Resources for Alexander Technique Teachers and Students
Welcome! On this page you will find a variety of material of special interest to teachers of the Alexander Technique, and to students who wish to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Technique. Click on the links below or scroll down the page to explore the material on this page.
Many Alexander Technique teachers who have their own websites find that the majority of their new referrals come from their website. Unless you have all the students you want, it makes no sense whatsoever to be without one. Because of the way the web is presently structured, you cannot rely on the online or printed teachers' listings of your professional society to bring you a significant number of new students. For almost any kind of business today, not having a website is rapidly becoming equivalent to not having a phone.
Click here to learn how you can get a website quickly, and very inexpensively - no technical knowledge needed!
Ways to Use the Web Effectively:
Click here to listen to several interviews with Alexander Technique teachers who have done this in different ways to promote their practice. Click here to listen to a series of conversations about how you can use the web effectively
Marjorie Barstow and Marjory Barlow - Conversation with Robert Rickover and Mike Cross about the parallels and differences between these two master teachers, including a discussion of their approaches to direction and inhibition. Listen
Walter Carrington - Information about this master teacher of the Technique.
Placelore - Blog with material about Patrick Macdonald, Margaret Goldie and more
Back to Simplicity - Senior Teacher Frank Ottiwell tells about his experiences with Judy Leibowitz, Patrick Macdonald, Marjorie Barstow and Walter Carrington.
If you are thinking about training to become an Alexander Technique teacher, this link will provide you with information and advice: Alexander Technique Teacher Training.
Information Sources
General Information Sources:
The Alexander Technique Email Discussion Group is a rich source of information for AT students and teachers. Click here to join the group.
Pedro de Alcantara, a Paris-based teacher has created a page on his website devoted to resources for Alexander Technique teachers. Click here to go to this page.
Click here to see a slideshow of the 2004 International Congress in Oxford, England.
Whispered Ah - a short video describing the procedure by Alexander Technique teacher Ron Murdock.
The Use of the Chair - Alexander Technique teacher Nicholas Brockbank discusses this classic Alexander teaching procedure.
Working with pregnant women - Alexander Technique teacher, childbirth educator, and doula, Ilana Machover, gives advice to AT teachers who have occasion to work with pregnant women in this audio interview.
Listen to an interview with Gal Ben-or about working with children.
Listen to an interview with William Conable about the origins and the usefulness of body mapping.
Listen to an interview with Debi Adams about an aspect of healing from an injury that Alexander Technique teachers might overlook.
The Future of Alexander Technique Teaching - Alexander Technique teachers Michael Frederick and Robert Rickover talk about the state of Alexander teaching today, and what the prospects are for the future.
Listen to an interview with Marta Curbelo, an Alexander Technique teacher in New York City, Norwalk, Connecticut and Santa Fe, New Mexico, about how she works with students who have Multiple Sclerosis.
Listen to an interview with Jo Ann Widner, an Alexander Technique teacher in Richmond, Virginia, about how she works with students who have Rheumatoid arthritis.
On "Postural Education" by Ron Dennis, suggests that the Alexander Technique has a unique role in posture education (Word doc. download).
Listen to or download an interview with Franis Engel, providing suggestions for Alexander teachers and students who want to describe what they're teaching or studying to others.
Making Sense - Excellent and provocative article about proprioception, posture, movement and our understanding of the physical laws of nature.
Richard Brennan, an Irish teacher of the Alexander Technique has written an article titled "Cultural Habits" which examines how our cultural background influences our habit patterns. Click here to read "Cultural Habits".
While moving up, he got
a little ahead of himself.
Alexander Technique Self Study
For Alexander Technique students who are studying with little or no help from an Alexander teacher, suggestions and links to several useful resources can be found at: Alexander Technique Self-Study.
Alternative and Controversial Views
John Appleton is an Alexander Technique teacher and the developer of Posture Release Imagery. He puts forward some fascinating new self-help ideas based on imagery, which is sometimes a taboo subject in the Alexander Technique teaching world. They require some patience to understand at first, but many have found his ideas to be very helpful. Click here to read or download Posture Release Imagery resources.
Jeroen Staring, a Dutch researcher, has written an extraordinarily detailed - and very provocative! - biography of F. Matthias Alexander, Frederick Matthias Alexander 1869-1955. The Origins and History of the Alexander Technique, A medical historical analysis of F.M. Alexander's Life, Work, Technique, and Writings. Click here to read a summary of the book and learn how to order it.
Lessons and Learning by Nicholas Brockbank takes a critical look at Alexander Technique teaching methods.
Listen to an interview with Jen Tarr, author of the study referenced below, describing the study and it's implications.
Educating with the hands: working on the body ⁄ self in Alexander Technique - A critical study of the Alexander Technique teaching culture from the Sociology of Health & Illness Read her study here (PDF download)
The Transistor and the Technique, by Robert Rickover, originally published in the AmSAT Newsletter, explores some serious problems in the transmission of the Technique from FM's head and hands to the heads and hands of today's teachers.
Upon Reflection - Alexander teacher Joseph Boland suggest a rigorous review and overhaul of the Alexander Technique.
Monitoring and Analyzing "Use" - Alexander teacher Joseph Boland challenges some conventional ideas about how to improve use.
Use of the Hips by Nicholas Brockbank questions whether going for maximum length is always the best idea.
Ed Bouchard, a Chicago teacher has created a website, ATeducationresearch.com, devoted to furthering research into the Alexander Technique. It includes some interesting - and very controversial! - historical information.
Michael Protzel has written two very provocative articles, "Why do we Tense our Necks?" and "Alexander's Error " in which he asks some fundamental questions about the basis of the Alexander Technique. These can be found at uprighting.com.
Alexander's Dream by Robert Rickover, originally published in Direction, asks how we can - as FM desired - do away with the Alexander Technique teaching profession.
Change - by Nicholas Brockbank discusses some non-Alexander ways to change.
Who Was Alexander by Robert Rickover exposes some myths about the man.
In 1998 a spirited debate took place on the Alexander Technique Email list concerning the validity of the Alexander Technique. It has been posted by Direction Journal on the web: "On Belief Systems and Learning"
