STATnews January 2021 second edition

news The Newsletter from the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique

January 2021 • Vol 11 Issue 1 • alexandertechnique.co.uk

Pushing ahead

The Annual Meeting of Teaching Members of the Affiliated Societies (AMMAS) aims to reconvene soon, with meetings scheduled for 2021 and 2022. See p31 for details and a selection of photographic highlights from the recent past.

CONTENTS January 2021 • Vol 11 Issue 1

STAT UPDATE & NEWS

CPD & EVENTS

FEATURES

4 From the Office 5 SRG report 7 Education SIG update 31 The Annual Meeting of

Teaching Members of the

AT Affiliated Societies (AMMAS) 32 My experiences as Chair, by

Belinda May

8 Report on the AT Racial

Diversity course 10 New videos added to

Alexander in Education conference 11 Congress update

12 Changing times: On-line

teaching by Malcolm Williamson 14 To teach online or not to

teach online, that is the

question by Richard Brennan 16 What is the AT for?

19 AT and its elocutionary

inheritance: Part 2 25 The Art of Breathing in a

time of Covid 26 Fear by Ian Lyon

REGULARS 3 From the Chair 7 Local Contacts 28 Books

Editor Jamie McDowell Production Editor Paul Marsh The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) PO Box 75989 London E11 9GZ Email stat@stat.org.uk Telephone 020-8885 6524 Fax 020-8808 2135 There are national Affiliated Societies in: • Australia (AUSTAT) • Austria (GATOE) • Belgium (AEFMAT) • Brazil (ABTA) • Canada (CANSTAT) • Denmark (DFLAT) • Finland (FINSTAT) • France (APTA) • Germany (ATVD) • Israel (ISTAT) • Netherlands (NeVLAT) • New Zealand (ATTSNZ) • Norway (NFLAT) • South Africa (SASTAT) • Spain (APTAE) • Switzerland (SVLAT) and • United States of America (AmSAT)

Jamie McDowell, Editor of Statnews

FROM THE EDITOR

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elcome to January 2021 STATnews. As an experiment, we’re publishing online first and then following up with a print version. One advantage is that everyone gets it immediately regardless of location. Another is that we don’t have to wait for the printing and distribution process which takes time. Then we will print and send a print version in the post, which arrives at different times in different locations, but is more likely to be read by members. And forms a more tangible record.

We’re hoping that better times are ahead and that we can work again confidently. We feature a cover image of teachers at an earlier AMMAS (this is an acronym, or maybe only an mnemonic, see page 31 for an explanation) event. Enjoyable times and good memories, we all have them from various Alexander experiences with colleagues.

In this issue there’s more discussion of: should/shouldn’t online teaching be supported? And should/shouldn’t hands-on be a necessary and essential part of teaching the Alexander Technique? The latter could be resolved by members if they wish. They just have to say so. As part of a democratic organisation. Last time this was suggested as a possibility it didn’t go down well, as I recall, but I see that some who were against it then are saying that they are for it now. I don’t mean the authors in this issue.

Part 2 of Malcolm Williamson’s comprehensive piece on elocution is in this issue. I would like to publish part 1 in print in May and any other pieces which you would like to have in print from the two previous STATnews online issues. Let me know. If you didn’t read them, let me know, I would be interested and I won’t tell.

Belinda has requested increased uptake of volunteers for Office in STAT. It’s a great place to be appreciated and to learn. Do it.

The Alexander Journal will accompany the print version of STATnews. We have been collaborating with AmSAT to develop joint peer review guidelines so that the Journal will be eligible to be stocked in university libraries, and citations of it (in articles in other publications) will count for more. We intend that this collaboration will produce a more international writing community and a more regular publication schedule for The Alexander Journal. We welcome interest from other Affiliated Societiess in this initiative. A new website for The Alexander Journal is proposed. We invite members to get involved as peer reviewers (see p32).

Belinda May, Chair

FROM THE CHAIR Finding hope in a challenging time

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hat a year 2020 has been. As I write this we are coming to the end of our second national lockdown and I am looking towards 2021, a new year with renewed hope.

This year, more than ever before, I have been overwhelmed by the dedication of the members of Council. They volunteer freely their time and expertise to serve on STAT Council for the benefit of all members. Covid 19 has presented more challengers than ever, for the health and safety of our members and those we teach, as well as our legal position regarding teaching.

This year I would especially like to thank the members of Council, and of course Ilia in the office too.

They have tirelessly worked for us, giving hundreds of hours (this is not an exaggeration) of their time.

As the government’s frequent changes to the Covid legislation were issued they have not only liaised with our insurers, but read innumerable government documents, sifting through endless pages to distil the salient points and then communicating them to us, through readable and informative emails.

At the forefront of their minds has been the well-being of STAT, its members and the Alexander Technique. So thank you all very, very much.

This year has brought many challenges to each and every one of us. Loss of work, income, our livelihood. At times feeling bereft and despairing of As the government’s how to continue with our practice. But out of these worries and fears I feel some hope and newness has frequent changes to the arisen. Some teachers have explored remote teaching legislation were issued and found how successful this can be in helping a pupil learn constructive conscious control for themselves.

[Council] have not only Pupils have reported a real sense of achievement as liased with our insurers, they learn to apply the Alexander Technique in their lives. Those in isolation due to health, and those who but read innumerable live in a remote location too far from a teacher to have documents, sifting face to face lessons, have managed to access lessons and feel the benefits of the Technique. through endless pages As we have moved through the year Council has to distill the salient continued to work on its many and varied projects, and will continue to do so next year. We are looking points... for new members, and we especially would welcome anyone with knowledge of accounting and/ or social Editor’s note: Apologies to Belinda and media marketing. If you feel you would like to offer readers of STATnews for an error in which an some of your time and skills in either of these areas, or to just send your thanks, please contact the office at earlier version of From the Chair previously appeared on this page. info@stat.org.uk.

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STAT Council Chair Belinda May Secretary David Harrowes Treasurer Mike Cribb Ordinary Council Members Antonella Cavallone, Roger Kidd, Esther Miltiadous, Andy Moorhouse, Rhiannon Jones and Jane Morris.

Lay members Joe Abbott-Gribben STAT Office Staff General Manager Ilia Daoussi ilia@stat.org.uk Membership Officer & Welfare Officer Luke Chatterton luke@stat.org.uk

Contribute to STATnews STATnews needs your contributions.

Whether it be a review of a book you’ve read or a workshop you’ve recently attended, or a feature article about an aspect of the AT, please send it to us at the email address below.

Here are a few points to note regarding submissions and content: • Items are accepted for publication on the understanding that they may be shortened. We will contact you if we wish to request extensive edits.

• Please state if your piece has been

pubished somewhere else already.

• Copyright belongs to the authors and articles may not be reproduced without permission.

• Please include photography or suitable images to accompany your article, if possible.

• The views expressed in STATnews are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or the society.

• If you are reviewing an event or a book, it is most appreciated if you can share some of the details of what

you learned. This makes for a more interesting and rewarding reading experience • Every effort is made to avoid inaccuracies but if you believe you have spotted one, please contact us (email address below).

• If you have an event, publication or product which you wish to advertise in STATNews, please contact us..

The May issue deadline is 1st April.

Please send submissions to statnews@ stat.org.uk

STAT Update & News Ilia Daoussi, General Manager

FROM THE OFFICE A year like no other

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f there is one thing I feel 2020 brought us face to face with, it is how little control we have over change and yet how the only constant in our lives is change. Just a year ago, around this time, nothing would have prepared us for what was to come.

As a Society we responded quickly, and to the best of our abilities, to ensure we continued to support you all. From March to December 2020, STAT Council had nine additional meetings, on top of the six business ones normally scheduled, plus eight ORC meetings; a total of 23 meetings, ranging from 1.5 to 4 hours each. I can’t tell you how many emails these meetings generated (both in preparation for and following on from them) because it is impossible to count them. During this time a total of 74 email-newsletters were sent out, with approximately 40 of them dedicated to providing guidance and information regarding Covid measures, prior to which a dedicated team would spend an inordinate amount of time in trying to interpret the different reports and present them to you in a comprehensible way.

Council was very much aware of the financial difficulty you would find yourselves in and quickly agreed to a concession on the STAT membership fees for 2020, replicating towards the end of the year, and making that possible through reducing costs, including having STATnews published online, and creating a virtual office for STAT; decisions made neither lightly nor hastily.

STAT, true to its Alexandrian nature, changed, evolved, broke away from old habits and introduced new ones to help get through this indescribable year. It’s still an ongoing process. I can personally share this much: it has been really hard to keep a free neck. For the 16 years I have been working here, this was the first time I felt a collective anxiety and the enormity of STAT’s responsibility.

It’s been an exhausting year, but it is now 2021, so let’s keep our fingers

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crossed and move…. onwards and upwards.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year; brighter, kinder and safer.

Business as usual a. 2021 Subscriptions In December 2020, the Office Team issued the 2021 invoices. If you have not received your 2020 invoice by now, please let us know asap.

Please remember that the deadline for paying whole or part of your fee this year is the 28th February.

If you have yet to settle any outstanding fees, as reported in the statements most of you received, please do so as soon as possible, as failure to do so will result to your membership being lapsed.

For those of you paying via standing order (instruction you have personally given to your bank), please ensure you have updated the instalments to reflect the fact that our main bank is Barclays.

Please check if you are still paying into the Co-operative bank, and ensure to update your instruction so that payment goes into Barclays (you can find the bank details on your invoice). b. Changes in payment process From January 2022, all membership payments for UK members will be processed via Direct Debit.

If you are not on Direct Debit please contact us so that we can send you a mandate form. We kindly ask you not to leave this to the last minute and help us transition into this payment process smoothly.

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c. No cheques please – help us stay safe

Many of you still send us cheques to renew your membership. Please help us stay safe by opting out of this method of payment, as otherwise we will have to physically go to a bank to submit the cheques. d. Some 2021 dates to put in your diaries The following dates are important to remember: 1. 15th February Submitting proposed motions and/or nominations for Council membership to be considered by Council for the 2021 AGM If you wish Council to consider a motion to put it forward at the 2020 AGM, you have to submit the motion to the STAT office no later than the above date with a full rationale and a proposer and a seconder. If your motion is rejected, you can still request that it is submitted at the AGM by obtaining the signatures of 5% of the voting membership and submitting it to STAT no later than the 20th March. If you wish to know more about it, please email us directly at info@stat.org.uk.

2. 28th February Membership renewal deadline Please ensure that your renewal fee for this year’s subscription reaches us no later than this date.

3. 17th July STAT AGM We hope we will be able to have our AGM at Resource for London and we have booked the space to that effect. We will keep you updated as we are getting closer to that date.

It’s been an exhausting year, but it is now 2021, so let’s keep our fingers crossed and move... onwards and upwards

STAT Update & News

The STAT Research Group

SRG REPORT

Photo credit: N. Hanefeld 2020

Experiences of learning AT in the post-natal period: Research coming to fruition Alexander teacher, Nicola Hanefeld is coming to the end of her PhD at the University of Hull, which she has been doing with Lesley Glover as one of her supervisors. Nicola has been looking at how women in the postnatal period apply the Alexander Technique (AT). During her three years, Nicola has undertaken two studies. Firstly, a qualitative study of women who had varying degrees of experience of learning the AT, and had babies under one year. The women who took part used various self-care strategies and were consciously modifying their selfmanagement via awareness. The AT was important for them in providing a practical psychophysical reset and helped in the areas of sleep and rest, and when discomfort or pain arose. Active rest (semi-supine) played an important role in their lives. Significantly it seemed that ‘Alexander mothers’ have a sense of self-agency concerning selfcare which is not the case for many women in the postnatal period.

Nicola’s second study was a smallscale feasibility study, shaped to some extent by the Covid pandemic. Fifteen women with no previous AT experience, and with babies under one year, were provided with an AT-based online postnatal self-care package and asked to practise active rest daily for 14 days.

Findings suggest the package was easy to use and acceptable, and that it altered women’s sense of wellbeing. This study provides support for the development of an AT postnatal intervention for women to enhance wellbeing.

Nicola has submitted abstracts to two international conferences to report the findings and will be submitting her first paper to an academic journal shortly. The project as a whole will make a significant contribution to the academic literature and study of the AT in general, as well as for women in the postnatal period in particular. Nicola will provide a more detailed update in a future issue of STATnews.

Finding your way around Alexander Studies Online (ASO) With the recent re-launch of Alexander Studies Online (ASO) we released a brief video to provide an overview of the projects we’re currently working on. These projects aim to help communicate AT-related research and foster the exchange of ideas, resources, and knowledge by supporting a global community of Alexander teachers, trainees and students; researchers and academics; and others interested in learning more about, or directly contributing to research on the AT. If you’d like to learn more you can watch the ASO overview video via the link below. We hope to see you there! https://www.alexanderstudiesonline. com/blog/welcome-overview-of-aso Bringing AT research to life Over December 2020/January 2021 Alexander Studies Online (ASO) is releasing a free series of videos with the theme of the AT and dementia;

a topic that touches many lives, but which has so far received relatively little attention within the Alexander teaching community.

To do this, ASO has released a mini-series of 11 (5–12 minute) video interviews that provide background to the topic and information about two very different AT and dementia related studies. Taking part in the conversations are Charlotte Woods and Lesley Glover of the STAT Research Group, and Emma Wolverson, a clinical psychologist from the University of Hull who specialises in dementia care.

To learn more and be notified of how to sign up for the series, you can visit the ASO community page and become a member by subscribing with your email. Visit https://www. alexanderstudiesonline.com/asocommunity and join our growing community!

Covid halts funding opportunity The Alzheimer’s Society has had to cancel their new research grant awards because of the impact of Covid.

Hopefully, it will be possible to carry forward to next year, the funding bid for the AT and dementia carers’ project, submitted by Lesley Glover and her colleagues from the University of Hull.

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continued overleaf»

Over December 2020 and January 2021, Alexander Studies Online (ASO) is releasing a free series of videos with the theme of the AT and dementia...

