If you are interested in learning the technique, keep in mind that it is like learning an instrument. It is much less about “understanding it” one time, than it is about practicing, exploring, and integrating it moment by moment and day by day. If I explained how my French Horn is played, and you understood the explanation….how good would you be at playing it immediately? Not very good at all! If I gave you one lesson (with you trying it out, copying examples, and being corrected), then how good a French horn player would you be? However, if I gave you a series of lessons over ten weeks, and you took it home and practiced every day….exploring the sensation of how play the horn, making mistakes, figuring out how to make the best sounds possible with the most efficiency…then how much would you have improved? The Alexander technique is also learning an instrument…it’s just that the instrument is your complete self (body & mind)…and it takes practice to become skilled at using it!

One aspect of the Alexander Technique is that it is often taught with “hands-on” kinaesthetic feedback, meaning the teacher is using her hands to gently guide the student through movement and also giving feedback to each student on how to “listen” to their own kinaesthetic quality (tension, fluidity, fixing, lightness, etc.) In large workshop situations, there is very little opportunity for “hands-on” work. In smaller group classes there is a bit more time for it. But by far, the private sessions is where each student gets an incredible amount of time with kinaesthetic feedback specific to their own movement and habitual patterns.

My introductory workshops are just that…an introduction to the basic principles and ideas of the technique, with small little experiments to get people moving, thinking, and learning how to use these ideas. With some of the most basic information in mind, we play with gentle movement patterns (standing, walking, bending, sitting, lying down), to see how those ideas can be integrated into your life moment by moment. With focused-based workshops (specifically for musicians, athletes, seniors, or any other group), we explore how these ideas relate to their specific interest or issue.

The group classes are often smaller (maximum 12 people), with classes over a series of weeks. Currently I offer three group classes per year, each one is a 1.5 hour class for 5 weeks. In the group class we explore the same principles, ideas, and movement patterns, but we have time to revisit the previous ideas each week and to hone the interpretation and practice of them. The group classes are interesting because students can also watch and learn from each other, and understand how some of their patterns might be the same or different from others. In the group class there is a little more time for kinaesthetic “hands-on” feedback, but even then it is extremely limited compared to private lessons.

Most of my private sessions are 1 hour each and are focussed completely on the individual student’s particular interests, issues, injuries, and habits of movement. There is significantly more hands-on work with the teacher guiding the movement patterns, as well as visual and verbal guidance (posters, skeletons, and verbal direction to help with practice). Each student also spends 15-20 minutes doing the “lying-down” work…but in this case on a massage table with the teacher giving kinaesthetic feedback and adjustments. It is very subtle and gentle work, and can be used even with some fairly extreme injuries or limitations. The private sessions are absolutely the best way towards ongoing change and transformation of your particular patterns, and are important for anyone with very specific injuries that I cannot address in a group setting.

Of course, workshops and group lessons are less expensive than private sessions, but also less effective at long-term change. Many of my students start in a group setting to see what the Alexander Technique is “all about”, but then proceed to private lessons once they realize how life-changing the technique can be. One of my recent students said “This is the best thing I have done for my health in years.  I am no longer using all the other supports, massage, chiropractor, physio and acupuncture. I started in a group class, moved to private lessons, and I am now doing one follow-up session a month.  It is different from anything you have been taught.  It is based on how our bodies are built to move.”

Please come try out the Alexander Technique, in whatever format works for you! Call me for more information: 250-716-3464. Sincerely, Heather Walker