Alexander Technique Coaching | Munich
Alexander Technique:
The art of using ourselves well
The Alexander Technique offers us a way to develop more favourable posture and movement habits and to minimise unnecessary tension in our everyday lives. It trains our ability not to harm our health in the long term through our everyday postures and movements, but on the contrary: to fundamentally transform them!
"Using ourselves well" means moving according to our anatomical design: using out joints, muscles, our whole body as our natural disposition dictates. Both the alignment of the head, neck and torso (being an organisational principle of evolution) and the conscious regulation of tension - whether at rest or in motion - are of central importance.
In our everyday lives, we usually don't pay attention to this, whereby any pain that occurs should be understood as a sign of unfavourable posture and movement habits. As an Alexander Technique coach, I guide you on how to consciously redefine the way you deal with yourself in a way that promotes your health in daily life by using the simple principles of the Alexander Technique. This can manifest itself in several dimensions:
We stand, walk and sit more upright, our postures and movements appear more graceful, we relieve our joints, release tension and thus improve our vegetative bodily functions. We experience greater mental well-being, emotional balance and mental clarity in our everyday lives.
This is the starting point for more and more ease, effortlessness and at the same time efficiency, strength, joy and health in our everyday activities. I will show you how to regain this ability (Greek technae = skill, art).
"You translate everything - whether physical, mental or spiritual - into muscular tension." (F.M. Alexander)
A method of (un)learning
As small children, we moved effortlessly and organically. Faced with life's many tasks, we become accustomed to posture and movement patterns that often cause tension, mental strain, pain or even illness. With the help of the Alexander Technique, we learn to consciously eliminate excessive tension and incorrect strain where they impair the natural functioning of our organism. We learn to leave our organism ‘in peace’ again in order to ensure its autonomous functioning and to be able to face the challenges of our lives calmly and openly.
What happens in a private lesson?
Together we get to the bottom of movement and posture patterns. Through my words and hands, I will accompany you in everyday positions (standing, sitting, lying down) and simple movements (sitting down, walking). I will give you impulses to help you recognise and calm down habitual, superfluous muscle activity. You will gradually refine your perception and your movements will become clearer, more powerful and smoother. You will soon be able to transfer your new flexibility to more complex activities such as PC work, jogging, dancing, making music and much more.
The learning process of the Alexander Technique is actually a process of unlearning superfluous tensions and subtle stress reactions. It is characterised by the elements of ‘awareness, pausing and alignment’.
Consciousness
We expand our attention from "what" we do to "how" we do something: noticing our muscle tone, the position of our head or our breathing while we do something with our hands is the first step.
Pausing
If we want to change for the better, we must be able to stop reacting to stimuli in the usual automated way and stop carrying out plans in the usual way. Pausing between an impulse and carrying out a reaction opens up a new space in which habits can be recognized and modified. You don't do something in the usual way, nor in a different way, but... not at all.
Aligning
And now? In the search for a new quality in activity, the appropriate alignment provides orientation. The connection between head, neck and torso is of primary importance as an organizational principle in living beings that has been around for thousands of years. The interweaving of mind and body makes directional thoughts and the intention for physical alignment fruitful. A mental attitude is cultivated that is dedicated to the "how" instead of the "what".
Areas of application and
health-promoting effects
Relieve and prevent tension and chronic pain in the musculoskeletal system
(e.g. back, neck pain)
Improved posture and mobility
Promoting balance, relaxation and stress management
Improve breathing
Increase presence and self-confidence
Experience effortlessness and joy in movement and activity
Increased performance, general well-being and quality of life
In principle: for everyone.
Specifically, the Alexander Technique supports people who
suffer from (chronic) back pain, neck pain, shoulder tension and spinal problems
spend a lot of time on the computer every day
feel stressed
work in physically and mentally high-performance jobs (any business, health, sports)
engage in artistically and mentally challenging activities such as musicians, dancers, actors or speakers
*** Information on reimbursement options for professional musicians ***
carry out caring activities
suffer from a movement disorder such as Parkinson's or dystonia
want to experience more effortlessness and efficiency in their activities
want to improve their general well-being
If you would like to know whether and how I can support you in your concerns, then do not hesitate to contact me. There is no charge for an initial telephone consultation.
Frederick Matthias Alexander
FM Alexander (1869-1955) was born in Australia. He was a passionate reciter who was threatened with occupational disability due to chronic hoarseness - which led him to develop his "technique". FM Alexander understood pain and dysfunction as signals of an organism that was disturbed in its autonomous functioning. His method aims to re-establish holistic functioning. It has a preventative, curative and progressive element.
Well-known students and clients of FM Alexander include the philosopher John Dewey, Aldous Huxley and George Bernard Shaw. Contemporary personalities such as Ralph Fiennes and Sting use the Alexander Technique for themselves:
In the hands of a good teacher the technique is invaluable to anyone who seeks to maintain health, physical posture and alignment. ( Ralph Fiennes, actor)
Consciousness
Aligning
Pausing