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STAT Update & News

«continued from previous page

Exploring the impact of Covid on AT teacher training During lockdown, STAT training courses had the choice of going online or effectively temporarily closing for the whole of the Summer term this year.

All the training courses made the best decision they could for their particular circumstances. The SRG helped STAT to devise a questionnaire designed to capture the experiences during this period of teacher trainees and their trainers. As in so many areas of life, Covid has necessitated big changes in

the way we do things, and teaching and training in the AT is no exception. The information from the questionnaire results will help us to continue to adapt and respond as we move forwards in 2021.

The experiences of older people learning the AT: Update and thank you In the last STATnews, we mentioned a study finding out about the experiences of people aged 65 or over who have had Alexander lessons. Emma Donkersley, (clinical psychology trainee from the University of Hull) who is undertaking this study, asked teachers via STAT to

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help with recruiting participants for the study. The response has been fantastic so a very big thank you to all who passed the information on to the people you are teaching. The study is ongoing and we’ll report on the findings as soon as these become available.

If you become aware of any new research involving the AT, or are interested in our work please do let us know (email alexander@juliawoodman.co.uk). The STAT Research Group is: Lesley Glover, Kathleen Ballard, Erica Donnison, Charlotte Woods, Mark Vasak and Julia Woodman (Chair).

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hatever it is, coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to “normality”, trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture.

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STAT Update & News

Alexander in Education SIG update

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his autumn the co-ordination of this Special Interest Group was taken over by Polly Waterfield, Victoria Cresswell and Catherine Fleming. We’re delighted to be building on Judith Kleinman’s wonderful work over the last few years and at the moment are focusing on building a supportive network amongst teachers who work in schools and colleges. There is a mailing-list of about 50 teachers, about half and half in secondary and tertiary education.

If you work with young people and aren’t getting e-mails then please do get in touch! Or if you are simply interested you are also most welcome. We have had two meetings on Zoom and are now settling into a regular 2-monthly pattern, where meetings will include in-depth discussion, sharing of resources, mutual support, and some practical work sharing.

The next meeting is January 23rd, 5 – 6pm.

To be clear, this group is distinct from Judith and Sue Merry’s Developing Self project, which runs training courses

and is developing materials for teachers in schools and colleges.

Email: polly.waterfield@ntlworld.com (words: Polly Waterfield)

Local Contacts Bristol

Claire Coveney

claire@bristolat.co.uk

0117 987 0789

Cumbria/Lancaster

Erica Donnison

erica.donnison@mac.com

07771 602665

East Anglia

Polly Waterfield

polly.waterfield@ntlworld.com

01223 529763

miriamwohl@hotmail.com

0116 240 4243

East Midlands Edinburgh

Miriam Wohl

alexander@julia-woodman.co.uk

07932 967344

Fife

Julia Woodman George Coltart

george_coltart@hotmail.co.uk

01382 889116

Herts South West

Jan Moffat

supplepoll@yahoo.co.uk

07778 778 007

London Bloomsbury

Natacha Osorio

nataosorio21@icloud.com

07884 015 954

London North

Hidemi Hatada

motet1542@hotmail.co.uk

0790 5301645

London SW/Surrey

Ken Peacock

alexanderteacher@peacock-practice.co.uk

020 8393 1477

London West

Liz Dodgson

elizabeth@ATteacher.co.uk

020 8994 9527

North West

Bryan Stephens

mokshajyoti@gmail.com

0161 833 2528

Somerset

Gail Clarke

2attinfo@gmail.com

01460 242549

Sussex

Korina Biggs

appointments@korinabiggs.co.uk

01273 420259

West Midlands

Clare Dannatt

clare.dannatt@yahoo.co.uk

01384 824864

Yorkshire

Bridget Barr

attbridgetbarr@gmail.com

07957 981240

Ireland Spain

Richard Brennan Don Kirkley

info@alexander.ie

+353 91 555800

donkirkley@gmail.com

+34 981 588986

Local Contacts work on an entirely voluntary basis. They act as a point of contact within their local group and will forward any emails from STAT. They have also agreed to act as a contact for teachers living alone who may be in need of short-term practical assistance (i.e. in the case of injury). The role of the local contact would be to send out the request for help and not necessarily to get personally involved. STAT operates a failsafe system whereby a Local Contact can claim up to £50 if an event organised by and for members does not manage to cover its costs. Any claim must be submitted to the office with supporting receipts and must be made by a Local Contact listed in the Statnews current at the time of the claim.

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CPD & Events

Report and reflections on the AT Racial Diversity course

By Korina Biggs, Joanna Britton and Sue Fleming

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his autumn, a number of AT teachers from Europe and the US were lucky enough to participate in an online course of five sessions run by the US-based organisation Ambient Noise, aimed at “practitioners and teachers of the Alexander Technique interested in making authentic change around diversity and inclusion in your organization, practice and relationships with your students”.

The work was led by Darryl Aiken-Afam, a Leadership Psychology specialist, who is also a practitioner of Taoist and Zen-based meditation, yoga, martial arts practices and a shiatsu practitioner. He had previously run a course for Alexander teachers in the US and a workshop at the Chicago Congress. He co-led the course with Milta Vega-Cardona, a consultant on the conversations of Institutional Race/ Racism and its effects on the individual and the institutional.

In this article, we would like to share a summary of the work, followed by some initial reflections on our personal experiences. We look forward to hearing what you think and continuing this conversation.

Summary of the course (Korina) I experienced it as a three-fold approach. Firstly educational.

The trainers made sure that we were on the same page with understanding the historical and socially constructed concept of race. That we accepted how, as human beings, we have been socialised into the dominant ideology of white superiority and so are riddled with unconscious ways of thinking and behaving. We are subject to internalised racial oppression which inevitably wounds white people too. They suggested various lenses through which we might view how BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People Of Colour) are portrayed and treated and the sessions were backed up with links to articles and research.

Secondly, the approach emphasised practice. This approach draws on mindfulness and it was assumed as AT practitioners that we are well practised in tracking our thoughts, feelings, and physiological reactions. We were encouraged to engage our AT practice as a way of being able to change our habits this time with the focus on habits of racism.

Thirdly, the approach urged transformation. Our trainers used the West African image of the Sankofa which is a mythical bird with a seed or egg in her mouth with her head turned back meaning that it’s important to remember the past in order to go forward. The idea is that everyone has a form of “Sankofa”; for the AT community, this can be found in F.M. Alexander’s writings. Such a legacy is not just historical: we heard of some black people who had been about to start AT classes and after finding out about Alexander’s writings understandably withdrew.

My personal experience of training was that the racism in the writings was skipped over. I remember being rather shocked when I did start reading MSI and was keen to dismiss and overlook the various passages and the thrust of Alexander’s theory. This is not enough. Darryl asked us - and I quote from the last session - “How do you as

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AT people reconcile F.M. Alexander’s writings and racism in the present as you plug in to clients, patients, organisations where you are teaching, especially when you are working with BIPOC? How do you reconcile that past and interface with them now, today? This is part of the transformative work that you must do if you are going to be anti-racist. If you’re going to meet any BIPOC people today with integrity you have to acknowledge that. Not try and hide it - that is a part of the Darryl Aiken-Afam, course healing.” trainer, Ambient Noise Reflections Real change vs cosmetic change (Joanna) I was lucky enough to attend Darryl’s workshop at the 2019 Amsat conference. What struck me then, and what strikes me now, is that like the Alexander Technique, the process developed by Darryl and his colleagues invites deep, fundamental change of the self Milta Vega-Cardona, course and, by consequence, of our trainer, Wisdom Strategy relations with others. It’s not about posture, or appearances. Innovation It’s not about cosmetic change or using the ‘right’ words, or even developing knowledge of the history or mechanisms of racism – although these are welcome and necessary steps. To use the phrasing from our course, it’s a kind of “calling in to oneness”. Making the difficult journey that our trainer, Milta, often talked about: from the head to the heart to the gut. For me, this is the natural extension of our work in AT to become ‘one’ and ‘whole’ individuals. I really feel that oneness is also the starting point for the AT community as we search to unpack our history, most obviously in how we use, or not, Alexander’s writing...

Come to quiet observation (Joanna) Our trainers kept reminding us that a powerful key to undoing racism is “open monitoring”, or an applied mindfulness practice whereby you monitor thoughts, emotional, physiological or biological responses, behavioural impulses amongst others. It seems obvious to me that our experience and skills from AT should make this process more accessible, if we so choose.

Working on habits of racism (Korina) - Personal examples include noticing:

CPD & Events

«continued from previous page

• irritation (with accompanying tightening) that a student hasn’t come for their lesson and observing thoughts of why I think they haven’t. In the case of a black student I assumed that the reason was their involvement with anti-racist actions which bruised my AT ego. The process then of releasing the tightening helps me get a wider perspective on the many possible reasons why the student may not have shown up and see what is actually important; • pulling down with shame when I’ve made an assumption based on prejudice. Undoing the pulling down then gives me more capacity to see why I made that assumption and to let go of it; • the tension that comes about when someone says something that I perceive to be racist. Taking the moment to work on myself enables me to have more of a voice, have more curiosity and be less likely to either attack or evade the issue; • that I have an expanded sense of not-knowing the lived experience of a client or student which feeds into a more open listening response in my self including my hands.

False sensory perception (Joanna): For me, whiteness is perhaps the most all-encompassing false sensory perception I experience. More and more, I see how, as white people, we are raised to believe our quality and supposed ease is inherent. Realising that this privilege is arbitrary and structural, rather than something we have earned or deserved, will be a life-long process of re-education and recalibration.

Mapping whiteness (Sue): The course reminded me to know and understand our history; that the superiority inherent in the exploitative colonial process translates down the years. From our explorations, I realised how easy it is for me to assume the range of advantages and rights I have as a white person. My skin colour gives out a clear signal which affects my use and experience, both smoothing my path in the world and preventing me from being a full and complete person. As AT teachers, we know it is hard work to change our habits and perceptions, to be humble and human, and I notice my own resistance against knowing unpalatable truths.

Racism in freedom and support (Sue): Further reflections on what racism means for Alexander Technique work: Freedom and support are key concepts I use in my AT teaching. Support from the floor, from what we touch, from the environment around us, and from within. Directions ask for freedom of movement. We know that freedom and support are multidimensional, physical, psychological, social, economic and political. Constraints and threats to freedom and support come from all quarters and from different fears - of disease, of scarcity, of violence. For me as an AT teacher, the course made it clear that freedom and support are racialised, and it is vital for me to remember this as it impacts the choices that are open to each of us and how and where we teach the Technique.

Ongoing journeys (Korina) In the welcome email we were warned that the course would be “sometimes enlightening and uplifting, and other times uncomfortable and emotional”. This it certainly was and we experienced many reactions that we can now identify as manifestations of our “white fragility” (a term coined

by Robin DiAngelo describing the inability to tolerate any kind of challenge to our racial reality, a feeling that gets in the way of deeper reflection or dialogue). However, as with the process of change that we recognise accompanies learning the AT, it feels like there is no going back; this is an uncomfortable but necessary liberating process. As the welcome email went on to say, “the key is that we stay in there and do this together as human beings in support of each other moving towards the same healing goals.” korinabiggs@gmail.com joannabritton@gmail.com sue@alexanderteaching.co.uk

‘From the head to the heart to the gut’: The brain, in right profile with the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves. Photolithograph, 1940, after a woodcut, 1543.

Credit: Wellcome Collection.

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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CPD & Events

New videos added to Alexander in Education conference

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new batch of videos has been released as part of the Developing Self’s ongoing ‘Alexander in Education’ Conference. An additional 12 presentations and interviews were added on new year’s day to the original conference programme, with the entire collection of videos remaining online indefinitely for anybody to view free of charge.

Additional content for 2021 comes from teachers Richard Brennan, Malcolm Balk, Lori Schiff, Angelique Swallow, Ruth Rootberg and Alex and Joan Murray, with topics including school chairs, teaching in music conservatoires and new ways to think about FM’s direction of knees forward and away. These videos will also be accompanied by a series of short interviews with children from Educare Small

School in Kingston, Surrey which integrates Alexander Technique into its daily programme. To view the conference, which has been organised in association with STAT, either visit the Developing Self YouTube channel or go to www. thedevelopingself.net/conference.

Sue Merry, one of the conference co-organisers, said: “We were so pleased with how the initial conference went in July that we wanted to build on those foundations and continue to add new content for the Alexander world to enjoy. This latest batch won’t be the last though, so watch out for more videos being added in the summer and beyond.”

Any Alexander teachers who would like to contribute a video for inclusion in future releases can contact Sue at thedevelopingself@gmail.com.

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F. Matthias Alexander Letters edited by Missy Vineyard and Jean M. O. Fischer

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These two volumes contain almost all known existing letters by F. M. Alexander. They collect, in complete and unabridged form, all the letters which have been made available to the editors, in total 685 letters.

Volume I contains letters for the period 1916–1942, and notes for these letters. Volume II contains letters for the period 1943–1955, and notes for these letters.

Hardbacks. 2 volumes. 300 + 374 pages. €70.00

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www.mouritz.org/shop For up to date information on any mailing restrictions due to Covid-19 please see www.mouritz.co.uk.

CPD & Events

12th International Alexander Technique Congress, Berlin 2022 Rossella Buono writes

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he world is changed, I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.

Even if you’re not a Lord of the Rings fan and you don’t hear the opening music of the movie in these words, we can all agree: many things have changed in 2020.

For example, I would now willingly give up chocolate for a month, just to have a lesson with one of my favourite teachers (ok, maybe a week?). Some of us haven’t had any hands-on work for all of 2020. Can you believe that?! But on the other hand, we’ve never been so internationally connected as this year, with the explosion of online work giving access to so many amazing courses and classes. I therefore feel very isolated and very connected at the same time - and I presume I’m not the only one.

This is especially true for me and Andreas, as we weren’t able to meet in person last year. But staying on top of pandemic developments together, having countless conversations by mail, phone and Zoom on how to proceed with the Congress, generating a whole host of potential options, and finally landing on the decision to move the Congress to 2022 -- all that has meant that in some ways we’ve never worked more closely.

