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Full Description:

Like many other body-mind practices, Alexander Technique has to be experienced to be understood. What we say here can explain a little but to get understanding, you need to practice it. And the more you practice the more understanding can emerge. Then you can find out if it is the kind of practice that speaks to your particular life-interests and values.

Our 6-week course invites you to explore our wonderful balance mechanisms, which give us access to so many possibilities. We look at how we can get in our own way when we try too hard to achieve in life, or even when simply coping with everyday challenges. We learn what 'tension' is, in terms of muscular contraction and a very practical and skilful way of letting go of it.

The Technique offers an understanding around learning harmful habitual patterns of both mind and body that do not promote wellbeing. For example, when we're very young we can learn, a way of using too much effort to hold things, crayons, cutlery, mugs, or someone's hand. We don't know we're using extra effort; it gets to feel normal, and we take it with us through life, gripping our phone, the steering wheel, the toothbrush - all those many activities where we use our hands. The thing is, because of the way we are constructed, if we use excess contraction in one place, it has the effect of taking us out of balance as a whole.

The harm here is in what it does to our joints, tendons, internal organs as we distort our whole structure, with too much contraction in some areas and too little in others.
But there is another kind of harm we cause ourselves if we misjudge the amount of effort needed. negatively biased, judgemental, anxious, restless thought patterns, and negative emotions are almost always associated with this over-contraction, thoughts such as: 'I hate school'; 'I'm no good'; 'I'm afraid of what is going to happen'; 'I can't keep my mind on anything'. This sort of thinking and mood goes with a pattern of muscle tension throughout the whole body. This tension reinforces the thought and its accompanying mood, so we have a negative cycle. That means we may be experiencing states of irritation, anxiety, self-doubt, which are interpretations of the body's feedback from the tension.

Alexander Technique enable us to bring kind and gentle awareness to the unhelpful habitual patterns of mind and body. We can learn to bring about beneficial change, liberating us to explore the  amazing mechanisms and possibilities we have as human beings'.

Our Basics course assumes no prior experience of the Alexander Technique. All are welcome, beginners and those wishing to renew and add to their Alexander Technique experience whatever your walk of life.
By exploring simple everyday activities, what we discover can be fundamental to help us bring wellbeing to anything we do, however simple or complex the activity is.

While the live workshops will take place in Zoom, all participants will receive an invitation to join our Basecamp online forum for additional support and group communication.

Take-Away Benefits:

* On completion of the course participants will have gained personal experience of applying Alexander Technique in daily life, bringing opportunities for insights into habitual patterns of body-mind.
* Encouraged by an approach of gentle curiosity and exploration, they will be able to apply Alexander Technique to activities such as sitting, standing, and walking, beginning to appreciate how working with the system can bring about beneficial change.
* Participants will have opportunities to see how the basic Alexander Technique principles can be applied more widely in all aspects of their life.

Type of Format: Course

Language: English

Duration of Each Session: 90 minutes

Technical Platform for the Course: Zoom Pro

Concessionary Ticket - is only for job seekers, students and seniors with a low household income.

Bursary Ticket - is only for people living in countries classed by the World Bank as ‘low income' and 'lower-middle income’. Please click 

Early Bird Ticket - expires 18th October 2023 at 12 noon

Please ensure that you book at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the course, excluding Drop-In tickets where available, to allow time for you to receive confirmation emails and your entry link to Zoom. This is because we rely on third parties for confirmation etc. Please ensure you have read the Legal notices on our website before booking, in particular our notices regarding Privacy (including Privacy Considerations When Using Zoom), Refund & Cancellation, Disclaimers (including Medical) and Terms.‍