Spring is coming! Let go of tension to move with ease, efficiency, and joy. February 2016

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The days are getting longer, the flowers are coming up!  Spring is always exciting, since it reminds us of new energy, new possibilities, and the beauty of natural design.  I want to remind you that you also have these possibilities within you – in your whole self; your body, mind, emotions, and spirit.  If you would like to explore how to let go of old habits and discover more ease within you – then the Alexander Technique is a tool for you.  I work with anyone who might be having back and neck pain, excess tension, headaches, muscle spasms, or just general poor posture…or, who just wants to move with poise.  Through gentle movements, hands-on guidance, visual and verbal cues, we re-learn how to move with natural fluidity. Come explore!

Heather Walker is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, and teaches privately out of her studio in downtown Nanaimo.  Please phone 250-716-3464 for more information.

Wishing you Health, Ease, and Joy – December 2015

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I would like to wish all my Alexander Technique clients a healthy and joyful winter season, reminding you that you can take some time for rest and relaxation over the holidays!  December is a cold, dark and busy time of year, and we tend to push ourselves hard without truly listening to our tree_berries_frost10_6346bodies and what we need.  The Alexander Technique is one tool for learning to be more present, aware, easeful and efficient in your everyday activities.  It reminds us that we have hundreds of moments, every day, when we can bring our attention back into our selves and make a slightly different choice – stopping any habitual reaction such as tightening our neck, compressing our back, or moving with more tension than we need.  The more we use the tool, the more ease and joy we can have in everyday moments – even during stressful times of the year!

The Sound Being Studio for Alexander Technique will be closed from December 18th until January 3rd, as I take time for health, relaxation, and spending time with loved ones. I will you all Happy Holidays and I look forward to working with you in the New Year.

– Heather Walker

 

Introductory Alexander Technique Class for Choirs – October 2015

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This month I had the pleasure of teaching an introductory Alexander Technique class for the student choir at Vancouver Community College.  I love combining my background as a professional musician with my long training and experience teaching movement, awareness, and ease.  This class was a perfect opportunity to introduce basic concepts of the Alexander Technique to these aspiring imagesmusicians: ideas about fluidity of movement, efficiency of design, natural support, and how we can move without tension or strain.  The class is experiential; highlighting students’ kinaesthetic awareness, having them explore movement, and using visual and tactile learning to understand basic anatomy.  It was a lot of fun as we explored how they can take these ideas into everyday moments and into their music making as well.  I look forward to teaching a longer Alexander Technique class at Vancouver Community College in 2016.

I am always happy to plan and deliver specialty workshops for any group, on Vancouver Island or on the mainland.  In Nanaimo, where I teach privately out of my home studio, there are many community choirs and musicians – I look forward to working with you all!

 

Improve Posture, Reduce Pain & Strain, Move with Ease! Fall 2015

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You can change!

You can change!

Explore the possibility of lightness and freedom of movement using the Alexander Technique. We will use practical experiments to learn how to notice tightening, release muscle tension, re-establish better balance and move more efficiently. Learn tools for recuperation from injury and pain, and prevention of unnecessary tension. Understanding the principles of the Alexander Technique helps you to expand your awareness and make better choices about how you use your body & self. Anyone can learn to recuperate from stress and prevent undue wear & tear by using less effort in daily activities.

Private Alexander Technique lessons available in Nanaimo (ongoing, Fall 2015)
Ongoing bookings for specialized group workshops – please contact me for more information!

Alexander Technique “Embodied Musician” Class, October 2015

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This month I have the great pleasure of teaching an Alexander Technique class for a course at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Langely, B.C.  This course is taught by a colleague of mine, Paula Wise, who also plays in the Vancouver Opera Orchestra with me.  Paula and I both love working with musicians, exploring all the connections of mind/body/intellect/emotions…the whole SELF, in music and life. As in all my guest workshops and classes, I take the students through active exercises and experiments to explore kinaesthetic awareness, efficient design of the body, and ease in all activities to come back to natural, tension-free, poised movement.  What great fun!

Psychophysiology of Music Performance

Musician silhouettesStudents will explore the psychological/physical relationship in music performance as well as the mental and emotional factors that affect learning and teaching. They will develop body awareness (posture, movement, and breathing) and its relationship to musical performance, as well as learn how to amend their physical movements to play more efficiently with less effort. Students will also investigate different approaches in developing musical skill, expressivity, interpretation, musical memory, and motivation, as well as survey different techniques for managing, and utilizing, performance anxiety.

Alexander Technique Summer 2015

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Happy Summer 2015!

I hope you have been having a great summer, filled with beauty, outdoors activities, health, friends, good food and fun!The Alexander Technique Studio in Nanaimo continues to be open throughout the summer, although with more limited hours.DSC06863  I am teaching Alexander Technique at leat 3 days per week in private sessions, for people from all over mid-Vancouver Island.  I help people understand their body’s efficient design and how to learn better movement habits, which leads to better posture and less pain & strain.  And when I’m not teaching, I’m using this wonderful tool myself to enjoy moving efficiently in the great outdoors!  Please contact me to book an appointment.  Alexander Technique group classes and workshops start again in late September 2015.
Best wishes, Heather Walker

Alexander Technique at International Music Academy, June 2015

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I am excited and pleased to announce that I will be the Alexander Technique instructor at a prestigeous international music academy in June of 2015. The venue is “Le Domaine Forget”, situated about 1.5 hours drive east of Quebec City, Quebec.

Le Domaine Forget is first and foremost an International Music and Dance Academy for young students and future professionals. It is recognized internationally for its pedagogical excellence. It is nestled in the heights of Charlevoix, east of Quebec City, and only a few steps from the St. Lawrence River. Le Domaine Forget offers an exceptional setting conductive to creativity and musical practice, far from the busy crowd. Masterclasses, private and group classes, conferences and concerts are programmed.

academie-generalAs a pre-professional music student, I spent a number of years in Quebec City studying at the Conservatoire de Musique. It was during those years that I also took advantage of the amazing environment, world-class professors, and unique learning opportunities that “Le Domaine Forget” offered. Later, as an injured professional musician and then an Alexander Technique teacher, I often thought of the academy and wished there had been some instruction on the use of our bodies as our primary instrument – to avoid tension, strain and injury while playing and throughout our lives.

This year will be the first time “Le Domaine Forget” will have an Alexander Technique teacher on staff. I will be teaching one and a half weeks of the Brass Camp (June 4th – 14th) and one week of the woodwind camp (June 14th – 21st). The Alexander Technique teaching will include masterclasses, group lessons, and private lessons. I very much look forward to it! – Heather Walker

For more information, go see the 2015 session roster now!
www.domaineforget.com

Sound Being Studio closed May 27 – June 22, 2015, teaching Alexander Technique in Quebec

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Hello

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching Alexander Technique at an International Music Academy in Quebec during the month of June.  As such, Sound Being Studio, the Nanaimo centre for Alexander Technique, will be closed from 1pm on May 27th to 1pm on June 22nd, 2015.  I am happy to answer any correspondence or questions by email during my absence.  Private Alexander Technique sessions re-commence June 22nd and continue throughout the summer of 2015 on a variable schedule.  Please contact me for more information!

For imformation about the international music academy where I will be teaching Alexander Technique: www.domainforget.com

Sincerely, Heather Walker