Tension, stress, we all know it’s bad for us.  We are warned of the danger to our health if we don’t learn to relax.  But it would seem it’s not so easy to ‘just relax’.

Several new pupils have started lessons recently, all complaining of multiple aches and pains.  While they have different histories, they feel similar to my hands.  Their bodies feel encased in a shell, a shell of overworking, held, tense tissues.  This shell inhibits movement, destroys coordination, impedes circulation, all of which increase pain.  Pain causes tense muscles.  It’s a vicious cycle.

How to break this cycle? A two week holiday might help, but if we come home and start living, moving and using ourselves the same way as before, we will soon be as tense as before.  Relaxation is a quality to take into every aspect of life.  It is not a break from real life.

The Alexander Technique is practical training in relaxation.  The teacher’s hands sense the tension in the pupil’s body and at the same time help to release it.  The teacher gives verbal feed back to the pupil to reinforce the learning experience.  The immediacy and detailed practicality of the hands on experience of the Alexander Technique are unique. Relaxation is not just for holidays – it’s for life.