What is the Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a sophisticated way to change your posture by changing the way you manage muscle tension.

Posture is not something you have, like you have bones and muscles. Posture is the result of countless reactions in your muscles tensing or releasing in all directions. Changing your posture is therefore much more complicated than "do these exercises" or "stand up straight". To change your posture you have to change the way you manage your muscle tension.

Alexander Technique teachers are experts in managing muscle tension not only to improve posture, but also to bring poise and balance into everything you do. They have been teaching it to actors, dancers and musicians to improve their posture and performance skills for almost 100 years.

In controlled studies, the Alexander Technique has been proven more effective than standard medical care in lessening chronic back pain. Even after one year,patients who had only standard medical care reported on average 21 days of pain per month. Patients who had 24 lessons in the Alexander Technique reported on average only 3 days of pain per month.

The Alexander Technique has also been shown to improve walking and balance in patients with Parkinson's disease, to increase lung capacity without breathing exercises, and to increase functional reach in elderly patients.

In short, good posture is important to health, and Alexander Technique can give it to you.

Private lessons in the Alexander Technique

It is possible to change your posture without any outside help, provided you know what good posture is. But if you already knew what it is you would already be doing it.

During a lesson I use verbal instruction along with a very light touch to guide you into discovering what your own best posture can be. You therefore learn better posture by experiencing it, not by working hard for it. With simple awareness exercises that you can practice at home or at work by yourself, you learn how to maintain your new posture and to keep it while you move or sit.

We work first on basic daily movements like sitting, walking, standing and lying. As your control of your posture improves we can examine any movement or activity you want, whether playing a musical instrument, typing on a keyboard, making a speech, or performing an arabesque on pointe.

There are no physical exercises or special equipment involved, and, except for shoes, you remain fully clothed throughout the lesson.

It took time to develop your current posture habits, and it will take time to change them. A standard course consists of 24 private lessons taken weekly, and has been proven to effective for chronic back pain even if you do not exercise. However you can obtain a great deal of lasting benefit with as few as 8 lessons. For dealing with injuries or short term pain, even fewer lessons might be sufficient to gain relief.

Many students find the Alexander Technique learning process so beneficial, not to mention pleasurable, they continue for months, sometimes even years.

Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique

Tom Koch has been teaching the Alexander Technique since 1987 when he was certified by the American Center for the Alexander Technique in New York. He has taught in all around the world, including America, Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, and Australia. He has taught scores of dancers, and musicians, as well as managers, expectant mothers, and those with chronic illnesses like MS, RSI, arthritis, back pain and stiffness. His practice includes:

Private courses in the Alexander Technique
Individual lessons in the Alexander Technique
Private master classes for professional performers
Private tutoring for students of the performing arts
Group classes and workshops in the Alexander Technique for schools, companies and organization
Private lessons and group workshops in advanced hands-on techniques for Alexander teachers and trainees