Though I work a great deal with actors (I teach at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles), I really don’t know anything about teaching acting. Which is fine, because that’s not my job. My job is to teach actors how to improve what they do by using the Alexander Technique. I can, however, recognize bad acting. In bad acting I always see the actor instead of the character. In other words, I see the self-conscious mannerisms of an actor trying to portray a character. Usually this comes with a tremendous amount of unnecessary muscular tension. Continue reading Just Let It Emerge

I have been a professional musician (saxophonist, flutist, composer) for over thirty five years. I came to study the Alexander Technique because of some serious problems I was experiencing as a performer. In learning to help myself with this work, I’ve come to see a broader picture of what it means to learn and improve in an activity that demands a high level of refined motor skills (such as music). As I gain more experience teaching the Alexander Technique to musicians, I’ve come to recognize my old habits and attitudes about learning in many of my musician students. Continue reading A Musician’s Two Biggest Obstacles To Improvement

As both a fitness enthusiast and a certified personal trainer, I find the Alexander Technique highly applicable to exercise. By applying the Alexander principles, I’ve been able to help myself and my clients train with greater efficiency and safety, not to mention overall improvement in fitness. Pilates is a form of exercise that has grown considerably in recent years. In fact, most of my Alexander students have either heard of Pilates, or have some experience in this discipline. I’m often asked how the Technique is related to Pilates. Allow me to introduce Pam Johnson, who is a certified Pilates teacher and a certified Gyrotonic exercise instructor. Pam teaches at Bodyscape Integrative Physical Therapy in Pasadena, and has a vast amount of experience with clients of a variety of needs and conditions. She is also one of my Alexander Technique students. Pam has a natural curiosity about movement, and has a capacity for observation (both in herself and her clients) that is rare. She is also one of the most open-minded people I’ve met: never defensive, always inquisitive. I asked Pam the following questions: Continue reading A Pilates Teacher Talks About The Alexander Technique

The things that don’t exist are the most difficult to get rid of.
F.M. Alexander

This quote from the founder of the Alexander Technique quite clearly describes one of the biggest obstacles to personal growth and change: Our false beliefs about ourselves. And even though these beliefs are inaccurate, they ultimately influence (if not determine) our health, success and overall well-being. Have you ever been surprised by doing something you “thought” you couldn’t do? It’s quite a thrill. For most of us this is the exception that makes the rule. For example, I often notice that when I return from vacation, after not playing saxophone for a couple of weeks, that I will be able to do something on my instrument that I forgot I “couldn’t” do previously. It might be some technical aspect of playing the instrument that I usually struggle with, or some expressive channel that was not previously available. But because I forgot about the struggle, it’s become a non-issue. These moments are milestones in my improvement as a musician. Because once something like this happens, I never go back to my old belief. In other words, I’ve had an experience that changes my perception of myself. This is the essence of the Alexander Technique learning experience. Continue reading Want To Improve? Start By Changing What You Believe About Yourself

As a musician who has been greatly helped by the Alexander Technique, I get a special kind of satisfaction helping other musicians discover the practical benefits of this work. This month I’d like to introduce you to Cathy Biagini, a professional cellist whom I first met in my beginning Alexander Technique class at the Crescenta-Canada YMCA, in La Canada. I was immediately struck by Cathy’s desire to change, her willingness to make mistakes in order to learn, and her warm sense of humor. Great qualities for any student to have! She possesses a very personal, absolutely gorgeous sound on her instrument, and enjoys a successful and varied career as a performer. Having traveled worldwide in her career, Cathy has performed with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and Mstislav Rostropovich. She has been principle cellist in many orchestras, and is currently principle cellist for Asia American Symphony. I’ve come to know Cathy as a deeply dedicated student of the Alexander Technique, somebody who faithfully applies what she learns to her musical practice. To see her continued growth and improvement is an inspiration to me. I asked Cathy these four questions about her experience with the Alexander Technique: Continue reading A Professional Musician Talks About The Alexander Technique

When you drive, do you find yourself struggling every time you have to look over your shoulder to change lanes, or to back up your car? This could be a result of how you are organizing your movement in this activity. If you lack the necessary range of motion to adequately turn to see what you need to see, you pose an obvious risk to yourself and your fellow motorists. But you also pose an additional risk to your back and neck if you are straining your entire body to see. The type of movement involved in looking over your shoulder is called spinal rotation, and it can be potentially harmful if you are pulling yourself downward as you rotate. Follow these simple guidelines to help you release upward in order to increase your range of motion in a safer and more comfortable way: Continue reading Looking Over Your Shoulder Safely And Comfortably While Driving

Many of the people who attend my seminars on the Alexander Technique are there because they are experiencing pain and/or discomfort while they work. Though primarily office workers, I also get to meet people from a host of other vocations and professions: musicians, gardeners, actors, chefs, dentists, warehouse workers, to name but a few. They come to my seminars for a different perspective on their problems. Often what they want from me is some simple, practical and effective advice that they can take with them and use immediately. In short, they want to be able to work without the usual pain and discomfort. I explain to them them that there are three things that largely determine whether or not they’ll stay reasonably comfortable, pain-free and healthy while working: Use, Environment and Rest. If you find yourself challenged with chronic back, neck, shoulder, or other kind of musculo-skeletal pain, ask yourself these three questions while you work: Continue reading Three Things To Keep In Mind To Work In A Healthy Way

Most of us have some idea of what it means to “concentrate” on something. Sometimes this has a general meaning, as in concentrating on future goals, or concentrating on improving in some particular skill. In this sense, concentration means to give a higher than usual priority to directing one’s time and efforts to a particular end. But what about when you “concentrate” in the moment? For example, what happens when you concentrate on solving a particular problem while working on your computer? How does this cause you to react? Do you stiffen your body? Pull your head down into your shoulders? Knit your brow as you clinch your jaw? Stop breathing? For many people, these not-so-productive reactions are all part and parcel of what it means to concentrate. As you can imagine, if you were to respond day in and day out in this way as you concentrate on your work, you might be causing yourself unnecessary discomfort (or worse). Continue reading What Do You Do When You “Concentrate”?

“Each faculty acquires fitness for its function by performing its function.” Herbert Spencer (as quoted by F.M. Alexander in Man’s Supreme Inheritance) eloquently and succinctly describes here an essential principle of cause and effect as it relates to physical fitness. In short, you acquire your fitness for living by carrying out the acts of living. To be fit for walking, you need to walk. To be fit for bending and reaching, you need to bend and reach. And so forth. But there is a catch here: Your fitness will only reflect the quality of how you use yourself to carry out your activities. Continue reading Strength And Coordination: Inseparably Linked

I’d like to give you an opportunity to hear about the Alexander Technique from the most important perspective of all: that of the student. This month I’m speaking with Dr. Lane Ochi, a general and cosmetic dentist with a highly successful Beverly Hills practice. Dr. Ochi’s patients include some of the most highly recognized people in the entertainment industry. He has a well-deserved reputation as a leader in his field.
An avid bicyclist, he has competed both on the road and the velodrome. A true renaissance man, Lane is also an accomplished photographer, a patron of the arts, a collector of rare, handcrafted watches, a student of many disciplines of philosophy, and a dynamic public speaker. The list goes on. He is a warm and humorous person, and it is a rich experience to for me to be his Alexander Technique teacher.
I asked the Dr. Ochi the following four questions: Continue reading A Student Shares His Experience About The Alexander Technique