The Congress has been running since 1986, with the aim of bringing teachers together to exchange work, knowledge and experience. Never before has there been such an intense need for our community to gather and come together. So Congress organisation is not only proceeding apace, but with renewed energy and confidence that things will turn out OK by 2022. And we now have an even stronger focus on making things as accessible as possible, on as many levels as possible.

A lot is still going on behind the scenes - so please stay tuned and be sure to check our website www.now2022.de regularly for updates. There’s major website re-design work going on at the moment, and we’ll be very excited to re-launch the site with great new functions and information. If things go as planned, that will be around March/April 2021. We will have the full list of keynote and CL presenters by then, plus information on our incredible team for the opening and closing ceremonies, to create something truly unforgettable.

Rossella and Clifford

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We’re looking forward to opening submissions for the workshops this summer... For more information, keep an eye on www.now2022.de

Andreas

And we’re looking forward to opening submissions for the workshops this summer, too! For more information, keep an eye on www.now2022.de.

Take care and stay healthy!

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Changing times: On-line teaching

By Malcolm Williamson

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lexander used an analogy borrowed from nineteenth century technology to explain “primary control”. He described it as the body’s self-regulator operating like the governor of a steam engine that prevents its moving parts from running amok and causing irreparable damage to itself.1 Interestingly, a governor was also known as an ‘inhibitor’ and Alexander’s major contribution was to develop a self-help way of bringing an inhibitory control over disruptive habits (misuses) as key to the “harmonious working of the parts” of the human body.

Although inhibition is necessary it is not always sufficient.

Alexander thought mankind had ceased being a natural animal.2 In adapting to the conditions of a rapidly changing, industrialized world most adults have developed habits that interfere with the integrated functioning of the organism.

Restoring this organization is fundamental to our ability to adapt successfully and respond moment-to-moment to our surroundings.

But there is a problem with trying to do this directly for ourselves. The familiar “guiding sensations”3 (feelings) we use to organize our movements are themselves the product of our aberrant muscular habits – the very things we may want to change. Now, the idea of nerves as telegraph wires carrying information is another analogy borrowed from engineering.

In-put (afferent, sensory) nerves transmit information about our environment. They also transmit information that gives rise to the “resident” feelings produced by our body as it moves. This was William James’ explanation: [W]e have, whenever we perform a movement ourselves, another set of impressions, those, namely, which come up from the parts that are actually moved. These kinæsthetic impressions . . . are so many resident effects of the motion. Not only are our muscles supplied with afferent as well as with efferent nerves, but the tendons, the ligaments, the articular surfaces, and the skin about the joints are all sensitive, and, being stretched and squeezed in ways characteristic of each particular movement, give us as many distinctive feelings as there are movements possible to perform.4 As for information transmitted by the out-going (efferent, motor) nerves that innervate our muscles, these send us no feedback (or feelings) whatsoever. Sherrington noted: I reflect that various parts of my brain are involved in the coordinative management of [the act of standing], and that in doing so my brain’s rightness of action rests on receiving and despatching thousands of nerve messages, registering and adjusting pressures, tensions, etc., in various parts of me. Remembering this I am perhaps rather disappointed at the very little that my mind has to tell me about my standing.5 So, we are unaware of all the complex processes that 12

intervene between our wishing and the act that follows. Many theories have been proposed to explain this phenomenon from Descartes’ notion about the pineal gland to divine interventions! The one that gave support to Alexander’s empirical discoveries was ideomotor theory that still retains credibility.6 Quite simply, we think an action (James gave the example of getting out of bed on a winter’s morning) and, so long as there are no other conflicting thoughts – “It’s cold and dark outside” – it happens.7 To summon up a movement voluntarily, according to the theory, we have to think of what it felt like on a previous occasion: James concludes, before performing a voluntary action (e.g., making a toast at a dinner party), one must have an idea of what that action is to be. These ideas are often based on memory. As James (Vol. 2, p. 487) . . . notes, ‘If, in voluntary action properly so-called, the act must be foreseen, it follows that no creature not endowed with divinatory power can perform an act voluntarily for the first time.’ These representations are not of the action itself but, rather, of the perceptual consequences in the world (or in the body) of the action having been expressed.8 James wondered how it is that we make a particular movement for the very first time. He could think only of random and reflex movements, or “passively received experiences” as when we allow someone else to move us.9 The first chiefly relies on trial-and-error; the second can be more reliable but is obviously impractical as a permanent solution.

Whatever, the fact remains that, until we have experienced the ‘resident’ feelings produced by a movement, we have no conception of what it feels like to do it.

But there is a third way unknown to James (cue fanfare): the way of working developed by Alexander: . . . teaching to the principles of conscious guidance and control on a basis of re-education and general coordination . . . [the pupil] can be taught to inhibit the faulty movements, and his teacher can assist him to gain slowly but correctly the necessary experiences in the correct use of those muscular mechanisms which will enable him sooner or later to govern them properly without the aid of the teacher, and to employ them with accuracy and precision . . . 10 In this case, it is usually a matter of changing a longstanding habit. So first, the pupil has to prevent it, and the associated feelings, from happening. He refuses to contemplate carrying out the activity by saying ‘no’ or withholding consent. Then, he must allow himself to be guided by his teacher in restoring primary control and gaining “the necessary experiences in the correct use of [his] muscular mechanisms”. And only then can he be taught with

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any certainty how to give directions for the new manner of use for himself.

In March 1944, Alexander wrote that none of his pupils had had the necessary outlook and attitude to learn the technique until he had changed their manner of use with his hands.11 He admitted that some limited correction of a specific misuse could be made without “hands-on”. For example, Raymond Dart maintained that lying down in “infantile supine posture” (‘semi-supine’) could correct common postural twists if practised regularly for several months.12 But it is another matter to teach someone the means for reaching a plane of conscious control13 – “the reasoned control of his physical being, and [to] fit him for any and every mode of life.”14 In fifty years of teaching Alexander found that “hands-on” guidance was essential for enabling life-long “end-gainers” to appreciate and learn his means-whereby approach. But his pupils were mostly of a conventional or conservative upbringing. Could it be that in today’s more diverse society, and with the many self-improvement methods now on offer, our pupils are better informed and ready to learn?

Recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of teachers offering on-line lessons that obviously precludes hands-on guidance. The situation is reminiscent of when teachers began offering telephone lessons some years ago.

Then, STAT was quick to speak out against the untested practice. Today, we are all living in very different and difficult circumstances. The Society is understandably reluctant to discourage on-line teaching during the current pandemic when this is often the only means of livelihood for teachers.

No doubt teaching will and should evolve to include the latest communication technologies. However, until we have more evidence of on-line teaching’s effectiveness, we “must set realistic expectations” and “dstress the importance of direct practical experience” to our pupils.15 And, in the longer term, it is essential that teachers continue refining their hands-on skills in their daily practice, not only for their own satisfaction but to keep this unique feature of our teaching alive for the next generation.

Endnotes 1 UOS (Gollancz 1985), 65; UCL (Mouritz 2000), 51.

2 MSI (Methuen 1910), 3; (Mouritz 1996), 4, 191.

3 MSI (1910), 80; (1996), 14, 58, 118, 148; CCCI (Mouritz 2004), 95, 131, 132, 150, 153, 180.

4 James, W. (1890/1950). Principles of Psychology, Vol. 2, 488.

5 Man on his Nature, quoted in UCL (2000), 117. See also James, “the discharge into the motor nerves is insentient” (Vol. 2, 493).

6 Ballard, K. (2015). “Ideomotor Principle. Was Alexander Correct?” in Rennie, C., Shoop, T. & Thapen, K. (eds.), Connected Perspectives (Hite), 49-71. Also Morsella, et al (2020), note 8.

7 James, Vol. 2, 524.

8 Morsella, E., Velasquez, A.G., Yankulova, J.K., Li, Y., Wong, C.Y., and Lambert, D. (2020). ‘Motor Cognition: The Role of Sentience in Perception and Action’. Kinesiology Review, (Ahead of Print). Human Kinetics, Inc. https://doi. org/10.1123/kr.2020-0017 9 James, “passive movements – movements communicated to our limbs by others” (Vol. 2, 488).

10 MSI (1996), 135.

11 Draft reply South African Memorandum, March 1944 in Irene Tasker by Stratil, R. (Mourtiz 2020, 322-5) and Letters Volume II 1943–1955, edited by Vineyard, M. & Fischer, J.M.O. (Mouritz 2020, 336-9).

12 Dart, R. (1947). ‘The Attainment of Poise’ in Skill and Poise, (STAT Books 1996), 134. Several teachers have reported corroborating cases.

13 CCCI (2004), 7-8n., 33, etc. and UCL (2000), 12.

14 MSI (1996), 83; cf. 1910, 72-3.

15 STAT Guidelines on remote working. https:// alexandertechnique.co.uk/for-members/notice/statguidance-remote-working (accessed 19/11/2020).

From January 2022, subscription renewals and payment of membership fees will only be made via direct debit (UK members only) STAT will no longer accept cheques, standing orders, bank transfers or online payments for UK subscription renewals.

Please help us have a smooth transition into this method of payment over the course of 2021 by returning the direct debit mandate recently posted to you back to STAT as soon as possible. If you have not received one, please email us at info@stat.org.uk.

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To teach online or not to teach online?

That is the question!

Richard Brennan offers reflections Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.

Margaret Atwood

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am well aware that I may be walking into a minefield by writing this article, but I feel it is a too-important issue to stay quiet about, which may well dictate the future of Alexander’s work. I am well aware that some teachers think teaching online Alexander lessons is a wonderful idea while others think it is not possible or even worse… a very dangerous idea. I am sure that this article will not sway either one, because whatever we think we automatically assume that it is 100% correct and I include myself! In other words to quote Alexander: “Everyone wants to be right, but no one stops to consider if their idea of right is right.”1 Hopefully this article may help those who have yet to form a solid opinion about online Alexander Technique teaching. While I am writing I am also mindful of the quote by Lao Tzu when he said: “He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.” But here goes anyway!

I also know there are quite a few Alexander teachers already teaching online and who are very in favour of it, and some who do not and are very opposed to it. I am not trying to make anyone wrong or right by expressing my view, but perhaps to offer some food for thought, or perhaps even help some people to stop and re-consider their opinion about the subject.

During a recent ISATT (Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers) meeting someone said that teaching online was a “real opportunity”…. but an opportunity for who I thought? For the pupil? For the teacher? To further our business? To make money? To spread the word about the Alexander Technique? To enrol pupils from other counties, countries or even from another continent?

I think it is essential to answer this question before we decide whether to teach the Technique online or not. So in this article I will try to explore the question “Why teach online?” And also: “Who is really benefitting?” To be absolutely clear I am not talking about teachers who are giving Zoom lessons to other Alexander teachers, to students on a training course or even someone who has already had a lot of Alexander hands-on experience. I am asking whether or not it is a good idea to teach a new pupil who has had little or no hands-on lessons or not.

First of all I would agree online lessons provide an opportunity to discuss the principles and procedures that underlie the work, but without the experience our hands can impart, is there very much point, except with people who have already had the experience of a one-to-one hands-on lesson already? And of course it is a real opportunity to reach more people and even give group lessons to many people at one time, and even to promote the work or to promote ourselves, but is it a good means whereby that I can give a person a pure and definite Alexander experience?

In my first year of teaching I asked one of my pupils on

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their fourth lesson what they would like from their lesson.

She said immediately: “I would like the champagne feeling.”

I asked her what she meant by that. She replied: “Well I always feel so light and bubbly after each lesson, so I call it ‘the champagne feeling!’” I thought this was well described and knew that feeling well; in fact it was that similar feeling of ease, lightness and aliveness that got me interested in the Technique in the first place. We are not teaching a technique like playing the piano or golf, we are helping a person have a new experience of what it feels like when they stop trying and tensing and when they use themselves with poise and ease; but at the same time the Alexander technique does involve learning a practical skill that you acquire in a similar way as learning to drive a car or fly a plane. Would you book an online driving lesson or an online flying lesson? My guess is: “Probably not!”

There are many add-ons to the Alexander Technique like the Conable body mapping, or learning to sit using better Mandle-type furniture, or even some extra breathing techniques other than the ‘whispered ah’ - any of which may be helpful additions to teaching the technique. Some of these can easily be taught online, but they are not the essence of the work and if taught online as such could easily give someone the wrong impression or confusion in relation to what the Technique is really about.

Perhaps it is useful to go back to why Alexander used his hands in the first place. It was purely because people were misinterpreting his verbal instruction; in fact, they were often doing exactly the opposite. Due to the fact he was in the same room and could see what they were doing in three dimensions he could see how mistaken they were when relying on their kinaesthetic and proprioception senses.

In Zoom lessons it is only possible to see people in two dimensions so when teaching online we are immediately at a disadvantage. Also in my experience someone may not look tense, but it is only when you put hands on that you can really know what a person is really doing to themselves. Perhaps some experienced teachers may be able to teach effectively about the principles or the procedures of the technique, but what about a new teacher with only a few years of teaching and whose majority of training has been hands-on? I personally think it will be detrimental to our work if online teaching starts to replace the traditional hands-on lesson and I say this from practical experience. I have given a few Zoom talks to new people and trainees of other training courses, but only to encourage them to explore the hands on work further.

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Would you book an online flying lesson or driving lesson? My guess is: ‘Probably not!’

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I even gave a one to one [online] lesson to a new person and afterwards, even though she said she had gained a lot and her back pain was less, I could tell it was far inferior to a hands-on lesson. After that lesson I am more convinced that with our trained hands we can impart an experience that a hands-off session can never approach - and I also speak from experience as a pupil!

Learning online in some ways could be compared to learning the Technique from a book; in other words learning in both cases comes from the written or spoken word.

Reading about Alexander’s work may be useful to further our knowledge but as Alexander said: “Be careful of the printed matter: you may not read it as it is written down.”2 So perhaps that quote could be truer for the spoken word.

