Impossible?  “Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.'” (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland) In the illustration above from the classic story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice is cramped inside the Rabbit’s house, just having grown many times her original size. She looks supremely uncomfortable, her neck is compressed, and her arm i ..read more

To live in a world that is constantly changing requires a relationship with uncertainty. Many of us may really not like uncertainty, because by its very nature we don’t know what’s going to happen.  Adapting to Change The Alexander Technique is a practice that helps us adapt to the constantly changing world we live in, by bringing body, mind, attention, and intention together in the moment. As such, it gives us practical tools for dealing with the uncertainty that is a continual companion in any life.  I always find value in drawing parallels between the “laboratory” style w ..read more

You’ve probably heard of the three Rs. You might know “reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic,” or perhaps “reduce, reuse, recycle.” As school starts again in my part of the world, I was inspired to create my own short list of Rs for the Alexander Technique. 1. Rest to Restore Constructive Rest, that is. (And yes, that’s two words, but they go together!) Using the semi-supine rest position on a regular basis is a reliable way to restore your body-mind unity and release unnecessary tension. It helps to sort out the pulls and strains of daily life so that you can come back to a baseline level of e ..read more

Are you a studio music teacher who is curious about the Alexander Technique? Do you have some experience with the Alexander Technique, but wonder how to bring it into your pedagogy? Join colleagues — other studio music teachers of all instruments and age ranges — for a time of group Alexander Technique instruction, brainstorming, workshopping, and peer support!  The Alexander Technique is more than a great set of “tools” for your teaching… …it is an entirely new way to see. Grow your mind-body awareness skills so that you can: Teach from your center, with grounded presence, energy ..read more

In my professional life, I’ve been privileged to work in a number of different fields. I teach the Alexander Technique to individuals and groups, I direct a choir, I teach voice, and I’ve done all of those in a range of settings. However, in every one of those settings — and in all others — I am always a life-long student and practitioner of the embodied mindfulness principles I learned in the Alexander Technique. After nearly 22 years of practice, the Alexander Technique discipline of attention, non-doing, and direction is a foundational part of how I engage with the world and move through ..read more

Earlier this year, I had the wonderful privilege of presenting at the Midwest American Choral Directors Association conference, with “Process, Poise, Presence: Tools from the Alexander Technique for Wellbeing in Music and Daily Life.” Teaching Alexander Technique to choral musicians — specifically choral educators — is one of my favorite things, and I’m grateful to MACDA and all of the folks who came to my session (bright and early on a cold morning in Chicago, I should say!) We had some great discussions, and I’d like to explore one of the questions that was asked during my workshop: How d ..read more

Problem Solving… Have you ever faced a problem where the solution seemed so complex, you just couldn’t wrap your head around it? Or a confusing situation where things didn’t seem to add up, and you spent lots of time and energy thinking around in circles with no progress?  Were you trying to solve the problem only with your thinking (your mind)? Did you ask your body?  The Wisdom of Your Body My body? you might ask. What does my body have to do with the complex situation I’m facing at work? Or the social relationship that is perplexing me? Your body knows quite a lot, actually, b ..read more

Have you been busy? If you answered that question with a fatigued laugh, a big sigh, an eye roll, or maybe a blank stare, you’re not alone. Everyone around me reports being Busy. Overwhelmed. Stressed. Here in fall 2021, much of life and work has attempted to return to “normal,” in spite of the ongoing nature of the pandemic, and many of us have learned just how unrealistically busy “normal” used to be. Perhaps you have considered the demands of your life, your work, the lives of your family members, and the world around you, and have you found yourself saying: “How did we used to do this ..read more

The last 15 months of pandemic living have affected all of us in profound ways. As the wider world moves onward to something resembling “normal,” we each have the opportunity to choose how we, personally, re-enter and re-center our lives. Businesses are required to have a “re-opening plan” available to clients…what is your re-opening plan for your Whole Self? Do you want to go back to exactly how life was before 2020? Or would you like to build more freedom, less stress, more strength, and more possibility into your life? The Alexander Technique gives us concrete, powerful tools for choice in ..read more

I don’t know about you, but over the last month or so, I’ve been tired. Even getting enough sleep, I have been experiencing a deeper kind of fatigue. If you’ve been tired, fatigued, depleted, or even burned-out, you’re not alone: a recent article published in the New York Times pointed out that “We Have All Hit a Wall.” This has been an intensely draining year, for oh so many reasons…and all of us are feeling the weight of it. In the article, Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg, an anxiety expert, is quoted as saying: “When people are under a long period of chronic, unpredictable stress, they devel ..read more