’s an interesting interview because I have no expertise regarding websites!…

…The Alexander Technique is the good news. I teach, show, and coach almost everyone who comes to me how to use the computer without injury. If people are in pain already I teach them how to stop injuring themselves, and the steps to take to allow the body to heal. You could try it right now. See if you can notice any neck tension. It’s there, though you may not be able to sense it at this point. You can learn to let these muscles go. If you release your neck muscles, your head will rotate forward, and move up. You could think this way: I want my neck to be free so that my head will move forward and up. This ‘forward’ business doesn’t mean forward as in your face moving towards the screen…

Soft focus. A wider view. The big picture. Draw back. Back off. Hold up. Pause, wait, stop, relax, ease up, chill. Lengthen. Widen. Take a step back and see the whole rather than just the parts. Alexander Technique, especially in NY. Sometimes too much involvement can draw us in, and down, collapsing into ourselves. Too much involvement; too much riding on it. Even our jaw muscles tighten and shorten. Too important, as if it’s life or death. It makes us want to lean in, anyway we know how; usually by shrinking, compressing. Breathing shallows. We get tense, and then we stay tense. It happens to us someplace, then anyplace, then everyplace. Some times to almost all the time. Then it becomes “that’s the way I am”, or, “I’m a tense person”…