Breathing is a fundamental physiological process that sustains life, and while we often take it for granted, the way we breathe can significantly impact our overall well-being. Have you ever considered the role of your tongue in this essential act? The tongue’s position within the mouth plays a crucial role in optimizing respiratory functioning and can have a profound effect on the way we breathe. In this blog, we’ll delve into the intriguing relationship between tongue posture and breathing, exploring how the two are interconnected and the potential benefits of proper tongue positioning for o ..read more

“We are what we repeatedly do – Aristotle. Most of us would have it the that we have free will. However what I have come to understand about myself and having worked with numerous people is how influenced we are by our peer group, society, family, education, media, religion, universal beliefs, which we hold to be true, but when questioned or examined realise how limiting many of our beliefs are. Over time, they have turned into our own unique story of lack, fear, limitation, putting us asleep in a play, playing a part that we didn’t even know we were cast in. We think we’re walking around wit ..read more

What is presence? A characteristic of great performers or athletes is being present and poised, their whole self in the zone, in flow, fully alive awake and aware. Presence is a muscle we develop by engaging the conscious mind, the body, along with all our senses – an expanded awareness – a unified field of awareness – where the conditions are such that we feel whole, complete, we can give and receive, there is nothing to be added, nothing to fix or change, nothing to take away, perfect the way it is, perfect the way it isn’t. These are the qualities you see in young children- fully alive, p ..read more

Walking is one of the healthiest exercises. However it’s not so much what you do it the way you do it. Your body loves the flowing, perpetual rhythm of walking, but have you noticed, it doesn’t always feel that way. We often feel the compression of time, rushing to get to a particular destination, head cluttered, awareness contacted, breathing stilted, stiff joints and muscles; and not very present in the activity of walking – particularly if is a very familiar route. Walking can be a very natural easy activity; however we bring our own unique habits and characteristics into walking. Conside ..read more

Inhibition and Direction = primary flow. Inhibition and Direction are at the heart of F.M Alexander’s discoveries; and when practised and applied to your daily activities; you will begin re-discover your poise, presence, balance and ease. So what do these principle procedures mean? And how can they be of  benefit. Inhibition simply means stopping or pausing before you move, react or go into an activity. Inhibition is not to be confused with the Freudian meaning, where we feel inhibited or shy. The developer of the Alexander Technique used this meaning long before the famous psychoanalyst ..read more

Yoga is growing like wild fire. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people practice yoga in the USA, and the UK is catching up. Why has yoga become so popular? The overwhelming popularity of yoga can be attributed to many things. Accessibility, affordability along with the association of ancient spiritual wisdom and a healthy lifestyle, all make yoga very attractive. Other perceived benefits of yoga such as a lean, strong flexible body, being calm, present, balanced, connected to body and soul, getting rid of back-pain, depression, anxiety; the antidote to a stressed busy mind and lifestyle are also ..read more

Trying to hold yourself up is just as tiring as feeling slumped and collapsed. There is a whole industry including the media advising us about all the things to do and all props and apps to buy to maintain good posture. My colleague Adrian Farrell points this out in his excellent article about posture;  he says “good posture is the absence of bad posture”  or a much better word than posture is poise. Posture is dynamic, not static or a position as most people think. Being an expert on posture, people often ask me what is the best posture or position? often my quick reply i ..read more

I attended a silent 10 day Vipassana retreat which inspired me to write this article.  All of the activities were conducted in complete silence. Eating was one of the rituals I most enjoyed; as it allowed me to be completely immersed in the whole process of eating, which was an amazing experience. I had time to notice my habits around eating, such as my posture and how quickly I usually eat; also to consider the whole journey of how the delicious vegetarian food arrived on my plate. This made me think about how noisy and distracting eating usually is, and how there has bee ..read more

The Alexander Technique Is an amazing practical tool to help bring life’s experiences alive. Much like a musical instrument needs tuning to come alive; the Alexander Technique is a tool to tune all of our senses which brings the mind, body and spirit alive. This work is remarkably simple but not easy, it not about learning more like informative learning it’s transformative learning which means we take away what s in the way of you being natural, awake and alive. I was out in the garden walking bare foot with students today, touching the earth, awakening ourselves to the wonder ..read more

  “Use it or lose it’ As you get older your balance decreases, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Balance is often neglected and not appreciated and if we don’t use it or maintain it, we lose it. 25% of falls among older people are caused by poor balance. If you improve your balance you will see lots of other benefits, such as better coordination, posture, more ease in movement, being more alert, increased capacity to breathe, more energy, being more present, less fearful and prone to injury. So, what interferes with balance, and how does balance deteriorate? Here are some of the ..read more