Shoulder Pain and Tension

I came to Hilary two years ago when I developed an intense shoulder pain playing the violin. I simply had not noticed how much tension I was putting into my playing. Hilary also helped me to notice other postural quirks and tensions that were affecting my sitting posture, computer use and many basic daily activities. Like many people I have a tendency to “power through” any problem by redoubling effort – my body was finally rebelling at age 40!

Since taking lessons with Hilary (initially regular weekly lessons, then occasional) I have noticed improvements in many areas:

• Almost immediately my ability to sit still in meditation for 45 minutes improved noticeably – I became able to release aches and pains as they developed, without having to change position 
• I learnt to approach the violin with patience, whereas before I had been “rushing” at it and tensing up
• In my running club I improved my pace, core stability and breath coordination
• I became aware of unhelpful posture habits: twisting my body at the computer, collapsing onto the sofa, clenching my right hand whilst texting, or leaning my hips against the kitchen sink whilst washing up.

Body Awareness and Co-ordination

Even more than these specifics though, the greatest benefit has been the overall improvement in body awareness and coordination. This has been sorely lacking all my life (pun intended) as I have always had hyper-mobility in several joints. I had not previously realised how much it affected me and limited my choices. Since working with Hilary on improving my proprioception and kinesthesia, I am now much more confident in how I use my body and am constantly improving my basic coordination skills, leading to stability and strength rather than frustration and injury. I feel like my mind and body are friends again now.

The New Family Game: ‘Posture Police’!

Lessons with Hilary have always been fun and relaxing, she listens every carefully and adapts her lessons to give precisely what is needed that week. I always leave her beautiful house feeling refreshed and buoyant. The only down-side is that I’m afraid I am a bit of an Alexander-evangelist now, and have roped my whole family in as “posture police” – with noticeable improvements in all of us!  By “posture police” I mean my kids are now in the excellent habit of saying “nice straight back, Mummy!” to me (or “ooh, your back is really curved when you’re putting your shoes on, you should bend your knees!” Also to each other, and they are more easily aware of their own movements and postures. (They do know it’s not supposed to be a stiffly-held straight back.) I have the feeling they are so much more aware of their bodies than before.

Having done plenty of martial arts, my husband Marco has better posture and balance in movement than I do generally, but he is not immune to “laptop and couch slouch” – now he has three pairs of eyes ready to remind him. It’s become quite a family game. We’re all helping each other take care of our bodies better.

Pascale (Architect and Mother of Twins)

One student’s route through to training as an Alexander Technique Teacher

I started to learn the Alexander Technique with Hilary King in 1988 after a lower back injury at work and persistent pain.  I loved the AT sessions immediately and especially enjoyed using semi-supine to control any discomfort and pain and also to reduce stress.   I found Hilary was always very compassionate and attentive and took a lively interest in my work and lifestyle, to try to understand how my difficulties may have manifested. She was always very calm and considerate, paid attention to detail and was a very patient teacher, showing enthusiasm and commitment to the sessions.

I continued to have sessions for well over 12 months and during that time I became pregnant and Hilary saw me right through my pregnancy and for a few sessions after I had given birth.

After that, family life and work took over but AT thoughts were always in the back of my mind and I often gave informal advice to family and friends, lying down ‘talk-throughs’ to my young children and I often thought about how I was using my body for myself whether I was sitting, standing or lying down.  I even dreamed of training to become an AT teacher……….

Roll on to 2010 and my work and family life changed dramatically.  My children had flown the nest and my work pattern changed for the better, with reduced hours and stress.  So I started to think about AT training again.  I ‘Googled’ Alexander Technique and immediately found Hilary was running an International Women’s Day workshop in March.  The forces were speaking to me, I had to go!

And so, in September 2011 I started training to be an AT teacher at LCATT (London Centre for Alexander Teaching and Training), where Hilary also teachers, and I graduated in July 2014.

It was a wonderful three years including extensive aspects of bodywork, mindfulness and nurturing the soul and now, whilst being semi-retired, I have embarked on a new career. How wonderful is that!

Thank you Alexander Technique and to Hilary for making my introduction to the AT so enlightening.

Deborah Levy

Deborah teaches in Crouch End, N8

Towards the end of 2012, I realised that I was struggling to find ways to deal with harmful levels of stress that were leaving me prone to panic attacks and fearing chronic exhaustion. I recalled having tried Alexander Technique lessons in the past and, although I had not been convinced at the time, I thought I should try again. Once I searched on the internet I noticed that there were a number of teachers practising in and around this area of North London, but Hilary King’s website inspired confidence.

