Alexander Technique Now, LLC

05/21/2024

Recently, Beth Linker of the University of Pennsylvania published an article in Time Magazine entitled, "Actually, It's OK to Slouch." The biggest problem with Linker's article is right there in the title: she urges readers to slouch. Most people already spend their days hunched, collapsed and compressed over their devices, so how is this helpful? Why invite readers to double down on unhealthy postural habits, instead of telling them it's okay to care about posture? I offer a rebuttal to this article in my post, "Actually, It's OK to Care About Good Posture."

Beth Linker of the University of Pennsylvania recently published an article in Time Magazine entitled, "Actually, It's OK to Slouch." This harmful article is an excerpt from Professor Linker's newly published book, "Slouch." I haven't read the book itself, but the excerpt published in Time demands a...

07/20/2022

Our personal energy is our most precious resource. Without energy, we can't do a thing, but how many of us think concretely about maximizing our personal energy supply? The Alexander Technique shines a spotlight on the many ways we waste energy while sitting, standing and walking -- and then teaches us how to perform these activities in an energy efficient way. Read my latest article to learn how we can enhance our energy balance, comfort and freedom by practicing the Alexander Technique.

05/05/2022

Our posture and our feelings are intimately connected. We can't choose our feelings, but we can choose how our posture expresses those feelings. When we choose to embody postural freedom, lightness, balance and ease -- no matter how turbulent our emotions -- we're choosing well being and comfort instead of heaviness and pain. The Alexander Technique can help us to make that positive choice, regardless of the emotional challenges we're confronting.

A ravishing painting currently on view at the Met Museum shows the full range of postural choices people make in response to extreme stress. Read my new blog post on J.L. David's "The Death of Socrates" for a postural analysis of this masterpiece and the lessons it offers us in how we use our bodies to paint our feelings for all the world to see. The link to my article is in the first comment below...

12/01/2020

The severity of the covid-19 pandemic seems to intensify with each passing day. Since the virus attacks our ability to breathe, we need to learn how breathing works, as well as how to breathe with greater freedom and efficiency. The Alexander Technique has much to teach us about breathing, and about the intimate connection between breathing and posture. Read my latest blog post to learn how the AT can help you to quell unhealthy postural habits and boost your breathing efficiency.

The Covid-19 pandemic is once again leading to soaring numbers of cases and deaths worldwide. Since Covid-19 attacks our ability to breathe, this crisis demands that we learn what breathing is and explore the intimate connection between breathing and posture. Understanding this connection should all...

06/07/2020

Our posture is intimately connected with our breathing efficiency and our energy balance. If our posture is distorted, our breathing will be compromised and we'll burn energy that we can ill afford to waste. The covid-19 pandemic has only heightened the relevance of these fundamental concerns.

Read my latest post to learn more about the posture-breathing connection, and how the Alexander Technique can help us to make constructive postural choices that enhance our well being.

It seems obvious that breathing is vitally important. But what's obvious often commands little attention, and so it was with breathing before the onslaught of covid-19. Most of us didn't really focus on our breathing before the pandemic -- we "just breathed." As the crisis unfolded, however, we all....

05/14/2020

Preventing Pandemic Posture Problems

Tens of millions of people are sheltering in place due to the covid-19 crisis. Staying at home has led to a surge of back, neck and shoulder pain caused by poor posture.

In response to the poor posture epidemic, newspapers have published "how to" articles that often make matters worse. Read my latest post to learn how you can avoid the "how to" trap and help yourself to sit more comfortably.

The Poor Posture Epidemic Meets the covid-19 Pandemic The covid-19 pandemic is severely testing our society. Those who remain healthy and employed -- and can work from home -- are lucky indeed. However, growing numbers of these fortunate people suffer from needless pain, strain and tension induced b...

06/22/2019

If we want our lives to be easier, more comfortable and more satisfying, we need to get to know our habits. Read my latest post to learn about habits and how they camouflage the choices that could transform our daily activities.

People studying the Alexander Technique learn a lot about their own habits. This occurs because habits are the primary obstacle standing between how Alexander students are and how they want to be. How do AT students want to be? Many people take AT lessons to improve their posture. Others want to red...

12/25/2017

Our self image is the foundation of our lives, but that self image can be painfully limiting. When we think we can't live the life we need or want to live, it's time to carefully reexamine our assumptions about ourselves. Please feel free to read my latest post about connecting body, mind and reality. And best wishes to everyone for happiness, health and wholeness during the holidays and in 2018!

I'm currently re-reading Dr. Oliver Sacks's famous book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat." Chapter 3, "The Disembodied Lady," tells the fascinating tale of a woman who lost her ability to sense her own body. Christina went overnight from a state of vigorous health and youthful activity to one...

10/26/2017

Looking at art is one of the great pleasures of life. On a recent road trip through Tuscany, I also noticed how art can help us to make better choices in our everyday lives. Please consider reading my latest post to learn more about the unintentional lessons that Renaissance paintings and sculptures can offer us today. http://alexandertechniquenow.com/the-head-neck-back-relationship/

The Alexander Technique can help people to reduce or end pain, improve their posture, manage stress

09/06/2017

Working Mindfully with the Alexander Technique

Many people today are increasingly overworked, juggling hectic schedules and experiencing daunting levels of stress and anxiety. As the pace of life keeps accelerating, how can we take better care of ourselves?

By learning to pay attention to the way we're working, we can reduce the amount of strain and discomfort in our lives. The Alexander Technique, can help us put our own health and well being at the center of our daily routine. Read my latest post to learn more about it: http://alexandertechniquenow.com/working-mindfully/

Recently, I spent nearly three weeks at the Village Zendo’s summer meditation retreat. While on retreat, my day started around 4:30am and ended around 10pm with lots of meditation, working on the cleaning crew and, when we were not in silence, intense group discussions. During one such discussion, a...