A good example of this was experienced by Hugh Massey who wrote An African Odyssey - the story of a man who cured himself of severe tuberculosis in the 1940s just by reading and applying the words from Alexander’s books. Alexander apparently was delighted when he heard this and wanted to meet Massey in person, but after meeting him and assessing how far he had understood his work, Alexander exclaimed “No, no, no. You haven’t understood at all what I am getting at.”3 I would like to finish with a quote from Alexander himself when talking about the ‘head forward and up’ direction.

About Richard Richard Brennan has studied the Alexander Technique since 1983. He travels internationally giving talks and courses on the Technique. He has taught the Technique at many educational centres including the universities of Acadia, Temple (Philadelphia), Galway and Limerick, as well as DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama (Dublin), Ireland Dartington College of Arts, and Middlesex University UK. He was a director of the 2015 Alexander Congress in Limerick and is the organiser of the 2013 and 2017 Alexander Teacher’s Conventions in Dublin He has written eight books on the Alexander Technique, which are translated into 22 languages and are on sale world-wide.

Richard has been the Director of the only STAT-approved Alexander Teacher Training College in Ireland for the last 22 years, and was the co-founder of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISSAT).

“This is one of the most inadequate and often confusing phrases used as a means of conveying our ideas in words, and it is a dangerous instruction to give any pupil, unless the teacher first demonstrates his meaning by giving to the pupil, by means of manipulation, the exact experience involved.”4 (Alexander’s italics not mine)

Endnotes 1 F. Matthias Alexander, Aphorisms, Mouritz 2000 2 F. Matthias Alexander, Aphorisms, Mouritz 20003 3 Hugh Massey, An African Odyssey: Evolution, Posture and the Work of FM Alexander: A Journey of Discovery. Herbert Adler Publishing, 2001 4 F.Matthias Alexander, CCCI. Mouritz 2004

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I just don’t see how you can “give your pupil, by means of manipulation, the exact experience involved” during an online lesson. I am not saying online sessions have no place, or there is no value in an Alexander book, but it is far inferior to a hands-on lesson. So as long as the pupil, and more importantly the Alexander teacher, realises that the online lesson is vastly inferior to a hands-on session, then perhaps online lessons have a place in the future work of the Alexander Technique.

I also realise that I may well be becoming old–fashioned and stuck in my ways with age so perhaps it is better to follow the advice of Lao Tzu and say as little as possible.

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Features

What is the Alexander Technique for?

The six members of the Interpersonal Special Interest Group recently met via Zoom to consider the above question. What follows is a summary of their views. What seemed to emerge was a striking consensus of opinion that the Technique is about much more than musculoskeletal integrity. The contributors (in order of appearance, below) were: Richard Casebow, Kathy Hick, Doris Prugel-Bennett, Penny Spawforth, Polly Waterfield and David Harrowes.

Richard Alexander Technique - a technique for what? My standard answer, based on the title of Alexander’s second book, is that it is for the development of constructive conscious control by an individual. This raises similar questions: what does that mean and what purpose does it serve?

Self-experimentation is at the heart of Alexander’s story, a story of someone taking personal responsibility for his difficulties. He finds his way forward by becoming conscious of the habits that were creating the problems he had with his voice. His discovery of a means to inhibit non-constructive habits was his way forward and something extended to all his actions. I have spent more than half my life pursuing this and teaching it to others. If I go back far enough to my own beginnings with the Technique, it allowed me to function physically and mentally. If I didn’t stop, and forgot about Alexander’s technique, I would cease to function both physically from chronic pain and mentally from episodes of depression. Both are now distant parts of my past. The work that I have done using Alexander’s technique has been foundational in developing an understanding of the way I contributed to and created my difficulties.

More importantly, through the power of inhibition I learned to stop trying to control my reactions using habits acquired in the first few weeks of life: and to replace them with a set supportive of exploration, curiosity and experimentation.

From numerous readings of Alexander’s books, this is what I think he hoped people would take from them. I can’t say I enjoy reading his books; for many years I read them as detective fiction, to make them readable and to avoid getting exasperated and throwing them away. This way of reading has allowed me to have a dialogue with Alexander and find ways to test out in my own life what he is saying.

We are all actors, in our own and other people’s stories. As such we are all capable of losing our shape to fit other people’s stories of ourselves, rather than finding our shape and fit in our own story. Conscious control, which is constructive, allows us to shapeshift, to find our fit, which is what freedom in thought and action allow, in unfolding stories within the great unfolding that is the universe.

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Kathy For me, the Alexander Technique is a means of opening myself up to choice. It equips me with a lens of choice, openness and possibility through which I can view the world, and a connection through which I can meet the world more wholly and deeply. It reminds me that I have choice in each and every moment, and fosters in me a mindset of choice.

This choice initially presents itself through the principle of inhibition, as I pause and allow the possibility of a response different from my usual habitual one. I started this connection with choice on the physical level, beginning Alexander lessons nearly 30 years ago to help me address my chronic low-back pain.

As I began to explore the possibility of choice on a physical level, the concept gradually migrated to other levels of my interaction with the world. For example, in my relationships with others if I chose to release a jaw tightened in anger during a conversation, the anger could move through me and open up a space for something new and different to arise.

I might feel the initial habitual surge of anger and then, in my pause of inhibition, realise I wanted to respond with compassion, curiosity or patience rather than with anger.

I consider this level of choice to be on the micro level of stimulus and response in the moment, which I experienced in my first years of practising the Technique. Over time, the practice of inhibition facilitating choice began to affect my responses to life at a more macro level, with a deeper, yet also broader, response. This led me to such insights as, not only did I have a choice within the moment of a conversation, but also in the direction of an entire relationship. My deeper patterns of conditioning and the habits in which they mired me became more apparent to me. I gained clarity on the distinction between ‘what I’ve always done’ and ‘what I really want right now’. It became easier to shift situations or let go of relationships that were no longer beneficial to me.

What started as my last-ditch attempt to reduce my back pain has evolved into a lifelong journey of discovery and of embracing conscious choice: a journey infused with resonance, authenticity and intuition.

Doris FM Alexander’s work is clearly rooted in the Enlightenment

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and humanistic thought, where the idea is that humans refine/civilize themselves. Where he diverges from Enlightenment thought is when it comes to the body-mind split. Alexander rejected that dichotomy. He persevered in keeping the human being together as a whole organism which can develop on the cognitive, behavioural, emotional, physical and relational levels. In my opinion, AT offers an approach for creating the best conditions for an individual to (re-)discover connections to the possibility of individual congruence. Thus the AT is an approach for the physical and existential dimensions.

I grew up in a farming village and working class household, where words were not the most important vehicle for communication. Instead, our senses were exercised for understanding and interacting with self and other/the world. In our household non-verbal communication was practised and interpreted by using the many senses a human being is equipped with, including smell, hearing, sensuality, movement and distance to others, facial expressions, gesticulation, etc. Manual skills and physical wellbeing were highly valued. It was understood that self-care, wellbeing and health were part of our responsibility, achieved through movement, eating good food and a relation to the natural world. I understood that I was a relational organism.

From the first moment I engaged with the AT, I understood the AT offers a superb means for working with that “unspoken dimension” (Anderson, 2014). I was excited to take my homegrown knowledge further into a profession that allows for “symbiotic communication” between two people, where practitioner and client co-create an “intersubjective field” (Bosnak in Anderson, p 162), in which deep communication and understanding is taking place without talking. Therefore, in my opinion, the AT is a means for working with phenomena that are invisible but constantly active in every interaction between a person and the world.

AT principles allow us to touch individuals on many levels, including the non-verbal, and through professional contact/ haptic communication.

I see some of the social pathologies of contemporary civilisation as consequences of physical and emotional disconnection, psycho-physical deskilling (Carr, 2016), and unconscious self-harm, that is harming the very source that makes and sustains us. In my opinion the AT is a means to theoretically and practically address those issues sometimes directly, at other times indirectly, but always comprehensively – body and mind remain inseparable. It is for people who find their way to us.

Penny My answer to this comes through the lens of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and its concept of “universal human needs”. Needs could be defined as: “the energy in living organisms that compels them to seek fulfilment and to thrive.”1 What stops people meeting their deepest needs

in the most fulfilling way? One reason, I believe, is that we develop patterns of behaviour we call “habits” to meet needs, assigning them to the subconscious for ease. Many of them are very useful, but many are not and somehow we “forget” that there can be better strategies to meet those same needs in the context of now, the whole self and the bigger picture.

We become stuck in historic reactive patterns without room to respond in a fresh way to our actual, current situation. The AT can be seen as a means of unblocking these unconscious barriers to needs being met: to unblock flow.

Alexander, through his astute observation and enquiring mind, has given us a path (not a destination!) towards liberation from subconscious patterns of thinking, moving, breathing and being that no longer fully serve us. Not only that, he has helped us do this when we were only, in the very dimmest of ways, aware that we wanted it.

If we accept the AT path, it enables self-discoveries to be made and changes to emerge that we didn’t realise we needed! This in turn allows for a different sense of connection to the whole and more choice available to us in how we show up in the world, how we contribute our creative gifts and how we allow ourselves to receive from others.

To finish with an example, I put this question to my mother (who trained as an AT teacher in the late ‘50s but never went on to teach) and she said, after silent reflection, “for me it helped me free mind and body.” She gave several examples.

Her shoe size went from 6 to 7 as her feet un-tensed, her dresses hung much better, her breathing improved as her rib cage released, and as the fear that had caused the breathing problems diminished, her ability to walk into a room full of strangers improved and her self-confidence grew. Today, at 88 years old, it continues to contribute to her ability to be independent, go for walks and have a meaningful and connected life.

Polly To me the Alexander Technique is one approach to embodiment. Using the tools of inhibition and direction we can come closer to the wholeness of ourselves in relation to the world around us. Another way of putting it would be coming into the present moment. I see it as a technique for “coming home”, or as one of my teenage pupils said: “everything in one place”. In a society which is increasingly frenetic and where the “mind over matter” model still lingers in driven attempts at self-improvement, this path is radical in its simplicity and gentleness. Another teenager described her lessons as “learning to work with the body rather than against it”.

I tell my pupils that even in a rapidly changing world there are things they can rely on: they will always operate in gravity, the breath is always coming and going, and they always exist in relation to what is around them, not in a bubble. We also all belong in the natural world: we breathe the same air that continued overleaf»

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rustles the trees outside, the breath is always returning like the waves of the sea, our bodies are 70% water, and we are all connected into the heart of the earth through gravity, as is everything else in the room – nothing is floating around!

So I see it as a technique for moving from separation to participation, for restoring the mind-body eco-system, for finding resources within.

Once they have some experience, pupils can always choose to tune into their breathing, to notice that the ground is supporting them and that there is a bigger picture if they take a step back. So it is also a technique for choosing.

As inhibition is practised, moments of choosing become easier and more frequent. Direction can emerge from those moments and can be developed into a way of taking charge of oneself in any activity.

I like Frank Pierce-Jones’s “unified field” of perception as a framework. Working to help pupils stay with the depth of their embodied experience while coming off the table, I’ve realised what a delicate thing this is. It is all too easy to abandon the self and for many (myself included!) the distraction of relating and talking to another person is THE stimulus that brings disconnection. So it is also a technique for relating to self and other.

Over the years I’ve learnt from my pupils many ways of seeing what the Technique is for. Here is [a comment suggestive of ] another one: “It could be easier”.

David “The mass of [people] live lives of quiet desperation and go to their grave with the song still in them.” Most readers will know the first part of this quotation from Thoreau, without being familiar with the second. An inverted rendition of the same proposition is “no-one ever died saying I wish I had spent more time in the office.” Both quotations express unhappiness born of constraint. There are two linked themes we can explore here. The first is that much suffering is caused by the self-sabotage of ingrained habit. The second is the proposition that people leave the world with their own individual song unheard.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th century, a core of influential thinkers including William James and John Dewey proposed that mind and body were integrated parts of the same unity, rather than separate but complementary structures, as asserted by Descartes. Alexander was exposed to this idea through his close friendship with Dewey and his use of the term “psycho-physical unity” showed that his Technique relied heavily on it.

When pupils bring pain, discomfort or restricted movement to their Alexander Technique teacher, they are presenting symptoms both of physical difficulty and of matching mental constraint – though it will probably be precious little use the teacher telling them so, at least at the outset. The concept of psycho-physical unity implies that this is inescapable; the ingrained habit of physical behaviour is matched by 18

an ingrained mental process and a lasting improvement in the one will necessarily be matched by a lasting change in the other. Equally, the pupil whose thinking, for whatever reason, is unchanged by their lessons is unlikely to see any permanent physical advantage.

At the core of the Technique as a learned skill are the twin concepts of inhibition and direction. We stop what we are doing, the way we’re doing it, so as to create mental space to find a better way to do it. The process is extraordinarily powerful; as with throwing a stone into a pond, the ripples extend far beyond the initial impact. Yet one of the curiosities of the Technique is that its profound implications for personal growth are by and large left to pupils to discover for themselves. My fellow-contributors to this piece all bear witness to its life-enhancing capacity. It would be wonderful if this were more widely appreciated, so that our pupils could release their beautiful songs to the world.

Notes 1 Thanks to Myra Walden, NVC trainer in Mexico, for this definition References Anderson, F. S. (2014). Bodies in Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension. London: Routledge Carr, N (2016). The Glass Cage: Who Needs Humans Anyway? New York: W. W. Norton & Company

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Features

Alexander Technique and its elocutionary inheritance: A view of how we got to here

By Malcolm Williamson. Part 2 of a two-part, serialised article John Thelwall, continued Thelwall opened his school of elocution first in Liverpool (c.1805) and then, soon having moved to London, summoned his wife and son Algernon to assist with its running (Rockey 1979, p. 171, footnote 120): ‘College for the Cure of all Impediments of Speech, not connected with absolute privation of hearing; whether originating in mal-conformation, in accidental injuries, in mental agitation, or imitative habit’ (Thelwall 1810, p. 185).

