Applying new ideas to turn patterns at the workshop. Check out the exercise to try on your own below! On June 30, 2019, I led a workshop for New York City dancers as part of the 2019 Annual Conference of the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT). This helped me share the benefits of the Alexander Technique my salsa community and also share the energy of the vibrant NYC Salsa community with my Alexander Technique community. Inspired by the benefits salsa dancers found at this workshop, Heather Dunnee and I will be developing a virtual workshop for salsa dancers. Salsa dancers at ..read more

Building on the success of a workshop that Heather Dennee and I facilitated in June 2019, we are designing a virtual workshop to support dancers to increase freedom of movement and deepen their lead/follow connection. More information coming soon! Learn more about what the Alexander Technique has meant to my salsa dancing here ..read more

I lead this exploration when students talk about wanting to "stand up straight." We've probably all said or heard this before. It's common to think in straight lines because of the man made objects we look at, with mostly straight lines and flat surfaces.  However, the reality of the body is far from straight. This exploration is to trace the curves in the back of the body. You can do this on your own and it's powerful when done with a partner (exchanging the experience of tracing and being traced). You can trace with one or both of your hands or you can imagine a hand doing the tracing ..read more

Allyna salsa dancing at a Carlos Konig New Year’s Eve Party I’m excited to be organizing “Alexander Technique for Salsa Dancers,” a free, experiential workshop. It will take place on Sunday, June 30th 3:15-4:45pm at Columbia University, near w116 St (check out photos and more here). *Scroll down for links to register and to find out about social dancing after the workshop. Why “Alexander Technique For Salsa Dancers”? Salsa dancing has been a passion of mine for 16 years, almost as long as I’ve been studying the Alexander Technique. Reason #1. Once I had enough salsa basics to be social danci ..read more

Cheers to new opportunities for health and happiness! We can all find a powerful mind-body release with the Alexander Technique. This release is omnidirectional or in all directions into our natural alignment. The impact of this release is an improvement in the functioning of our mind and body that helps us achieve any, and all, of our goals. It can help your willpower, reduce anxiety, relieve pain, improve confidence and so much more. Omnidirectional release brings balance. In this state, creativity is more likely to flow, we can take full advantage of the support around us and listen to our ..read more

Before I share, I invite you to look up at the ceiling or sky to give yourself a baseline for how you move when the object of interest is above you. Photo Credits: Michael Bakich; Mark Margolis / Rainbow Symphony The total solar eclipse on 8/21/17 inspired many to stop, pause and … look up! And it inspired this blog, along with wanting to support the many people that suffer from neck and other body pain that neck compression can cause. There are many situations in which you might look up such as in a yoga pose, kissing (if your partner is taller than you), before walking up stairs, or when ad ..read more

Love -- a feeling an intense feeling of deep affection -- is something we all we want.  We often talk about love between people. When we talk about self-love, the discussion is often focused on the cognitive level, on our thoughts. Articles on self-love frequently share tips for changing our self-talk. There is an underlying assumption that "we are our thoughts" and that our thoughts are the key to building our capacity to love ourselves and others.  What if our body was also a key to finding love? When we take in a beautiful vista, smell our favorite food, taste the ocean air, feel ..read more

Severe pain was my wake up call to pay attention to my body. Once I made the shift, I discovered endless gifts. We sometimes only pay attention to the body when it's giving us trouble.  What if we could realize it's gifts every day?  Start by taking the time to thank your body. Thanksgiving is around the corner.  Historically, we give thanks for the harvest on this holiday.  What if we look deeper: What allows us to produce the harvest? In part, our body. And what allows us to enjoy the harvest? Here, for example, is a photo of the gastric tissue that will help digest you ..read more

Check out the contrast in this photo between the person in the foreground and the people in the background. They are using their necks differently. The person in the foreground seems to know that the neck joint is where the skull meets the spine.  This joint is called the atlanto-occiputal (AO) joint referring to where the atlas (the top-most vertebra of the spine) meets the occiput (the bone that makes up the lower and back part of the skull).  Using the spine (and not the AO joint) to look down, as the men in the background are doing, is an act of forgetting about the neck joint ..read more

Swimming is a great workout.  Is there a way to find even more success with it than you learned as a kid?  Or if you don't swim, is there an optimal way to learn? I did not believe it, until I tried it.  During June 14-18, I spent my mornings with Steven Shaw, a former competitive swimmer, who developed the Alexander Technique-based system of swimming called the Shaw Method.  Twenty-five years ago, Shaw set out to develop this method focused on body awareness and alignment in order to support optimal health. Check out my Shaw Method crawl! The Shaw Method gives you the grea ..read more