I am overjoyed to announce the return of limited in-studio instruction for fully vaccinated clients starting Tuesday June 15th 2021 after over a year and a quarter of closure. We are confident that with proper precautions these sessions can not only take place safely but with the quality of relaxation necessary to make them worthwhile. A couple of details:   Full vaccination is required for all indoor in-person students. Proof of vaccination (2nd shot Moderna or Phizer or 1 shot J&J plus two weeks) will be required before entry (I have been fully vaccinated since March).  ..read more

The answer is yes. When it comes to breathing, sometimes less is more.  I was recommended James Nestor's 2020 book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art" by a colleague because of its deep insights into aspects of the Alexander approach to breathwork and I found many of this book's ideas surprising.  It is a highly recommended and refreshingly brisk read (though some of the extreme practices he labels as "breath plus" I wouldn't endorse), especially if you get the audiobook version which includes about a half hour of guided breathing exercises at the end.  Here are some ..read more

,There is an article from The Atlantic written by Amanda Mull making the rounds on social media. It's titled "Yes, the pandemic is ruining your body: Quarantine is turning you into a stiff, hunched-over, itchy, sore, headachy husk".  It is quite the title.  I have hesitated to post it to Freedom In Motion's social media (I finally did this Tuesday with the caveat that I was writing a response) despite the fact that it makes a number of relevant points in line with many of the embodiment issues I see as prescient right now. The sedentary, contained lifestyle of the pande ..read more

Since Saturday, I've noticed an interesting trend in conversation and on social media. Within minutes of the presidential election being called, I saw the same sentiment repeated over and over on my news feed: "I feel like I just breathed out for the first time in four years".  Talking with family and friends elicited similar sentiments. Most people seemed surprised that they weren't aware of what they were carrying until the moment it left.  There are a couple lessons to take from this: our feelings live in our bodies as physical tension, and when we carry it around for a certai ..read more

To say touch has been an integral part of my life for the past eight years would be an understatement. Since I began my training to do Alexander Technique work between lessons as both student and teacher I have been spoiled by an abundance of touch in my professional life--let alone the touch of friends and family in simple forms such as hugs.  More than six months into the pandemic I feel starved for this most essential of human contacts.  Why does touch matter? What makes it different than the other senses? Why does missing touch feel so personal?  In an effort to understa ..read more

Learn to integrate your body and mind so you can thrive. Our new weekly set of online group classes aim to get you into your body from the comfort of your own home (or wherever you are).  We will be offering three types of online classes starting the first week of September, two on an ongoing weekly basis and another twice every month. Classes are available a la cart or as part of two different types of membership packages/subscriptions.  We will be having a free one hour Online Open House on Friday August 28th at 5pm where we will be sampling a bit from all three classes a ..read more

Doing something new is hard. Doing it in front of 23 college freshman is terrifying.  A couple weeks ago I taught my first college class. Even though I have five years teaching experience, I still find new material and new settings difficult--it is essentially an experiment that what I bring to the table will have value for those I am working with, and as these people have usually made a fair commitment of time/money to be there I usually feel a lot of pressure.  This was something entirely different. Being in a college classroom at the apex of a five year plan that had somehow ac ..read more

It's the New Year, which means many of us are looking to get our butts in gear and work towards our fitness goals. Since so many folks are hitting the gym, I thought it would be worthwhile to talk about some of the differences between moving when you work out and moving in your everyday life. Many well-meaning fitness instructors will show you an exercise and say "this is how you_______". Sometimes that is true, sometimes it isn't.  It is easy to accidentally form a conception that how you strengthen your body is the same as how you use it, but that simply isn't always the case.  ..read more

Picture this--you are about to step in front of a huge crowd to deliver the speech of your life. Naturally, you are a bit nervous. You stride out onto the stage, turn to face your audience, and.... What happens to your legs? If you are like 90% of my clients, your knees lock.  This may seem like a small thing but it has far reaching consequences. When your knees lock, it is a symptom of the whole body locking. As a natural consequence of this small action a cascade of things happens to you: you tilts slightly backwards, bringing you off of your center of gravity and putting all of you ..read more

1. Elasticity Is Everything Who doesn't want some free energy? The Art of Running is all about getting more out of your running with less effort.  To do that, the method takes advantage of something called Elasticity--loading muscles to stretch them, and then getting a free bounce off of the release of the contraction. Most of the specific points of the method--getting the foot to make solid contact with the ground, increasing stride length and width, pelvic and rib movement, how to 'bounce' off your feet on each strike, and even the inclusion of your arms in your running are all aimed a ..read more