By the nineteenth century there were four divisions to the art and science of elocution: (1) voice management, (2) vocal production, (3) gesture and (4) orthoepy – i.e. study of the correct or accepted pronunciation of words. Thelwall, like other elocutionists, benefitted from being closely associated with the medical profession (doctors could supply a steady stream of clients) but he also distanced himself from their seeming arbitrary and often brutal treatments. Thelwall formulated his principle of ‘rhythmus’ – speaking in a rhythmic flow that synchronised with the stressed and unstressed syllabic pattern (meter) of spoken language. Thus, his method was at once a technique for curing speech defects such as stammering, and a technique for teaching a just and pleasing manner of speaking. Thelwall did not write about his methods but he is credited with shaping a new profession, along with practitioners like James Hunt (1833-1869), Alexander Melville Bell (18191905) and Emil Behnke (1836-1892). He set new trends and standards for elocution with his open sharing of knowledge, sowing the seeds of modern speech subjects such as oral interpretation, voice training, phonetic science, and speech therapy (Haberman, p. 297). Rockey (1979, p. 169) traces the association between the dramatic and pathological aspects of speech from Thelwall through to the training programme at the Central School for Speech and Drama, established by Elsie Fogerty around 1920.

Thomas Hunt (1802-1851) and James Hunt (1833-1869) Finally, we take a brief look at the family partnership of Thomas Hunt and his son, James. Thomas was a tenant farmer living near Corf Castle in Dorset. He was destined for the church. He spent two years at Trinity College, Cambridge where he helped a fellow student and decided instead to become a speech correctionist practising in London’s fashionable Regent Street.

Thomas had an ill-tempered exchange with an editorial writer in the medical journal, The Lancet who referred to him as “a mere vocal posture-master” (Rockey 1980, p.

236) . (The writer is identified by Rockey as William Tyler Smith, James Yearsley’s brother-in-law (Rockey 1980, p. 103, note 89).) Arguments between the medical and elocution

professions centred on whether the range of ‘stuttering’ impediments were a disease – for which doctors claimed to be uniquely qualified to treat – or whether the aetiology lay in mental (emotional) or ‘moral’ causes that were amenable to instruction by non-medical elocutionists. There had been a long tradition for relatively minor operations; tonsils removal and shortening the uvula were common – the latter was recommended to Alexander (Alexander 1985, p. 24 note). And, for those who were ‘tongue tied’, snipping the fraenum or ‘bridle of the tongue’ was at times regarded as routine by nursery nurses! (Thelwall 1810, pp. 12, 49, 51, 205-7; Hunt, pp. 209-215)6 For a short period around 1841, the Prussian surgeon Frederick Dieffenbach was more ambitious, severing nerves and slicing the tongue (Rockey 1980, 199-217). In England, Yearsley led the field. Thomas Hunt (and son) were fierce critics of the surgeon’s knife as a cure for speech impediment calling surgeons “slashers” (Rockey 1980, p. 214). They insisted stuttering was ‘more or less a functional disorder’ lacking ‘some proper regulation or use’ and ‘that discipline of the vocal and articulating organs, under an experienced instructor, is the only means of overcoming impediments of speech’ (Hunt, pp. 93, 151, 154).7 Despite his confrontational stance, Smith had some prescient ideas. Rockey identifies him as the ‘Physician Incognito’, author of Nature and Causes of Stammering (Rockey 1980, p. 139). In it he theorised that inappropriate muscles were stimulated by the volition to speak which, ‘. . . is, as it were, dispersed at the point where it excites the motor fibres, so that it excites a large number of them, or a different series than would be proper for the effect desired. As a consequence of this dispersion, other muscles contract besides those which are necessary, and by their contrary action put a stop to articulation, or prevent it for a time. An increase of the effort to speak usually adds to the severity of the impediment, and puts

“

An increase of the effort to speak usually adds to the severity of the impediment, and puts a still larger number of muscles in action...

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a still larger number of muscles in action, until, at length, the right chords happening to be struck, the stream of language flows on, till overtaken by a fresh clog of similar description. (Rockey 1980, p. 148; ‘Physician’ [Smith], pp.

24-5).

Before the Weber brothers described inhibitory action of the vagus nerve two years later (1845), physiologists had no inkling of inhibitory regulation. Without this knowledge, the only logical way to overcome a bad habit was to do something different by the sheer force of will power.

Old Man Hunt was adamant ‘stammering was no organic disease, but simply the loss of a habit (always unconscious) of articulation’ (Hunt, p. 181) for, as his son pointed out, the ‘whole speech-apparatus may be in a healthy state, and yet the enunciation of the vowels may be faulty, from misemployment, or from defective association of the various organs upon which the proper articulation of the vowels depends’ (Hunt, p. 11).

So was the cause too little (or too much) breath, spasmodic closure of the glottis, lack of control over the tongue and lips or some combination of them all? It was well known that many pupils did not stutter when they whispered.

Whispering does not involve phonation. The glottis is passive and so only two neural combinations (breathing and the articulating organs) have to be mastered: ‘The stutterer can produce all consonants in a whispering mode’ as this does not require ‘the synchronous action between the muscles of the larynx and the oral canal, the breath being articulated without the participation of the vocal ligaments’ (Hunt, pp. 19, 40). However, stutter happened ‘immediately when he uses the voice and connects the consonants with a vowel’ (Hunt, p. 22).

Despite their mutual animosity, this was another point on which the Hunts and Smith agreed (Rockey 1980, p. 151; ‘Physician’ [Smith], p. 26-7).

James Hunt continued his father’s practice gathering the latest theories and opinions from Great Britain, Europe and America in his book, Stammering and Stuttering, first published in 1861. It demonstrates that, at its best, elocution was much more than ‘a method of varnishing the voice, and of teaching the imitation of some particular style or rhythmical mode of speaking and reading’ (Hunt, p. 220), and Hunt identifies many principles later adopted by Alexander.

Briefly: Nature ‘All that I ever pretended to, was to have rigidly followed in the footsteps of my late father, who, by unshackling himself from preconceived theories and by taking nature as his guide, has established the basis of a method which has now stood the test of time . . .’ (Hunt, p. 172).

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‘For nature, plastic and kind, slips willingly into the new and yet original groove, and becomes what she was meant all along to be; and though to be conscious of the cause of every articulate sound which is made, even in a short sentence, is a physical impossibility, yet a general watchfulness and attention to certain broad rules enable her, as she always is inclined to do , to do right on the whole. For after all, right is pleasanter than wrong, and health more natural than disease; and the proper use of any organ, when once the habit is established, being in harmony with that of all other organs, and with the whole universe itself, slips on noiselessly, it knows not how . . .’

(Hunt, p. 250) Correct attitude ‘The great object, however, in all cases, is to impart to the patient mental tranquillity and self-control’ (Hunt, p.

187).

‘To effect a perfect cure, it is absolutely necessary to appeal to reason, and arouse the will to a vigilant control over all the voluntary nerves and muscles’ (Hunt, p. 224).

Wholeness ‘It has ever formed part of my system to combine oral instruction with the practical training of all the organs, directly or indirectly concerned in the production of sound and speech, by means of appropriate gymnastic exercise calculated to strengthen the respective organs, so as to bring them under the control of the pupil; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that few have left my establishment without great improvement in their general health’ (Hunt, p. 162).

Psychophysical ‘. . . as the production of voice is intimately connected with the act of respiration, it is not surprising that the vocal and articulating apparatus is instantly affected by the state of our feelings and thoughts’ (Hunt, p. 28).

‘The intimate relations of body and mind, and their mutual dependence upon each other, are constantly manifested in the phenomena of utterance. Thus in many cases the infirmity is increased or diminished, according to the impaired or healthy state of the digestive and other functions’ (Hunt, p. 163).

Habit and unreliable sensory appreciation ‘Indeed, as a rule, it may be asserted that the stutterer is the worst possible judge of the peculiarity of his own case. Why is this? The explanation which I believe to be satisfactory is, that continued misuse induces the nerves of that part to cease performing their functions. . . . [S] ensations become gradually weaker and weaker, and at

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last cease altogether [the habit of sensation], although the impression on the nerves still takes place’ (Hunt 4345 citing J. A. Unzer, Principles of Physiology 1851).

‘Although for some years I stood alone in my declaration, that it was impossible to give written instructions for the cure of defective articulation, I am happy to find that this position is admitted by some of the best authorities not only in this country but also on the Continent’ (Hunt, p.

171).

Manner of use ‘All mechanical aids – be they what they may – are bad. . . . A mechanical contrivance may alter the form of stammering, but right use can only remove misuse’ (Hunt, p. 101).

Avoidance of end-gaining Hunt advises against following Beesel’s advice (Danzig, 1843)8 ‘especially that part in which he recommends practising difficult words and sentences’ (Hunt, p. 102) that, without first improving manner of use, would do nothing to bring about positive change to the underlying habit.

Conclusions This has been a brief and necessarily selective overview. The phenomenon of stuttering has fascinated and bewildered specialists through history. The arena is inhabited by charlatans, quacks and genuine experts on both sides of the medico-elocutionary dichotomy. Focus has been on England as the centre of the English-speaking world but advances were also being made elsewhere. Paris, for instance, led the way in teaching the deaf to speak (Rée). The common problem was not knowing what caused some people to stutter? Was it some physical disfigurement, a derangement of the nerves, a bashful or timid disposition, or a result of fear or shock? Could it be a side-effect of civilization itself; was stuttering less common in countries where the language or accent was more musical?

Viewed from the perspective of an Alexander teacher, certain themes stand out and others are notable by their absence. The work of the Hunts is identified as some of the most thoughtful and perceptive. Yet, despite measures to improve their pupils’ health and fitness, their method does not seem to have included a self-administered technique for preventing harmful habits and improving conditions of general use and functioning as basic to vocal use. It is obvious with the advantage of hindsight and also clear how remarkable was Alexander’s contribution. He read what was available, mainly Hill’s Oratorical Trainer by the father of his teacher and friend, Frederick Wyndam Hill. Alexander lived with Fred for fifteen months having access to his books9 though they would have provided little practical help. For instance, the Philadelphia-based Dr. Andrew Comstock’s

treatment was described by one pupil as, ‘the exercising of the voice by reading aloud in unison with others, for several hours daily’ (Potter, p. 56). Rachel Zahn identified Alexander’s originality as being unique in the West for his discovery of non-doing (Zahn, p. 377).10 The mistake of encouraging pupils to try harder before they have applied that ‘wonderful force’ of conscious inhibition and stopped their harmful habits seems obvious to us (Alexander 1910b, p.

37; 1918, p. 23). Yet, despite all the attention given to speech impediment over the centuries, it seems to have eluded everyone’s notice before Alexander.

Today ironically, the AT profession often struggles to articulate its work in a way that is truly meaningful to a wider world. Alexander teachers are in a situation rather like that of speech therapists in the 1950s, ‘poised between education and medicine, claiming affinity with both, defending their independence against both, and enjoying the patronage of neither’ (H.M.S.O. 1972, pp. 12-13. Cf. ibid., pp. 100-101 in Rockey 1979, p. 157). But, slowly but surely, we are getting there.

Notes 6 In 1893, Alexander was recommended by his medical advisers to have his uvula shortened by a minor operation, but he did not follow their advice. He had little doubt that he was suffering from ‘clergyman’s sore throat’ (Alexander 1985, p. 24, note).

7 Alexander makes a similar argument (Alexander 1910a, p. 115): ‘I cannot think it possible that Dr Spicer could even claim to be a teacher of voice-production. He has had no practical knowledge, no professional experience as an actor, a public singer, reciter or elocutionist . . .’

8 Belehrung über die Entstehung, Verhütung und Heilung des Stotterns [Instruction on the origin, prevention and healing of stuttering].

9 ‘Fred. Wyndham Hill, Professor of Elocution. (Son and Pupil of late T.P. HILL, Author “ORATORICAL TRAINER” . . . Mr F. M. Alexander, who gave Mr Hill a warm written testimonial, and made him two handsome presents (in no way solicited) as marks of appreciation of his teacher’s efforts during Mr Alexander’s fifteen months’ residence at Mr Hill’s house.’ Reporter 1897, op. cit.

10 Stuttering in Alexander’s books: MSI 1910, 60; MSI 1918/1996, 34, 136, 180-1 (imitation); CCCI 1923/2004, 923; UOS 1932/1985, (Ch. IV) 70-85; UCL 1942/2000, 29-30, 67-9, 87 (running ahead).

Illustrations John Broster, mezzotint by Thos. Hodgetts. Hurst, Robinson & Co. after John Syme 1825. National Portrait Gallery of Scotland. No. D827. ‘PORTRAIT OF JOHN BROSTER, Esq. F.A.S. of Edinburgh, Discoverer of the System for the Effectual Removal of Impediments of Speech. Published at the request of his Pupils, from an Original Picture by Syme.

Sold by Archibald Constable & Co. and William Blackwood, 21

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Edinburgh; and Hurst, Robinson, & Co. 29 Cheapside, and 8 Pall Mall, London.’ (The Literary Gazette, Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Science, &c. January 22, 1825, no. 418, p. 63.)

John Thelwall, National Portrait Gallery, London. No. D38540.

John Gough, by permission of the Kendal Museum.

Thelwall’s residence, 57 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London in Rockey 1979, plate between pp. 62-3.

Bibliography Alexander, F.M. (1894). ‘Elocution as an Accomplishment’ in Articles & Lectures: 3-5.

Alexander, F.M., Hill, F.W. Reporter (Box Hill, Vic) Fri 4 Jun 1897, p.3.

Alexander, F.M. (c.1900). The Human Voice, John Andrew & Co., Printers, Bridge Street, Sydney Alexander, F.M. (1908). ‘Re-Education of the Kinæsthetic Systems’ in Articles & Lectures: 79-85.

Alexander, F.M. (1910a). ‘A Protest against certain Assumptions . . .’ in Articles & Lectures, p. 107-118.

Alexander, F.M. (1910b). Man’s Supreme Inheritance.

London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. Alexander, F.M. (1996/1918). Man’s Supreme Inheritance.

London: Mouritz.

Alexander, F.M. (1985/1932). The Use of the Self. London: Victor Gollancz.

Alexander, F.M., Fischer, J.M.O. (ed.) (1995). F. Matthias Alexander, Articles and Lectures. London: Mouritz.

