With AT we can discover how to allow any movement to be easier, more coordinated, more whole body.
But F.M. Alexander found it hard to explain his discoveries because he was a hundred years ahead of the science. So he found a way to bring these qualities about for his students using his hands.
To learn his technique this way can feel like a magical process as it is brought about through unconscious pathways. But this can also be frustrating for pupils and teachers also, because how do you replicate a magic feeling? It was always Alexander’s intention that pupils should be able to do the work for themselves.
I’m not the first AT teacher to attempt to solve this issue and I didn’t solve it alone. I was lucky enough to work with some of Alexander’s first teachers, who were clear that the work was about living well. They showed me how to live the technique. But I still didn’t always know how to bring it about for myself.
My quest for answers took three decades. It took me into many different movement disciplines, into functional anatomy and modern neuroscience, and deep into Alexander’s own history. The result is a revolutionary approach to Alexander’s work that gives a new paradigm of how movement is organised. And it comes with a practical set of self-help tools that really work!
My book The Alexander technique, twelve fundamentals of integrated movement takes readers through this new approach to integrated movement, both to understand and apply it for yourself. But it’s a big book, and many people have welcomed support and structure to work through it.
On Thursday 28th September, I invite you to join me in a free online seminar discussing my book and my further evolution of the work.
Who is this seminar for?
- It’s for teachers and students of Alexander technique,
- And also for teachers, practitioners and students of other disciplines who are also interested in Alexander technique:
- yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais,
- movement therapies, tai chi and martial arts,
- runners, swimmers and athletes, riders, golfers, skiers,
- sports and fitness people,
- musicians and singers, actors, performers and dancers,
- somatic therapists, massage and physical therapists,
- and anyone who wants optimal movement patterns.
I also notice that this approach makes it easier to bridge the gap between Alexander technique and other movement and somatic disciplines.
Whether you have my book or not, you can ask all your questions, discuss the ideas, clarify your understanding and get practical guidance on the explorations. Find out what studying the book can do for you and your teaching or practice.
Come to join the discussion, and we’ll share an exploration together based on some of my latest discoveries, on coming to quiet presence and engaging more power when needed. Find stability and mobility and get a freedom of movement you’ve only dreamed of!
The seminar will run twice to suit all time zones: at 9am and at 6pm UK time (see below for world times). Each will be 75 minutes long. You can attend in person or watch the recording later.
To register, please send an email to us at penelope.workshops.help@gmail.com stating which event you would like to attend.
“Your book is a vital update for the Alexander Technique world, in its global awareness of modern somatic research, and in its reaching back to the roots of the work. I gain something every time I read your book, and when I attend your book group.” Kari Prindl AT teacher, USA
“This book does an amazing job of covering exactly what the title states: the
Alexander technique and the fundamentals of movement that are important for
anyone working in an environment that instructs others on muscles and
movement, such as physical therapy, rehabilitation, massage, or personal
training.” Janet L Kadlec, Massage Therapy (Northwestern Health Sciences University)
“I love your approach and since my AT-Training I thought that the link to strength and movement is missing. Since I am a dancer I had to transform the technique into my Dancing and this wasn’t that easy.” Cécile Baumann
“My awareness of my use has been enlivened to a new level – and in such a concentrated way, and I’m finding that really fabulous learning.”
Michael Shellshear, director of Blue Mountains Alexander technique training course
“In my experience, while of course students/pupils gain much through hands-on work often they are left puzzled and the work remains somewhat mysterious to them and it creates a dependency issue. We teachers may also become too habituated to hands-on teaching. It is really the teacher’s role to awaken the curiosity and commitment to this work in the pupil and at the same time give them some pointers and the means whereby to continue the work for and by themselves.” Dorothea Magonet AT teacher, UK
“I am loving the clarity of ideas and explorations that I am getting from your book, exercises and the study group.”
Sandra Dobbs, AT teacher, Australia
“Dear Penelope,
I just wanted to thank you deeply for the work you are doing and sharing!!! My understandings and teaching have changed immensely the last months and I feel much more comfortable in teaching and taking care of myself and am very much looking forward to work together until the end of the book and sharing all the valuable discoveries. Thank you thank you thank you!!”
Rebecca Weimers, AT teacher, Germany
Many people go in to join the Book Study Club. Click here for more details.
https://penelope-s-school-4df3.thinkific.com/courses/twelve-fundamentals-book-study-club
To register for the free seminar, please send an email to us at penelope.workshops.help@gmail.com stating which event you would like to attend.