FROM
CHRIS
The Alexander Technique is the focus of this July Studio 206 newsletter. What on earth is The Alexander Technique? When people ask this question, both experienced teachers and beginning students may pause (“inhibit”) before answering, seeking the right response for the person asking, or seeking the truest definition for themselves at that moment. Sometimes I have begun with, “it is psychophysical re-education”, at which point often my listener’s eyes would glaze over, a sure sign that I had lost them on my opening. I have tried, “it’s about becoming conscious of the way that you respond to the world”. I have encouragingly responded “it’s about relieving stress and strain in your body during your daily activities.” I have offered, “it’s about retraining unconscious habits of misusing ourselves.” I have heard others answer, “it’s mind/body balance” and “it’s a reliable system for approaching problems of coordinating our movement”. I tend to avoid saying that it is about good posture, which can connote a correct and fixed position of stacked and arranged body parts, held together through muscular effort, making moving and breathing all the more difficult. Although many people have the impression that good posture is what the Alexander Technique is about--because Alexander practitioners have an uprightness and graceful ease about them, due to training in the technique--it is definitely not about posture as a position to get right!
What is it? The Alexander Technique is, truly, training of a specific nature in consciousness of the use of the SELF, which means body, mind, emotions and spirit all in one, indivisible and inseparable, to improve the quality of our functioning and living experience. Here is the official AmSAT (the professional association of Alexander Technique teachers) definition on the website (www.alexandertech.com).A proven approach to self-care, the Alexander Technique is a method that people of all ages and abilities can learn to relieve the pain and stress caused by everyday misuse of the body. With the Alexander Technique, you learn how to strip away the movement habits and tensions patterns at the root of your discomfort. You learn how to balance your own body and take charge of your own health. You learn how to sit, stand and move — with safety, efficiency and ease.
The Alexander Technique practitioner, a professional trained in the art of observation and expert guidance, leads you through a one-on-one learning process tailored to your needs. Over a course of sessions, your teacher helps you release muscular tension and restore your body's original poise. As you address your entire body — not just segments — you learn to improve your overall functioning.
Frederick Matthais Alexander (1869-1955) was an actor whose professional life was curtailed by a loss of his voice when performing. Through years of self-study, Alexander was able to understand the causes of his voice difficulties as well as discover a revolutionary means of improving not only the use of his voice but the functioning of his whole being. The development of the Alexander Technique ensued from these discoveries as he began to share them with students, first from the acting profession, and then from all walks of life.
Below you will find an excerpt from The Alexander Technique, A Skill for Life, by Pedro Alcantara, an excellent book that I am currently reading. I highly recommend it to anyone who is taking lessons or wants to know more about the technique.
For the month of July, I will be offering lessons at a 15% discount to first time students, as well as returning students who have not had a lesson in the last 6 months. There is no better way to understand this profound and transformative work than through the experience of it. I can be reached at 434 296-6250, or chris@studio206downtown.com to schedule a lesson time. I also offer the First Monday of the Month group AT class on July 7th at 9:45-10:45. Class cards apply and drop-ins always welcome.Several exciting workshops and special events are happening this month at 206.
Read about the 4th of July Nia Class, Laughter Yoga on the July 5th, Capoeira, Contemporary Hip Hop, Creative Dance for Adults, Body School, Nia’s 52 Moves, my Alexancer Technique class, and Jen Waine joining our group of teachers.
Happy July to all!
With Love,
Chris
Chris Friedman is the director of
Studio 206, an Alexander Technique teacher & Black Belt Nia instructor . chris@studio206downtown.com
CLASS CANNCELLATIONS, FRIDAY, JULY 4
Jeannette's 12:00pm Hatha Yoga class will be cancelled.
See our Workshops for special classes on 4th of July.
STUDIO CLOSED JULY 14, 8am-5pm
We will be installing new windows throughout the studio. Please bear with us through this renovation process.