British Medical Journal, ‘Letters, notes etc.’, Vol. 1, No. 1410, Jan. 7, 1888.

Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, July – December 1825.

Chesterfield, Earl of (1748). Letters to His Son by the Earl Of Chesterfield on the Fine Art of becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman. Letters 1746-1771. LETTER XLII, LONDON, June 21, 1748. (Gutenberg Project) Critical Review [The]: or, Annals of Literature by A Society of Gentlemen, vol. 2, 1756.

Davies, J. (2016). ‘A Hundred Tongues: George Darley’s Stammer’ in Bradshaw, M, (ed.) Disabling Romanticism.

Literary Disability Studies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: pp. 191-210. White Rose eprints, University of Leeds.

Dunlap, W. (1813). Memoirs of the Life of George Frederick Cooke (2 Vols.). New York: D. Longworth.

Fischer, J.M.O. [2019] ‘Some thoughts on Alexander’s story of the evolution of the Technique’.

Foyster, E. (2016). The Trials of the King of Hampshire.

London: Oneworld Publications.

Foyster, E. (2018). ‘Study Unearths Speech Defects’, University of Cambridge. Post Man, 23 October 1703.

H.M.S.O. (1972), Department of Education and Science, Speech therapy services, London.

Haberman, F.W. (1947). ‘John Thelwall: His life, his school, and his theory of elocution’. The Quarterly Journal of Speech, vol. 33; issue 3: 292-298.

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Hartley, C.S. (c.1890). Natural Elocution: Comprising Voice Culture, Management of the Breath, Modulation, Pauses, Emphasis, Articulation, Pronunciation, Natural Tones, Expression of Feeling and Passion, Action, Delivery of Verse, &c. London: F. Pitman, Melbourne & Sydney: E.A. Petherick and Co. Hunt, J. (1865). Stammering and Stuttering, Their Nature and Treatment (sixth edition). London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts.

Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts [Journal of], Vol. II. London: G.G. and J. Robinson 1799 listed under “July 1798, Account of New Books, Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester”. Also, The Critical Review or Annals of Literature, Vol. 25, London: S. Hamilton 1799 listed under “Memoirs of the Manchester Society”, “On the Variety of Voices” by John Gough, communicated by Dr. Holme, p. 262.

Plumptre, C.J. (1881). King’s College Lectures on Elocution.

London: Trübner & Co. Potter, S.O.L. (1882). Speech and its Defects Considered Physiologically, Pathologically, Historically, and Remedially.

Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Priestley, J. (1904/1809). Memoirs of Dr. Joseph Priestley written by himself (To the Year 1795) with a continuation to the time of his decease by His Son, Joseph Priestley. London: H. R. Allenson.

‘A Physician Incognito’ [Smith, W.T.] (1843) A Treatise on the Nature and Causes of Stammering. London: Samuel Highley.

Rawcliffe, C. & Wilson, R. (eds) (2004). Norwich since 1550.

London: Hambledon and London.

Rée, J. (1999). I See A Voice. London: Harper Collins Publishers.

Rockey, D. (1979). ‘John Thelwall and the Origins of British Speech Therapy’. J. Medical History, 1979, 23: 156-175.

Rockey, D. (1980). Speech Disorder in the Nineteenth Century Britain. London: Croom Helm.

Sheridan, T. (1762), A Course of Lectures on Elocution.

Thelwall, J. (1803). Letter, 15 November 1803. The Monthly Magazine and British Register, vol. XVII, Part I for [Feb] 1804. London: Richard Phillips: pp. 9-11. John Thelwall, Letter to Henry Cline, p.32. (Gough’s letter (3 Nov 1803) is quoted in Monthly Magazine, p. 10; also, Letter to Henry Cline, pp. 35-40.)

Thelwall, J. (1810). Letter to Henry Cline, Esq. London: Richard Taylor and Co. Walker, J. (1791), A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary.

Walsh, N. (2018). Unsmudged: An Encounter with Peggy Williams. Amherst: MA: Off the Common Books 2018.

Wielopolska, C., Pazzaglini, M., Attwood, C.A. (ed.) (1975?

Undated) The Discovery and Use of the Eye Order in Teaching the Alexander Work. Distributed by the author.

Zahn, R. (2005). ‘Francisco Varela and The Gesture of Awareness’ in Oppenheimer, A. (ed.) 2005. The Congress Papers (Oxford 16-22 August, 2004). London: STAT Books, pp. 371-428.

Features

Writing and the Alexander Technique

By Nicola Hanefeld

A

s I type this, I have been working on my dissertation for over three years. A thesis is a big book; 80,000 – 100,000 words. The project also has regular deadlines to submit pieces of writing. In the following, I take a look at how the Alexander Technique has played a role in supporting me psycho-physically.

It was not new to me that sitting at the computer can compromise what I feel the basics of good use are: an open, pain-free back, an alert mind, free eyes and a wide-awake visual system. Computers are not good for our head-neckback relationships: we all know that Homo sapiens did not evolve to sit in front of a screen typing at a keyboard. So, although I have been teaching and using the Alexander Technique for years, this major writing project did lead me to discover many new things about how best to look after myself while spending much time at the PC typing and writing. My major lesson was that not writing was fundamental.

The psycho-physical: When working at my laptop, I need to maintain a good bodily feeling: my back lengthening, my neck free, and my head tending away from my torso. I notice very soon when my fingers are going too fast over the keys (which is often) and that quality is lost in the physical realm; my breathing becomes slightly compromised and less free, I feel a little collapsed. When I lose that pleasurable feeling, it is usually also connected to concentrating and narrowing my field of awareness and my gentle background directing has waned because I have become less aware. So my state of mind during the activity of typing has bled into my physical use. From here, it gets registered by my mind and comes into awareness and prompts me to change my behaviour. That cycle happens when I start to edge towards an end-gaining mode. My eyes can also quickly tell me if I’m losing the quality of my use: when I forget to let the sentences on the screen to ‘come to me‘ and my eyes start straining towards the monitor like a snail with eyestalks. I also quickly realise when I start trying hard. If any of these things happen, it‘s time to stop. This might be after only 20 minutes of writing.

Furthermore, I don‘t waste a second sitting in front of a blank screen if I don‘t know what the next step is.

If somebody were watching me work as described above they would probably judge me ‘unconcentrated‘ because within a 9am - 6pm writing working day, I leave my computer dozens of times. But my train of thought is not lost when I interrupt my work in this way. On the contrary, I find frequent pauses to be beneficial. This not writing and doing something else seems to be my psycho-physical interface enhancing my productivity. As a child, my natural urge to move was compromised as I was taught to sit still and concentrate. Leaving that behind, letting myself get up as often as I wished, was liberating.

The physical environment must be beneficial: the desk and chair must be the right height for me. I use an ergonomic stool encouraging dynamic not static, sitting. The screen must be at the right level for my eyes. This avoids my head

tipping back and down (if the screen is too high) or tilting and holding it too far forward (if the screen is too low). In both cases, I would have to tense my neck to see the screen and I’d loose contact to the delicate neck-skull joint right at the top of my spine. I have learnt to use the mouse with my left hand, and I regularly change hands to avoid one-sided strain in my right hand, wrist and arm. It took about two weeks to learn but I’m now as dextrous on the left as on the right. My arms float in the air when I type, I don’t rest them on the desk. I use a piano player as an inspiration for how free arms can be when interacting with the keyboard. Feet clearly on the ground and conscious contact to them helps not becoming solely wrapped up in my mind and thoughts. Another aspect of my physical environment which is beneficial is having clear inner space and a clear desk. That means not having too many things I have to do nagging for my attention. Sometimes I spend a whole day tidying up my internal and external environment while not writing. That helps the inner process of writing on the following day: the psychological side of the psycho-physical activity of writing becomes clear.

Stopping: When I stop, I might then lie down on my back and direct or engage in an activity, preferably something practical. It’s best then to put my mind in a different mode - reading in my breaks is not a real break as it is too close to writing. Short, frequent walks out in the wood near my home are one of the best ways of promoting my writing. Out of the blue, while out walking, my mind will come up with a better way to express something. Or something important I have omitted might pop up unexpectedly. We are all familiar with this kind of thing but I have started using it as a conscious strategy. It is as if I have not been thinking about something; I have, but not consciously. We often think thought is conscious (with words) but it is not.

This kind of AT-self-management may be one of the reasons that I have not for a moment experienced a writer‘s block during this challenging project. Writing has to have a joyful creative element for me and I usually wait for a spark of motivation to come before I start. When I notice that I‘m not motivated it is usually because I don‘t know what to do, I’m not sure what the next step is. Then I do something 23

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else where I am sure of the next step to create a sense of moving forwards. Again, that seems to be a psycho-physical interface. That is in itself motivating. I think a writer’s block arises when someone puts themselves under pressure to be productive and they start end-gaining and wrestling with themselves and their target. I try to break down my writing tasks into managable chunks: often find myself tussling with a sentence or paragraph but never with a whole chapter.

So knowledge of end-gaining (and avoiding it) was the Alexander principle which has been the most helpful during this long writing project. Leaving something I have written to ripen and trusting that ripening became a strategy. I may leave a piece for weeks or months before re-writing it, that seems similar to non-doing during a lesson. Sometimes, when teaching, I sense something going on in the client which is hindering the work, but have no idea what. Through the years I have learnt to trust the process, relying that the issue will show itself without me having to do something. Towards the end of a lesson the client might revealingly say something like ‘I’ve only just stopped thinking about a problem at work‘.

Then I hear that they were trying hard to not think about the problem and this trying might have been the issue that I had sensed.

While all this sounds positive, (and it was) there were, of course, challenging times and negative experiences during the days, weeks, months turning into years while working on my PhD. This had to do with stylistic conventions. I was familiar with autobiographical writing and had experience of writing a few informal articles on the Alexander Technique where I could write as I want, as I do here. An academic writing style was unfamiliar to me, and I repeatedly received the feedback that my style was inadequate. This meant that the part of my brain that had up to now been responsible for formulating sentences, thoughts and ideas, choosing vocabulary, that is, the inner source of my writing, was not serving me as it should. It‘s not easy to be told to write more academically when you have no idea what academic writing actually means. It was not a subject that was taught to me, I had to figure it out alone. Again, my experience with the Technique helped me stay with my means and not start to end-gain, trying to do it right. I trusted by reading enough papers and literature belonging to the academic realm that I would somehow ‘get it‘.

Learning to be critical and synthesising where gaps in the literature existed was the least of my challenges. It was formulating short, crisp sentences that were my biggest challenge. Being descriptive was part of academic writing that meant that I had to repeatedly summarise what others had discovered and weave that into my narrative. That is a very distanced type of writing style, seemingly devoid of adjectives. I do like apt adjectives, writing without them felt like being in a literary desert. The most challenging type of writing was analytical writing: organising findings and results from the literature into new relationships that I needed for 24

my context. I was delighted when I started receiving feedback (after two years) that my writing now had the right style. The fact that I‘m no longer able to write my journal in my own style is beside the point. I trust that it will return when I have completed this project.1 Writing, whether it is autobiographical, fictional or academic, is a creative process. It also seems to be a deeply clarifying process by making ‘things‘ (in the broadest sense) explicit. No-one can write without being aware. Alone, choosing the right words for your expressive needs is an aware activity. The process of actually using inhibition and direction while deciding what to write seems ephemeral to me. Of course there were countless minutes where I stopped, directed, again and again. Each full stop was an opportunity to inhibit, release and re-organise myself consciously. Having written this piece, I have become even more aware of the psycho-physical writing process and taking breaks to look after myself while sitting at my desk. I have also become more aware of the quiet inner voice telling me which parts read well and what needs working over. Writing includes the editing process. I have become more aware of the tone in which something is written. Is it gentle and inviting or convoluted and strenuous? Why are FM’s books not easier to read? How much editing did he do?

A while ago, I started using the voice recognition software called Dragon. I can now write by speaking to my computer and not typing or using a pen and paper. I bought it to benefit my well-being and reduce the number of typing hours. It is wonderful to release my neck, lengthen my back, widen my shoulders and look out of the window as the trees sway and murmur in the wind while I speak and let the computer do the work. Dragon manages to correctly transcribe about 95% of what I say.2 I have to correct and edit a piece anyway, and I return to paper and pen by printing a document out to do that. Handwritten notes and crossing outs are the only way for me to feel safe with a final edit. The ease and efficiency with which the physical side of writing can now be done with voice recognition software is remarkable. So writing these days can also mean just having thoughts and speaking them out loud to a computer - and not putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and eyes to a screen. “… everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”3 Sylvia Plath Endnotes 1 At present my journal is full of rather dry sounding observations of how the world is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

2 My most fun misunderstanding with Dragon was with the word weepiness. The words we penis kept appearing on my screen. In the end, I had to type weepiness in.

3 The Journals of Sylvia Plath, p. 86. Anchor publications, 1998

Features

The art of breathing in the time of Covid

Jessica Wolf writes

T

he breath is a powerful healing tool. This is what I teach to the Alexander Teachers who participate in my Art of Breathing postgraduate certificate training program. One of my students, Jane Julier, recently shared a story with me about how she used Art of Breathing to help her daughter with the respiratory damage caused by Covid-19 infection. Jane and Laurie live in England, and I asked them to share their accounts.

In her own words, Jane Julier’s story: My daughter, Laurie, was infected with Covid-19 only six months after starting her first job as an occupational therapist at a hospital near London. Six months into her new job, the pandemic hit the UK. Laurie was working in a very stressful environment, with increasing numbers of patients and staff testing positive. Laurie tested positive April 24, 2020.

My daughter is a fit, young 25-year-old with no pre-existing conditions, and, whilst her symptoms at first seemed to be mild, she started to develop respiratory problems after seven days.

Laurie agreed to work with me every day during her threeweek recovery. I am a qualified Alexander Teacher, but the skills I learned in Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing program proved most crucial. I led my daughter through body mapping to calm her nervous system. Through our screens, I guided her with breathing procedures that would help build and restore her breathing coordination.

