A recent survey suggests that Alexander Technique teachers can provide valuable support for the well-being and resilience of informal carers. This could be welcome news for the 1 in 5 adults currently providing unpaid care in the UK (Carers UK, Carers Week 2022 research report).  The international survey of Alexander teachers captured their experience of teaching carers and of applying the Alexander Technique in their own caring roles. This has now been written up in the International Journal of Care and Caring.  The three authors are two Alexander teachers with direct experience of ..read more

What kind of mattress or pillow should I buy to stop me waking up with back pain? This is something I get asked all the time - but it’s not so simple to answer. The bad news is that it's often not the mattress or the pillow that needs to change - it's you. Buying something new to sleep on can help. But it won't alter the basics of how you use your body. And it’s how you use your body all day every day that’s causing the problem.   This isn’t about overdoing it at the gym or in the garden, then getting muscle aches at night. It’s about the ongoing habitual day-in-day-out postural patterns ..read more

We all spend too much time on the slouching seesaw. Whenever we sit down we slouch. After a bit our back gets sore and we sit up straight. That doesn’t work for long so we slump down again. We’re trapped on the slouching seesaw. The trouble with the slouching seesaw is that neither position works for long. Both ways of sitting cause problems. Slouching puts too much weight on parts of the spine that can't take it. And making ourselves sit up straight uses too much tension in the muscles. We probably arch our back and narrow in the shoulders to do it. If we do this over and over we’ll end up w ..read more

When something goes wrong in our body it’s easy to think only about the problem areas - lower back, frozen shoulder, dodgy ankle. We forget that our body operates as an interconnected system. It’s not helpful to focus on just one part. It tends to separate that part off in our mind from the rest of our system. We want instead to remind ourselves that everything is integrated and works as a unified whole.  Co-ordinated and aligned This focus on parts is common when people first come to the Alexander Technique. The Alexander Technique can help because it deals with the organising principles ..read more

Over the past couple of days I’ve been to see the queue for the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II. My first visit was close to its starting point at London’s Tower Bridge. Usually the security guards are quick to remind me not to cycle. This time they were welcoming and friendly. They seemed proud of their role in proceedings, keeping an eye on the queue while answering queries and giving directions to toilets and coffee stops. Most people wore flat shoes, mindful of the queuing time of 12 to 13 hours. All were dressed for a chilly day of standing and slow progress along the riverside. Some ..read more

As we head into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic it can be hard to know what we mean by health, well-being or recovery. Just in time comes a helpful guide by Edinburgh GP and writer Dr Gavin Francis called Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence. It’s hopeful, humane and full of empathy. It’s published in the time of Covid but that’s not what it’s about. It’s really the passing on of wisdom from an experienced and sympathetic doctor about recovery from any period of ill-health or long-term difficulty. If that describes you or a relative or friend, then it’s worth a read. Recovery for ..read more

We take balance for granted - until something goes wrong and we realise we’re not as stable on our feet as we thought. If that sounds like you, here are some things to think about. Making new connections Don’t despair, but instead take heart. At a deep systemic level we have an innate capacity to change. It’s possible to make long-term improvements to balance and postural co-ordination. Our brains have a natural ability to adapt and create neural connections throughout our lives in response to new experiences – a process known as neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. We each have different sta ..read more

One question I often get asked is how to integrate Alexander Technique and regular exercise. Some people come for Alexander lessons to address pain or mobility and can do very little physical activity. But others do yoga, Pilates, gym sessions, walking, cycling, swimming, gardening or sometimes rehab exercises from a physio alongside their Alexander sessions.  If that sounds like you, here are three ways to approach your exercise in a more mindful way. Zoom out and think about your whole body It’s easy to imagine we are exercising or using “only” our arms or shoulders or one muscle group ..read more

Paying attention to your body and the world outside can change your posture and how you come across to others. For easy movement and a sense of poise we need to be able to pay attention to ourselves and our surroundings at the same time. Mostly we do one or the other, and it’s a life skill to learn to do both. I used to look down at my feet as I walked along, lost in my own thoughts and unaware of who or what was passing by. Within weeks of starting Alexander Technique lessons I noticed something unexpected. People kept stopping me in the street to ask for directions. What had changed? To star ..read more

If you’re missing the feeling of lightness and ease that comes after an in-person Alexander lesson, there’s help at hand. Dutch musician and Alexander Technique teacher Maaike Aarts has developed Think Up - an Alexander app with 98 short audio guides that you can listen to at home or on the move. I’ve been using it daily over the past couple of weeks and can highly recommend it, especially if you’ve already had some Alexander lessons. You can use it as a refresher or to keep you going between lessons or if you can’t get to see a teacher during the pandemic. Five of the audio guides are free, s ..read more