April- June 2020 – Alexander Technique “pause” due to COVID restrictions

We are in unprecedented times with the arrival of the COVID -19 pandemic in Canada and around the world. Here in British Columbia we are “physical distancing” mode as much as possible to prevent the spread of the virus. For those of us who teach Alexander Technique in our private studios, this means that we took a break in teaching for a few months while we figured out how to be safe in our daily lives and our professional practices.

The Sound Being Studio for Alexander Technique was therefore closed from mid-March until the end of June, 2020. As a teacher of the Alexander Technique, I definitely missed helping my students find more efficiency and ease in their lives. However, this “pause” also gave me some wonderful opportunities to re-connect with the Technique and re-embody the principles into my own daily life.

One of the first principles of the Alexander Technique is that it’s about non-doing, not falling into the same habitual movement and tension patterns that we constantly repeat when we are over-engaging and too focused on an end-goal. So suddenly stopping all of our “busy-ness” gave me time to practice more constructive rest, more awareness, more letting go of habits and directing myself into a more balanced state. A good lesson for the teacher, as well as the student!

Further, there are thousands of certified Alexander Technique teachers around the world right now, including many senior teachers and teacher trainers that have much insight and experience to offer. When the COVID shut-down started happening, more of these teachers started offering professional development sessions online, and I was able to take part in quite a number of seminars and workshops. Since many Alexander Technique teachers work solo (with their students), it was a wonderful experience to log into a seminar and see 500 other Alexander Technique teachers online from all over the world, excited to be learning more and sharing about the technique.

I also was able to catch up on a number of other activities at home, which included finishing a renovation on a workshop and the corresponding landscaping and gardening that went with it. Since the Alexander Technique is about being more in balance and at ease in everything we do, all of these activities gave me time to put the principles into action even more in my own life. It’s hard work sifting huge mountains of soil, but much easier if I do it with efficiency of movement, the least tension, and the most ergonomical and balanced way. Good practice, good fun!

Sound Being Studio for Alexander Technique in Nanaimo will be re-opening in July 2020. Updates coming soon….