I am so happy to say that Laurie has fully recovered from Covid-19 and has returned to work at the hospital. She continues to notice that her breathing rhythm becomes compromised when she is tired, but she now has tools to help herself work through this. Jessica also sent Laurie an audio lie-down recording, which helped so much on so many levels.

(Jane is a Teacher of the Alexander Technique, MSTAT).

perpetual cycle. Even so, I spent almost every minute of every day ruminating and worrying about my ability to breathe.

My mum’s training in Art of Breathing was critical to my recovery. Our sessions helped to calm my sympathetic nervous system and quiet my anxiety around my struggle to breathe. For a short period following the sessions, breathing became less tiresome and I could focus on other things.

It was amazing to feel more and more freedom as my mum continued to lead me through visualizations of my breathing mechanism and procedures that helped expand my lungs without pain.

These sessions were very special. Despite the unsettling nature of my illness, this focused attention to my breath provided me with a restorative routine. I believe that any person experiencing similar respiratory struggles would benefit from this breathing practice. I am grateful to have recovered from Covid-19, and even though there may be residual anxiety about my respiratory function, I now have the tools and resources to overcome it.

I’m grateful to Jane and Laurie for sharing their stories, and most happy that Laurie has recovered. This mother-daughter duo reminds me of the power of breathing coordination to restore both physical and emotional wellbeing. We all can find greater peace when we allow an easy and effortless exhalation to prompt an easy and effortless inhalation.

In her own words, Laurie’s story: I tested positive for Covid-19 in April. As an occupational therapist, I felt well-positioned to self-manage the fatigue and symptoms associated with the virus. What I was not prepared for, however, was the respiratory distress and excruciating anxiety I would experience shortly after being infected.

During the course of my illness, I struggled to breathe.

The rhythm of my breath fluctuated so much that I felt as if someone had cleared my airway and subsequently blocked it up again. I would describe to my mum the feeling of having a tight band across my chest, restricting my lung capacity and creating a very claustrophobic internal environment.

This feeling was akin to breathing through a tight straw, and I experienced recurring periods of burning sensations and inflammation. I understood that my respiratory distress and anxiety were connected, one leading to the other in a 25

Features

Fear

By Ian Lyon

I

was someone who, whenever he crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at the fire, missed. If there was anyone else around they’d tend to laugh, and I’d laugh along with them, to make light of it. But actually I think I found my ineptitude - not just throwing balls of paper into a fire, but any sort of throwing, and catching too - very painful, embarrassing. It seems strange to me now, looking back, that for years I never stopped to wonder why I was so bad at it, what the problem might be. I can only think that it was because to contemplate it at all was too unsettling or upsetting. I just wanted to blot it out.

Then, one day, during my second year of Alexander teacher training, I quite spontaneously noticed something strange. I went to throw something at a target - it might well have been a crumpled ball of paper at a fire, I can’t remember now - and I noticed that at the moment I made the throwing movement I sort of blanked out. When, a moment later, I came to, it was to see my projectile sailing to one side or another of its target. I knew straight away that this was what I had always done - the experience was entirely familiar - but up until this moment I hadn’t seen it for what it was.

And this was all the more surprising given that it wasn’t just some sort of gentle or neutral absence from the moment. It was more like a momentary blind panic, a fear or even terror, specifically, I could now see, a fear of failure, of missing the target. Physically it was manifest as considerable tension, rigidity and distortion of my frame. No wonder I couldn’t throw accurately under these circumstances. I was like a person or animal cowering and bracing, trying to numb myself in anticipation of a blow. But the blow in this case was a conceptual, or perhaps social, one - the embarrassment of failure.

I don’t know exactly why this all of a sudden became apparent to me. I’m sure the fact that it happened during my Alexander training was not a coincidence but I can only guess at the mechanism. My guess is that over the preceding year or so there had been a considerable change in my resting state, in the way in which I held myself upright, in my body shape, and this was associated with a general calming down in my mind. Against this changed, calmer and more balanced backdrop I think that the sudden disturbance, physical and mental, of my habitual blind panic when trying to throw something was brought into sharp relief. It may also have been that I was less frightened of confronting the reality of the situation, less determined than before to blot it out. I don’t know. I find these things complicated and difficult to understand, difficult to have much insight into.

It wasn’t difficult though to relate what I’d stumbled on to what I’d been reading about in Alexander’s books and, through this and my work on the training course, I also knew how to approach or work with it. I practised throwing something at a target while taking care not to pull (rotate) by head back on the top of my neck, and not to pull my neck

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forward and down. And, sure enough, with a bit of practice I found that in this way I could not only avoid creating the physical tension and distortion but, with it, the feeling of blind panic, and, seemingly for the first time, I was present throughout the throw, could keep my eyes on the target and, to my surprise and delight, actually hit it.

I’d demonstrated to myself that it was my fear of missing the target alone that made me miss. Apart from that there was nothing wrong with me - at least when it came to throwing crumpled up balls of paper into a fire. I was struck by the sheer stupidity of the situation, that I could have got into such a senselessly self-defeating way of doing something.

How much else in my life was I unknowingly sabotaging for myself to this extent? And to what extent were other people like this too? I felt that I was re-making Alexander’s original discovery for myself, which in a sense I was, which in a sense we all of us have to.

It seems to me that the crux of Alexander’s insight was to recognise the distinction between the self-debilitating reaction to the intention to act, and the action itself - to see that they were separate or separable things. If you can tease them apart you can hold the self-debilitating part in abeyance and in so doing transform the way you perform the action.

This is a process in which your whole conception of what it is to perform this action changes profoundly. The change of conception and change of action are one and the same.

In fact the word ‘action’ in this context can be rather misleading since all of the same applies if the action in question is what would generally be regarded as purely mental, like the requirement, for example, to add together two numbers (without using pencil and paper), or to understand a philosophical position, or make a decision. In fact, nothing that we do is purely ‘mental’ since our physical selves are involved too, and, not only our brains and central nervous systems, but our peripheral nervous systems and muscles as well, since the distinction between these various parts of our neuromuscular system is just arbitrary really, an artefact of our way of looking at it, anatomical rather than functional. But that’s a whole other story.

The thing that interests me most about all of this is how it all seems to revolve around fear. Fear’s a difficult thing to understand. We tend to think of it as a conscious experience, only existing when we’re aware of it, but, as this example shows, you can be frightened, and hugely debilitated by this fear, without having the slightest inkling of it. Often we mistake fear for something else. Some people become and feel angry in certain situations where it can be clear to onlookers that the real issue is that they’re nervous or frightened. They’re behaving much like a frightened animal which becomes aggressive when cornered. But what they experience is anger - or perhaps a more suppressed form of it, like irritation or impatience - not fear.

How then can we talk or think about fear if some, or perhaps

Features

most, of it isn’t apparent to us? I think the answer is that we must define it behaviourally rather than experientially, and specifically that we should define it by its characteristic musculo-skeletal signature, what Alexander variously referred to as interference with the primary control, pulling down or misuse (a term which I personally find very unhelpful).

Let me give two more examples which I think support this (possibly quite contentious) position; the first, another personal experience, the second, a somewhat more objective observation.

At one point during my Alexander training, a group of us, along with the training course director, were to be featured on a BBC television programme and we travelled to the studios in Birmingham to record it. In the studio, under the lights and in front of those big old-fashioned television cameras, I became very nervous, as I was prone to do in stressful situations.

During a break in proceedings I told the training course director this and he gave me a quick ‘turn’, out of view behind a bit of scenery. The effect was quite extraordinary. The almost overwhelming feeling of nervousness completely vanished. How could this happen? I expect that the familiarity of being worked on and the director’s confidence in the situation must have helped, but I’m also sure that something else, far beyond just simple reassurance, was going on.

The inescapable conclusion was that my feeling of fear was associated with, indeed dependent on, the physical tension and resulting distortion of my frame which it was my habit to create in these circumstances, and which the training course director was able to guide me out of with a five minute ‘turn’.

For a long time then I thought that fear, and indeed probably all other negative emotion, must inevitably be bound up with, dependent on, this physical tension and distortion of my frame - let’s call it ‘pulling down’ for the sake of brevity.

I think now that it’s more likely the other way round, that all pulling down is dependent on, or is actually the same thing as, fear. Not necessarily fear which we recognise as such, but fear nonetheless.

But why should this be? Where has it come from? I remember being very struck when I first saw this pair of photos in Frank Pierce Jones’ book, Freedom to Change, of a young man in profile before and just after a sudden,

“

Given the prevalence of pulling down in our society, if you accept my hypothesis that ... it is fear, then you have to conclude that we’re a very frightened bunch.

unexpected loud noise.

Cringing for cover, ducking, getting your head down, when something unexpected happens, particularly if it’s a big or nearby event, is I think an instinctive defence reaction. The unexpected is always initially an unknown quantity. Until you’ve had time to work out whether it’s a serious threat or not, best to assume the former and adopt a defensive position.

But the thing that struck me about Jones’ photos was that the pattern of the cringe - the head retracted backwards on the neck and the neck pulled forwards and down - was so like that originally described by Alexander as constituting, in his terminology, interference with the primary control. It seems to me extremely unlikely that this striking similarity could just be coincidence. I think that, in a nutshell, we have the origin of our pulling down revealed to us in the right-hand photo.

Given the prevalence of pulling down in our society, if you accept my hypothesis that in essence or in origin it is fear, then you have to conclude that we’re a very frightened bunch. I think that’s about right. But we don’t necessarily experience ourselves this way. It seems to me that as a society we’re significantly more fearful than we were even just 100 years ago. I think that the events of this year in response to a new pathogen which, in the scheme of things, is relatively benign - compare bubonic plague, Spanish Flu, Ebola or even MERS (a fairly recent and still current coronavirus but with a mortality some ten times that of Covid-19) - bear this out.

Freud thought that what he termed ‘civilisation’ makes demands on human subjects that are too much to bear.

I suspect he was right, and that those demands are not only getting greater, but doing so at increasing pace. The Alexander Technique has never been needed more than it is needed now but the question is, do we know how properly to make that case?

If you’d like to respond to any of the issues raised here feel free to email me at ian@ianlyon.net, or, alternatively, why not start up a conversation on the STAT forum: https:// alexandertechnique.co.uk/forum.

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Books

S

ince this book review is directed more towards Alexander teachers and students, I feel I should point out that, although the author is an experienced and wellknown Alexander teacher, this book is neither about Alexander principles nor procedures. However there are quite a lot of references to Alexander’s work throughout the book. So if you are interested in healing, chakras or emotional work then you may well find this book of great interest.

On a personal note, I must admit that after spending many years living in Glastonbury and Totnes in the 70s and 80s, where there was an abundance of chakra healers, I have since then been somewhat sceptical of chakra work.

However after reading Glen’s book I have come to realise that there is much more to this work than I realised. I was also taken by the fact that - as an Alexander teacher myself - I so often unknowingly place my hands directly over some of the main chakras especially the throat, heart and solar plexus chakras, and this has often brought about an emotional release.

In her new book Chakra Healing Therapy, Glen informs us that the chakras were first mentioned in ancient Hindu teachings, and the word means “a spinning disk or wheel”. There are seven ‘main’ chakras all located along the spine and in the head, and there are minor chakras in the hands and feet.

The health of one’s chakras is directly connected to our general health so a strong chakra system helps to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in balance.

Rudolf Steiner considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolving.

Glen explains how each chakra represents a different developmental stage from infancy through adulthood.

She examines the chakras individually on the physical, psychological, psychic, and spiritual level and offers practical exercises to nourish and support each chakra as well as practices for daily chakra care.

It seems that a central reason for writing the book was to offer the

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Richard Brennan

Eastern promise Chakra Healing Therapy: Awaken Spiritual Energies and Heal

By Glen Park, Destiny Books (Dec 2020), paper-back, 312 pages.

Price £14.99.

it might suggest that the person has an issue with self-respect or is involved in some kind of ego conflict (third chakra).

A person who is not having enough pleasure and close relationship in their lives often feels rather numb and dead in the abdominal area (second chakra).

This information can give us clues as to how we can approach our work and help our pupils more. The exercises in each chapter give suggestions for simple ways of nourishing the individual chakras. While this cannot replace psychotherapy for deeper intractable problems, it can be very helpful to many people. reader an example of the mind-body relationship that is not based on the common “mind as brain, body as machine” culture that still dominates the western world today.

The theory of the chakras suggests that consciousness in all its richness and complexity includes the entire self.

It offers us a map of the psyche based in the body and this can be really helpful to many types of somatic practitioners as well as to Alexander teachers who wish to explore a more spiritual or emotional approach to the Work. This book can add another layer to our understanding of the self, or - perhaps it could be said - to our understanding of our many selves.

The case studies in each chapter give examples of her work with pupils who had problems with individual chakras.

So, for example, when a pupil holds a lot of tension in the solar plexus area

Intertwined disciplines I found it interesting that in Glen’s own personal story and in her case histories there were many references to the Alexander Technique. For Glen it appears that the two disciplines are very much intertwined.

Chakra Healing Therapy also brings together the deep self-reflection and intuitive wisdom of the Hindu tradition with discoveries based on observable evidence from Western neuroscience and psychology. This approach seems similar to the way Alexander teachers work because we work inwardly to refine our self-awareness and make our sensory appreciation more reliable, and we inform that work with the Alexander principles of movement and also scientific knowledge of anatomy, physiology and embryology. So along with the intuitively based knowledge of the chakras, there’s lots of scientific information in the book. This should be

Books

of interest to AT teachers. For example, that the heart has 60% neural cells, and that there is more and more evidence coming to light showing that the heart is sending messages to the brain as well as the other way around. So it could be seen as a small brain, similar to the size of a cat’s brain.

The digestive system also has neural cells, and both the heart and gut

J

ames Nestor’s book about the lost art of breathing and it’s rediscovery is a fascinating compendium of breathing techniques from ancient times to recent methods devised by early pioneers; not scientists but a kind of rogue group of tinkerers – American Civil War surgeons, opera singers, dentists, mystics and sports coaches – that Nestor calls “pulmonauts”. These include familiar names – Carl Stough, Katarina Schroth (‘orthopaedic breathing’), Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko, Stephen Porges (polyvagal theory) – and less wellknown – Thérèse Brosse (French cardiologist) and Nobel Laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi. F.M. Alexander is not among this gallery of breathing innovators though he is maybe known more for his technique for ‘conscious control’.

