Two More of My Ex-Pupils Graduate as Alexander Technique Teachers

It has been thirty years since I qualified as an Alexander teacher and I am pleased to say that two more of my pupils have just graduated and I would like to congratulate them both! This makes at least six of my pupils that have qualified and a seventh is nearing the end of his training. Putting these seemingly small numbers into perspective, AT training courses are small, with a high teacher-student ratio. There are 6 STAT recognised 3 year teacher training courses in London, each with up to 20 students. Of these, approx 1-4 may qualify each term.

Jessamy Harvey’s Graduation Party

Jessamy Harvey graduation party 18-07-2017 .JPG

Photo shows Refia Sacks, Jessamy Harvey, Judith Kleinman and Roger Kidd

Dr Jessamy Harvey is a London-based University Lecturer whose research has been focused on Modern and Contemporary Spain. Jessamy originally had a few Alexander lessons with another teacher about 25 years ago, then came back to the AT and had Alexander lessons with me for about a year, at which point she decided to change careers. Jessamy developed her skills as a jewellery maker and immediately began training as an Alexander Technique teacher at LCATT, so I was able to continue teaching her there during her three years training and she has assisted me on one of my intro Alexander Workshops.

I was pleased to attend her graduation party at LCATT and it is so rewarding for me to be able to contribute to someone’s development, particularly when I can also see them growing into their new role as an Alexander teacher.

Karin Heisecke

Photo: Elfi Greb

Karin Heisecke came to me for Alexander lessons some twenty years ago for about a year, whilst taking her first degree in the UK. Then Karin moved abroad and worked in several EU countries, gaining an MSc and eventually going back to her native Germany, having by then become an internationally respected consultant on political issues to do with gender-based violence.

Then last year Karin contacted me to tell me that she had stayed in touch with the Alexander Technique over the years and indeed felt it had supported her so well that she was training as an Alexander teacher whilst continuing to work as a consultant – as I write this, she is on an assignment in Kiev. I am happy to say that Karin qualified as an Alexander teacher this June.

A Skill For Life

Interestingly, Karin is another pupil of mine that has decided to train as an Alexander teacher many years after having her initial experience of AT lessons – Karin started her teacher training fifteen years after her first AT lesson with me. She took five years over her training as she had some time off from the course, in order to take on a full time job, before returning to complete her course and qualifying as an Alexander teacher. That is dedication.

Another pupil also started her teacher training at LCATT, a full twenty years after her first AT lesson with me. So these pupils have gone on to train as Alexander Technique teachers because they have really taken the AT on board and it has become central to their being. They have appreciated the Alexander Technique as a skill they can use to help them over many years and in many aspects of their lives – so much so that they want to share this amazing work with others. Many AT teachers also work in other fields and find that the Alexander Technique supports them in their work and enhances their experience.

I wonder if I may hear that other pupils of mine have also found the Technique so invaluable to them over the years, that they eventually decide to train as a teacher. I would enjoy that!

And I Still Love my Work!

However I am rather shocked to realise just how long I’ve been teaching and to see the signature on my certificate has nearly faded away!

So How Has the Alexander Technique Helped Me?

Over the years, the AT has really helped me in many ways. Firstly, every Alexander teacher has to be aware of their own mind-body-use whilst teaching (and living) so there is a built-in element of self-care, which is invaluable. Of course life throws situations at us to which we react and I thought I would share some of the ways the Alexander Technique has helped me choose better options of response than would have been available to me without the AT.

Coping With Stress

When I first started having AT lessons, I was taking a BA in Psychology. My marriage had just ended so I’d become a single parent with 2 small children to look after and needed to retrain, as I could no longer be a classical ballet dancer. I was stressed! Then my mother died suddenly of a heart attack so I was even more stressed and I thought that I could do end up like her if I continued as I was, so I signed up to some AT lessons at college.

Suddenly I had a tool I could help myself with to calm myself down and clear my mind, so I could work better and I gradually became less reactive when faced with difficult situations.The lessons helped sort out a lingering back injury I had sustained whilst doing ballet and, with all the note-taking I was doing, my arms and hands were tense and getting sore but applying the AT helped me avoid developing RSI. I enjoyed and appreciated the Alexander Technique so much that I decided to train as an AT teacher, once I had finished my degree.

There followed a period of several years where I was teaching the AT and Stress Management in several further education colleges, developing my own AT teaching practice, continuing to develop professionally by training in Psychotherapy and still looking after two youngsters. Much of this had to be done in order to survive financially – but I also had a habit of over-doing things!

Broken Toe

One day I dropped a heavy piece of wood onto the end of my big toe and broke it. Perhaps the first sign that I wasn’t as strong as I had expected myself to be but I didn’t think of that at the time. It was a tiny break but very painful! Of course I was limping for a while but soon realised that limping was quickly becoming a habit which threw my body out of balance, so that my knee was beginning to hurt. I was very grateful to being able to use the AT to help me let go of the limping habit, so I could return to walking in an even and co-ordinated manner and my knee stopped hurting.

Major Operation Followed by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Not long after, I faced the challenge of having a major operation, which again caused me to move unnaturally for a while and the AT work really helped me at this time. However my recovery seemed slow after the operation and it became apparent that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which took several years to recover from.

It was so hard for me to avoid doing too much on the days when I felt OK – and when I over-did things, it would take many days for me to regain some energy so that I could function again! The Alexander Technique was such an invaluable tool to have, as it helped me to be aware of my habits, to notice my reactions to things and to be mindful of my body-use, so that I could learn to pace myself appropriately and gradually recover. I also made frequent good use of the lying down procedure!

And Now?

Since then I have been continuing to teach the Alexander Technique in my own practise and at the LCATT Teacher Training course for many years. I also use the AT throughout my daily activities (for example being aware of how I’m using myself using the computer as I write this) so that I can help myself maintain my poise and freedom of movement.

Each of the life situations and problems I have had to face have taught me more about myself and more about how the Alexander Technique can help people in so many different situations. It is not a cure-all but it really can help us in a huge range of situations when we learn it – and importantly, remember to use it!

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Next Intro Workshop for a Small Group: 29 July

Monthly Archives: July 2017

Alexander Technique Graduates

Teaching the Alexander Technique for Thirty Years