NOTE:
Hatha Yoga at 5:30 pm, and Capoeira at 7:15 pm will take place as usual.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
A Studio 206 Gift Certificate is a thoughtful and caring gift. Gift certificates are available in any amount, from single classes to class cards. Please email or call Chris to purchase. chris@studio206downtown.com, 434-296-6250
To purchase a gift certificates for massage, Alexander Technique, Shiatsu, and other private sessions, contact individual practitioners, listed below.
Chris Friedman – Alexander Technique, private Nia, 434-296-6250, chris@studio206downtown.com
Sarah Ray – Massage & Reiki, 434-361-2662, RayayShale@aol.com
Carla Shifflett – Pilates, 434-296-3233, posturetherapy@gmail.com
Julie Aitcheson – Shiatsu, Massage, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Reiki, Acutonics, & Integrative Nutrition. 434-953-9333, www.brightspiral.com, brightspiral@gmail.com
Emily Lenz –Sweedish, Deep Tissue and Neuromuscular, Sports and Thai massage, 434 962-0097, emilylenz@yahoo.com
STUDIO NEWS
NEW RATE for Unlimited Class Card: $105!
Our new monthly unlimited rate will be $105, a $20.00 savings!
ON SALE!!
All Studio 206 Camisoles and tee shirts only $10.00 for the month of May!! Mats and mat bags on sale too, 25%off!!
Come see and Save today!
SPACE RENTAL
STUDIO 206 is available for evening and weekend rent at affordable rates for barefoot events and parties. Please email or call chris @studio206downtown.com, 434-296-6250 for more information.
REMINDER
Please check the on-line schedule periodically for updates on classes.
Lost & Found
Please check the Lost & Found for your missing water bottles, tops and accessories!
Parking
Students have several parking options for Downtown. We will stamp your parking ticket for 2 free hours from the Market St. and Water St. garages.
FROM THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE, A SKILL FOR LIFE
by Pedro Alcantara
“Alexander equated a person’s individuality and character with the way he or she uses the self. He might well have said that a person’s character is the way he or she misuses the self, for most people misuse themselves most of the time, thereby causing themselves much discomfort, and even disease and disability.
What causes misuse? The answer to this simple question again attests to Alexander’s genius. Most people would readily blame education, civilization, modern life, stress, religion, the lack of religion, family life, other people. Alexander believed otherwise, recognizing that the problem lies not in what is done to the individual, but in what the individual does to himself. Faced with the constant stimulation of life, you can react healthily (using the best means any situation requires of you), or unhealthily (neglecting the means whereby your end may be achieved, and going straight for your end regardless of the price you may have to pay). The final cause of misuse, in Alexander’s view, is the universal habit of ‘end-gaining’.
Imagine a father and his child. The child is upset and crying. The father’s single wish is for the child to stop crying. Yes, rather than finding out why she is upset and consoling her, he yells at her to stop crying, which only makes her cry harder. By end-gaining – that is, by going directly to his desired end while disregarding the best means of getting there - the father makes a bad situation worse, both for the child and for himself.
It should be easy to make a list of hundreds of instances of end-gaining in all spheres of human activity. End-gaining is so prevalent and insidious that most people do not realize that they, and others, are doing it all the time. Business, politics, medicine, art, daily life, and personal relationships are all subject to the damages of end-gaining thought and behavior. Examples of this will be found throughout this book.
End-gaining causes misuse and misuse causes poor functioning. To improve your functioning, you need to stop misusing yourself, to stop misusing your self, you need to stop end-gaining. This points to another of Alexander’s brilliant insights. To change the way you use yourself, the important thing is not what you do, but what you stop doing and what you prevent yourself from doing. This is the cornerstone of the Alexander Technique, referred to in our technical vocabulary as ‘inhibition’ (with a different definition from that of the psychologists). Alexandrian inhibition does not mean repressing or suppressing your feelings, but, rather, refraining from reacting in a habitual, unreasoned, and harmful manner. To inhibit is to stop end-gaining. When you end-gain, you do too much too soon; when you inhibit, you stop doing. Inhibition (or non-doing) sets the Technique apart from the majority of other approaches to problem-solving, which are normally based on trying to do the right thing.”
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