Coping Strategies and a New Vocabulary

Arriving for a session with a practitioner that you have never met in person, be it an osteopath, a psychotherapist or an Alexander Teacher, can be a daunting experience. But on first meeting Hilary for one to one lessons, she struck me as someone who was calm and understanding, as well as a perceptive listener. Over a year on, it is reasonably difficult to recall how strange it is to have a lesson for the first time. I will have felt self-conscious on first experiencing gentle hands-on work, standing still as Hilary explained what she was doing and what I had to (not) do. As when an Alexander Teacher takes hold of your left hand and lightly lifts it and pulls it away from the body, the student is to do nothing: not anticipate, not assist, and not resist. Not-doing is a remarkably difficult concept to grasp and, more importantly, it relies on trust: that your teacher is there for you and that this repetitive and somewhat banal movement will change you. Your teacher will encourage you to talk about your daily activities and show you how you can apply AT to perform these without unnecessary tension and paying more attention to the moment. ‘Why not use a slight monkey position when chopping vegetables’, for example, is one of Hilary’s favourite suggestions. A new vocabulary will also be acquired, and whilst doing a monkey is self-explanatory, there are other terms that are quite baffling initially: to have a loose and free neck, inhibition, end-gaining, and more.

Mindfulness in Action

As the weeks went by though, I found Hilary was teaching me so much more than just how to sit, how to actively rest, how to walk, how to breathe. Alongside this process of repetition, I began to cultivate patience and being in the moment, and this allowed me to understand how I had been living life at an odd pace. Inevitably so, as such is the demand of modern life, to be drawn out of your present self and instead become caught up with what took place yesterday, what will need to be done tomorrow and what might happen next year. Therefore, you are standing in the kitchen hunched over the chopping board with one foot pointing outwards, in the direction of the hallway, should the phone ring, whilst fretting about when to complete that overdue report and, all the time, trying to ignore a regular pain niggling in the middle of your back. Instead, you could be doing a monkey and chopping leeks in your kitchen one April evening, taking pleasure in the task and stopping, perhaps, to notice that the days are now lighter for longer and you feel at ease. The report is still over due, the phone might ring, but this is the here and now.

Connecting With My Body

Whilst regularly attending AT lessons, Hilary was enabling me to connect with my body and the way I use and (mis)use it, encouraging me in the exploration of issues of trust in a safe environment, and gently showing me how to engage in the present. Hilary’s amiable sense of humour was part of the process from the start, a welcome quality because taking a close look at our self (body, personality, mind and habits) can be unnerving in its moments of revelation. Whilst I was initially anxious when being asked to consider an activity I found difficult, such as standing on the wobble board, I eventually realised that Hilary was not actually asking me to master the art of ‘monkeying’ on a small circular and unstable bit of plastic! Rather, Hilary was getting me to notice where and how I was stiffening in anxious anticipation of not accomplishing a task to perfection and, one day, instead of feeling that sharp sense of irritation with myself, I started to laugh. And my laughter had changed, it was no longer self-conscious or tightly nesting in my upper chest, but formed part of the release of tension – specifically from the belly. It was not like learning to laugh, as if for the first time, but remembering how to laugh with my whole being again.

Conscious Choices and Change

To conclude, learning the AT has not only allowed me to develop the necessary strategies and inner strength to cope with what life can unexpectedly throw at us, but it has been instrumental in helping me find the courage to pursue the changes I wanted but found difficult to acknowledge. It has allowed me to appreciate through simple exercises, like catching (or not catching) the ball, that I have a conscious choice over how I sit and where I sit, how I stand and when I stand, what I do and why I do it (or do not do it). AT, if embraced and practised, can be empowering. If you live locally, you will find that Hilary is an empathetic, thoughtful and reliable Alexander Technique teacher, and she will help you work towards letting go of unnecessary tension and set you up with your own toolbox, so to speak, of AT skills so that you can go onwards and upwards.

JCH  April 2014

Alexander Technique – My Experience

I worked in a college where a colleague told me that Alexander Technique had changed his life.  He managed a congenital skeletal problem through Alexander Technique.  I was moaning about my bad back – I was spending more time at the computer than in the classroom at this time, and despite having a good chair, I could hardly get out of my car at the end of some days without eye-watering pain.    I had seen osteopaths for years for my back (a car accident injury ) but only got short-term relief.  Then my legs began to ache …

So I thought AT couldn’t hurt.  Compared to osteopathy or chiropractic, it seemed a very minimal approach involving almost tiny adjustments of muscles.   But this is what worked.  Over a few weeks my back hurt less and less until I could sit at a meal in an ordinary chair and not notice my back.  I practised at home:   easy to lie on my back, listening to music for 20 minutes or so.  Not every day – my life was packed – but great before an evening out or after a long difficult day.  I no longer had back ache.  At all.

My aching legs, though, were the precursors of a more serious, long-term endocrine condition.  My energy, memory, and stamina were affected and I had constant muscle pain.  I continued with AT which helped me to cope with the worst.  Lying in the AT position made it less necessary to take pain-killers and helped me to be more calm and not to panic about the future of this illness.  Hilary helped with tips for finding rest and respite in difficult situations.  For instance, in hospitals, concentrating on having a free neck really helps in avoiding getting sucked in to the chaos and frustration evident all around in staff and patients …

I am better than I was, though had to leave work and live a reduced life.  AT sees me through difficult days and is a pleasure in the not so difficult days.  I still leave Hilary’s house feeling lighter and freer and am so grateful to her for her insights and practical care she has given me over all these years.

Try it.  It can’t hurt!

Maggie