What Happens During a Lesson?
Your teacher will use verbal instruction and gentle touch to help you learn more about your habits of mind and body. The teacher's role is to show you a new way of moving and thinking, which will restore your system to a state of balanced muscle tone. There are usually two parts to a lesson, upright work and table work.
Upright Work
At first, you will explore simple activities like sitting, walking, and bending to help you learn about your movement patterns. Most of us perform these activities many times over the course of our day, but we rarely stop to consider how we do them. During a lesson, we bring our habits to consciousness, and we apply the tools of the Technique to learn to affect change. Once you become familiar with the basic concepts of the Alexander Technique, you are encouraged to bring in any activities that interest you. You can apply the Alexander Technique to any activity, whether you play an instrument, sing, work at a computer, recite a monologue, or practice some Tai Chi. With the assistance of your teacher, you're likely to experience the activity differently, in a way that not only feels better, but produces better results.
Table Work
Your teacher will work with you on a bodywork table, where you can develop your skill in the Technique without having to balance yourself. Your teacher will gently move you, helping you to unravel patterns of tension. An Alexander Technique teacher's touch is gentle, never manipulative or forceful, and is intended to help you raise your awareness. Your teacher will ask you to engage your thinking in simple, productive ways that help you enhance your skill in the Technique.
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