Beak bonanza The narrative is based around a Stanford-based study with Nestor and Swedish breathing guru, Anders Olsson, subjecting themselves to a gruelling regime. For ten days their nostrils were plugged to enforce constant mouthbreathing. Then their mouths were taped to make them virtually exclusive nose-breathers for ten days. The effect on their health was startling. Mouthbreathing, it turns out, changes the physical body and transforms airways for the worse causing the soft tissues in the back of the mouth to become loose and flex inwards (‘nasal valve collapse’), creating less space and making breathing more difficult. It was exhausting and debilitating. But the good news is that the effects of mouth-

produce powerful hormones, which link to recognisable emotional states, and these elements correlate with the psychology of the related chakras.

Overall it is very well-written and wellpresented and my only misgiving is that, although clear and easy to understand, the artwork could have been a lot better, which in turn would have really enhanced the text significantly.

Finally for those Alexander teachers who have an interest in yoga, spiritual or emotional healing or eastern philosophy I can highly recommend this book Glen has taught the Alexander Technique and Chakra Healing Therapy for more than 30 years internationally.

She is also the author of The Art of Changing: A New Approach to the Alexander Technique, 1989.

Malcolm Williamson

Reading for inspiration Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

By James Nestor.

Penguin Life 2020, hardback, 290 pages.

Price £12.

breathing can be reversed, and even after many years of the habit.

Nestor maintains that breathing has got decidedly worse in the past 300 years. Way back at the dawn of our species, the face flattened and the jaw receded to create our unique feature

among primates: a protruding nose.

Behind that is a nasal cavity of 6 cubic inches – equivalent to the volume of a billiard ball. Rummaging through the evidence of bones in the Paris Catacombs, Nestor saw that from the industrial age and dietary change to refined foods, mouths have tended to get too small for the rest of our head and the ‘disease of civilization’, malocclusion or snaggled teeth, is increasingly evident.

Nestor writes, ‘When mouths don’t grow wide enough, the roof of the mouth tends to rise up instead of out, forming what’s called a V-shaped or high-arched palate. The upward growth impedes the development of the nasal cavity, shrinking it and disrupting the delicate structure in the nose. . . . Overall, humans have the sad distinction of being the most plugged up species on Earth.’

Some ‘rogue’ dentists have tried to remedy this trend with various devises to encourage the jaw to widen, but the orthodoxy among most orthodontists today is to remove ‘excess’ teeth which appears to compound the problem. Not only is it important to breathe through

continued»

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Books

«continued from previous page

the nose but sucking and chewing (and gnawing) are important for normal and healthy mouth development.

Could Alexander’s “idiosyncrasies” (‘pulling back my head and sucking in breath’) have been the result of his circumstances at birth? He was born prematurely. Michael Bloch tells us that F.M. was tiny and frail. He was unable to suckle and his mother devotedly fed him goat’s milk dripped from a finger or, it is said, administered through a fountain-pen filler. (Bloch, 17-18; also Evans, 78-79) Later in life, Alexander wrote, ‘I cannot eat hard food. I can do with ever so little but I can’t stand hard stuff.’ (letter to wife Edith, 27 April 1917. Letters 1916-1942 (Mouritz), p.22) Nestor describes the symptoms of restricted breathing, ‘By day, we unconsciously attempt to open our obstructed airways by sloping our shoulders, craning our necks forward, and tilting our heads up.’ We usually assume that poor posture causes poor

breathing, but could habits associated with a small mouth and constricted breathing passages sometimes be the root cause of postural maladjustment?

Though the technique Alexander developed for ‘preventing too quick and unthinking reactions’ (habits) is, in my view, unimpeachable, his particular take on breathing may be compared and contrasted with others that could be equally valid. For instance: tongue position. While it is sound advice for the tip of the tongue to be touching the back of the lower teeth for all voice work, some experts consider the natural position of the tongue is resting lightly behind the top teeth in the ‘n’ shape to pronounce the word, “sing”. Here, it forms a natural seal ensuring that one breathes through the nose.

Nestor is an expert story-teller. He globe-trots interviewing the experts, describing them and their clothes – the colour of their socks! In the first few chapters he takes his reader on a journey of discovery and you

find yourself trying out the different breathing methods as he describes them. If you don’t quite get it, then there is an Appendix describing each methods and where to find out more. Part Three, ‘Breathing+’ takes a walk on the wild side and some of the extreme breathing techniques likely need expert guidance.

Nowadays, medical doctors have little interest in how we breathe (the muscles we use) or the quality of the breath. It’s a simple matter of oxygen in, carbon dioxide out. Yet, Nestor explains that the right balance between these two gasses is necessary for oxygen to be taken up by blood cells and transported to every one of our billions of cells. He suggests that over-breathing is common.

The solution is ‘Breathing though our noses, slowly and less with full exhales.’

A meticulous notes section provides references and indications for further study. For once, a book fully lives up to the hyperbole of its cover endorsements. Treat yourself to a late new year present.

LIFE ON TWO LEGS thoughts on our precarious bipedalism by Christine Ackers

This book is part-memoir and part explication of Alexander's teaching.

Christine (Kri) Ackers, a teacher of over Þfty years' experience, explores her own journey of learning to deal with poor-use afßictions of body and spirit, whilst also guiding others to gradually address their own. It uses everyday language to explain how we develop the poor posture that leads to self-induced musculoskeletal injury; and why restoring the body's natural support mechanisms both relieves and heals such afßictions.

"Your book arrived about a week ago - and since then I have not been able to put it down. Your writing is so clear and your insights so valuable and rich, I hope many teachers, and others, will read it”.

Mary Holland, Alexander Teacher and Teacher trainer MoshPit Publishing, October 2020. 192 pages Available from Amazon or any bookstore with an Ingram print on demand account.

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The Annual Meeting of Teaching Members of the Alexander Technique Affiliated Societies (AMMAS)

(Above) Photographic highlights from an earlier AMMAS, which took place in Lychen, Germany.

T

hese work-exchange and workshop-based meetings are currently oversubscribed - at least, that’s the case for the 2021 event. However, some people may be unable to attend so it is possible that places will become free. A range of accommodation types is possible and prices are in the range € 600 - 700 for the week, full board. All teachers of the FM Alexander Technique, who are members of ATAS (Alexander Technique Affiliated Societies) are invited.

Our meetings are non-profit events. Participation in the meeting is only for those who can attend the whole week.

Our get-togethers are to promote and support exchange and communication amongst the members of the individual societies belonging to ATAS. The participation at workshops and the work exchange is for Alexander teachers only.

The special constructive atmosphere of our meetings is created through the common learning and experiencing of the whole group. For this reason there is only one event at one time. This means during the workshops or work-exchange there are no parallel events offered. Family members are invited to participate at the events in the evening, and there are possibilities to receive individual Alexander work. Children are always very welcome at the meetings, except during workshops and workexchange periods. There will be workshops in the morning and the late afternoon events are led by participants. In the early afternoon we will have time to exchange work with our colleagues.

2021 20th AMMAS Saturday, 31st of July – Saturday, 7th of August 2021 At Schluesshof, 17279 Lychen, Germany. www.schluesshof.de

2022 21st AMMAS 23rd - 30th of July 2022 At Konventum & Hoejestrupgaard, DK- Helsingoer, Erling Jensens Vej 1, DK – 3000 HELSINGØR www.konventum.dk &.www.hoejstrupgaard.dk

Organized by: Irmel Weber, irmel.weber@berlin and Heike Sheratte heikesheratte@alice-dsl.net.who are both members of ATVD.

Organised by: Cecilia Klose who is members of DFLAT. For any questions please contact cecilia@ alexander-technique.dk .

www.ammas.info

Features

My experiences as Chair

By Belinda May

A

t the next AGM I will be finishing my term as Chair, and I thought I would write a few notes about my experiences.

I took on the role with excitement and trepidation as I hadn’t worked in business before, but I had a desire and interest in helping to professionalise our society and get the Alexander Technique more prominent in the public’s minds.

What I did have was my experiences in life, many and varied from being a driving instructor to graphic designer, from mother to cook; and as an AT teacher both in private practice and at the Bristol School.

I have had to learn skills which have been really useful in my own AT business. I have learned about the importance of strategy, policies and training, finance and many of the other aspects of running a membership society. I am continually amazed at how much is going on ‘behind the scenes’ to support the members and the future of the Technique. The breadth of work is wide, ranging from training to marketing, government requirements and communicating with AT Affiliated Societies.

At times during my time on Council and as Chair I have I found it tough, a real challenge, but there have always been people to support me. I have, however also found it a

rewarding time and life changing. I have had to use my AT skills on many occasions such as when chairing meetings, especially the AGM, and I found I can do it. My confidence has grown and with it my ability to make choices in life that I would not perhaps have previously made. My business as an AT teacher has benefited through the knowledge and new skills I have learned. I have met many more teachers and wonderful people and really enjoyed working as a team with the office and Council.

If you feel joining Council may be something you would be interested in, could do or wish just to ask some questions, please contact me or Ilia via the office email. We are particularly looking for members who can offer skills in finance/accounting or media. It would be lovely to hear from you.

Editor’s note: We would like to express our apologies to Belinda and readers for the appearance of this article on p3 (“From the Chair”) in the January print edition of STATnews and in an early version of the online edition an error on our part. The correct version is now on p3 of this (online) edition and a loose-leaf insert included with the print edition.

Mouritz www.mouritz.org

Irene Tasker – Her Life and Work with the

Alexander Technique

by Regina Stratil

Irene Tasker (1887–1977) was a pioneer teacher of the Alexander Technique, and a trusted assistant to F. M. Alexander for many years.

This is the first biography of Irene Tasker and is based upon the research and study of primary sources. The book casts new light on the history of the Alexander Technique.

Hardback. 480 pages. €40.00

F. Matthias Alexander Letters edited by Missy Vineyard and Jean M. O. Fischer

Advertisement

These two volumes contain almost all known existing letters by F. M. Alexander. They collect, in complete and unabridged form, all the letters which have been made available to the editors, in total 685 letters.

Volume I contains letters for the period 1916–1942, and notes for these letters. Volume II contains letters for the period 1943–1955, and notes for these letters.

Hardbacks. 2 volumes. 300 + 374 pages. €70.00

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www.mouritz.org/shop For up to date information on any mailing restrictions due to Covid-19 please see www.mouritz.co.uk.

Announcements

Courses & CPD WEEK LONG COURSES and postgraduate training are now available for Alexander teachers at the Alexander Technique Centre in Galway, Ireland.

These can help teachers gain more confidence and knowledge. Includes a hands-on lesson every day. Partners are also welcome. We can help to arrange visas and or accommodation if necessary. For more information please visit www.alexander.ie or contact Richard Brennan at info@alexander.ie or call +353 91555800 THE ALEXANDER WORKSHOPS on Alonnisos this year will not go ahead due to the uncertainty regarding travel in these times. But please feel free to contact me, Penny O’Connor, if you would like to be kept informed of future dates and join my Alonnisos mailing list: pennyoconnor1@gmail.com.

Website: www.alexanderingreece.com

For Sale/Rent LIFE ON TWO Legs. Thoughts on our precarious bipedalism by Christine (Kri) Ackers. Puslished by MoshPit Publishing, October 2020. Paperback.

192 pages. Available from amazon. co.uk.

AS PART OF a larger redesign and software update, the Mouritz shop is now on https://mouritz.org/shop/. The Mouritz Bibliography is temporarily unavailable as this is also being redesigned and moved. The Mouritz Library including the Key Concepts collection is still available on www. mouritz.co.uk. Please note that there are international delays to deliveries due to Covid-19 restrictions.

LONG-TERM READERS of STATnews will recall Marshcouch regular ads for portable teaching tables made by Nigel Marshall. Nigel retired but Tables

are still available, see: https://www. marshcouch.com.

DART-ONLINE DROP-IN class every Friday at 11.00-12.00 CET. The class has been running since May 2020. All information available from rjsimmons@dart-online.org (www. dart-online.org).

THE ALEXANDER JOURNAL

Call for Papers.

The editors of The Alexander Journal (published by STAT) and AmSAT Journal (published by AmSAT) have joined forces in a bid to enhance the quality and international reach of scholarly writing on the Alexander Technique. They have formed an International Review Board and have had regular meetings over the past year to develop peer-review standards and to form a peer-review board of experts in their fields.

The Alexander Journal calls for articles and essays that focus on the Alexander Technique, encompassing a broad range of topics including, but not limited to, Alexander Technique practice, history, quantitative science, qualitative science and professional community.

For example how the Alexander Technique relates to: performing arts pedagogy, acting and performance, singing, public speaking and corporate training, research and history of the Alexander Technique, ethics, diversity and social justice, and private studio practice.

We hope that both the peer-review opportunity and the collaboration of STAT and AmSAT will stimulate a wider community of writers and the sense of an international readership.

Articles submitted that authors do not intend for peer-review are still welcome. Such articles submitted to STAT will be considered for STATnews and if submitted to AmSAT will be considered for AmSAT Journal. Book reviews, reports, and other non-original contributions are excluded from the peer-review process.

We encourage both new and experienced authors to submit articles. If you have ideas for an article, please seek our encouragement and support by contacting us directly. Articles are processed in the order they are received, so early submissions are encouraged. Submission does not guarantee publication. Publication timelines can vary, with The Alexander Journal published in print every 12-18 months. Articles may also be considered for concomitant publication in AmSAT Journal and STATnews.

The Alexander Journal prides itself on encouraging and supporting new and accomplished scholars alike. Authors will neither be paid nor have to pay for publication.

Submissions and inquiries should be sent to the review board: Jamie McDowell (email: jamie@fellside.f9.co.uk) Joe Alberti Genoa Davidson (email: genoadavidson@gmail.com) Paul Marsh We welcome potential peer-reviewers and invite you to contact us.