About the Alexander Technique

As we grew up, the vast majority of us were given very little to no education in how to use our bodies optimally and efficiently. The Alexander Technique fills this substantial gap in our personal development and allows us to discover a far greater potential in our bodies.

The Alexander Technique teaches a way of using one's mind and body in an integrated manner that allows the student to shed unnecessary muscular tension throughout the body, thus leading to a freer, more easeful, fluid, and pain-free manner of being.

Who benefits from Alexander Technique lessons?

• People experiencing chronic back, neck, or joint pain

• People experiencing stress, anxiety, excess tension, or regular headaches

• People with spinal or postural issues

• People seeking help recovering from injuries or trauma

• People in mentally stressful or physically demanding jobs

• Musicians seeking relief from pain, and/or a more easeful and free manner of playing (for infomation about lessons specifically for musicians, see the Alexander for Musicians page)

• People who wish to develop a healthier connection with their minds and bodies, and who wish to discover a deeper sense of personal harmony and possibility in their lives

What does an Alexander Technique lesson look like?

During lessons, the teacher uses verbal and gentle hands-on guidance to facilitate within the student greater self-awareness, the experience of using less muscular and mental strain, deepening mind-body-emotion connections, and the uncovering of the natural optimal potential of the whole organism.

Students gradually learn how to cultivate these discoveries for themselves more and more in their own lives. Often specific attention is given to practical activities such as working at the computer or playing an instrument.

Alexander Technique sessions are called lessons because they are designed to teach students to help themselves.

Here's how it works

Private lessons are 50 minutes in length.

Prior to your first lesson, you will fill out a brief intake form with questions regarding your health history, previous experience, and intentions for our process together.

At your first lesson, we will go over your intake form together and begin to develop a strong sense of where you are at, what you are up against, and where you want to go. Based on these connections you will begin learning practical tools specific to your unique wants and needs.

The process of study is cumulative and deepens in subsequent lessons. Weekly lessons are recommended in the beginning to cultivate the greatest overall change.

Origin of the Technique

The Alexander Technique was developed by F.M. Alexander, a Shakespearean actor from Tasmania in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. During his acting career, Alexander began to experience chronic voice loss whenever performing. When the best doctors were unable to help him, F.M. set out to find a way to overcome the problem on his own, ultimately leading to a discovery that excess tension throughout his body was the cause of his vocal issues.

Through a process of trial and error, Alexander was able to develop a manner of using his mind and body with far less effort and strain, thus leading to the cessation of his vocal problems.

F.M. began teaching others his technique and soon found that it was helping his students immensely through a wide variety of health concerns. For the remainder of his life, Alexander taught in both England and the U.S., passing on his discovery to students who would travel from around the world to work with him.

Credentials

I am an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, which involved 1600 hours of training over 3 years. I also hold a bachelor's degree in philosophy and world religions and a masters degree in mental health counseling. For more information about my credentials, see the About Jack page.

"I entered into my first session with Jack thinking it would be some 'nice body work,' and what I got was a huge emotional breakthrough and an understanding of my body that I had never experienced previously in my life. Jack is a wonderful teacher and one of the most caring and conscious practitioners I know. I would recommend his services with absolutely no reservations."

-Kari Azuma

"This man saved my life! I came to Jack with a trauma in my neck that led into severe pain in my knee. Jack showed me how to care for and move my body in a healthier way and working with him helped me to find my body's strength again."

-Kim Schneider

"Between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

-Viktor E. Frankl