The Alexander Technique Rachel Bernsen, M.AmSAT

Alexander in the News - Jan 2012

2012-01-23T10:36:00.001-05:00

Great article about Alexander Technique in the Florida Sun Sentinel

"In a sedentary era, when back pain has emerged as the second most common reason for doctor's visits, an age-old treatment is gaining new notice for its simplicity — and scientifically proven effectiveness."

...And another in the Yale Daily News: Your Body is Beautiful with the Alexander Technique

"So how will the Alexander Technique make your life better? The technique will change your method of standing, walking, lying down and even breathing; once applied, it reduces the tensions that the awful mattresses of college dorms wreak on our bodies, and teaches us how to efficiently guide our body’s actions. It gives us a little grace. It really is quite magical."

Yoga & The Alexander Technique

2012-01-16T18:35:00.002-05:00

An Alexander Teacher, Joan Arnold, responds to the New York Times article, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.

How Yoga Can Free Your Body

By Joan Arnold, certified teacher of the Alexander Technique & Yoga

The provocative title of William Broad's article in the January 8th New York Times Magazine -- How Yoga Can Wreck your Body -- has a whole nation of yogis buzzing. The news is that people can hurt themselves doing yoga. But they don't have to. Bring some mindfulness and sound movement principles to your practice, and you greatly reduce your chance of injury.

Broad's indictment is, well, pretty broad. His sensational warning overlooks some essential elements: the wild panoply of yogic varieties, the habits of mind and body we each bring to the mat, the vagaries of teachers' instructional skills, and the risks that accompany all human movement - athletic or sedentary.

Read her complete article here

Alexander Introductory Workshop Thurs Feb 23

2012-01-03T12:50:00.002-05:00

Happy new year!

In finishing a busy 2011 I'm reflecting on how applying the Alexander Technique in our everyday lives invites us to stay present and make space for our breath. By embodying a state of greater awareness and ease, we can take full advantage of what life has to offer and remain open, curious, engaged, active, and injury free.

This is what the Alexander Technique offers. It is an educational process for enhancing well-being with proven therapeutic results. Whether performer, professor, architect, nurse, office manager, or student, the Technique gives you the tools to improve the quality of your life in numerous ways.

Introductory Group Workshop
If you're new to the Technique and curious about how it can be of benefit to you, join me in this introductory class. I'll introduce the work with hands-on demonstrations, discussion and group activities. We'll learn to apply Alexander to basic everyday activities such as sitting, walking, bending, and standing.

Thursday February 23rd
6-7:30pm
$25 -fee includes a copy of the book Back Trouble, A New Approach to Prevention and Recovery by Deborah Caplan. A must-read for all Alexander students.
Advanced registration is required.
Class size is limited.
Contact me to register.

Alexander in The News

2011-12-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

Alexander Technique has been in the news a lot in the last few years. The publication of a study on back pain published in the British Medical Journal in 2008 showed that "one to one lessons in the Alexander technique from registered teachers have long term benefits for patients with chronic back pain."
The study has helped the Technique gain more visibility as a highly effective alternative therapy for back pain and chronic pain. Although AT has been helping people for over 100 years, it's nice to see it getting the recognition it so clearly deserves.

The latest news story is an article in the Huffington Post today:
Mix and Match Several Alternative Therapies to Ease Back Pain
"Non-invasive alternative therapies are often compatible with conventional treatments for back pain, have a relatively lower cost and can sometimes be done at home. ...the Alexander technique works through release of tension, decompression of the spine, more balanced muscle activity and improved flexibility. " Read the complete article

Awareness Week / Special rate for a first lesson

2011-10-15T21:49:00.000-04:00

Awareness Week is October 10-16. It's an annual event and this year's theme is:

Pain Relief & Prevention-Learn it for Life

Here's a great supporting quote:

"If you have chronic back pain and you find that pain medication, physical therapy

and regular exercise don't provide you with sufficient long-term relief,

you may want to consider an alternative

movement therapy called the Alexander Technique".

It's from The Alexander Technique, An Alternative Therapy for Chronic Back Pain, Johns Hopkins "Health After 50" Newsletter (Aug 2011). The article highlights a clinical study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2008. The study concluded that:

"One to one lessons in the Alexander Technique
from registered teachers have long term benefits
for patients with chronic back pain."

Read the BMJ study & watch the companion video

Of course, the Alexander Technique is an effective tool for living for everybody. All can benefit from using less tension and moving more fully, easefully and mindfully.

Try a lesson
An introductory lesson is just $60 during the month of October (individual lessons are regularly $75). New students only.

VIDEO: "Experience Speaks for the Alexander Technique

2011-09-22T22:19:00.000-04:00

Watch the video by Thomas Glen Cook
I just discovered this video and think it's great. It's a little longer than the average but certainly worth watching. This 22 minute video is a series of short interviews with students and teachers of Alexander Technique including very clear and intelligent explanations by an AT teacher who is also a physicist of how the release of muscle tension in the neck and head positively effects the whole system.

More links to videos on the Alexander Technique can be found at: http://alexandervideo.net/online/

Read about an Alexander Teacher's own journey with Chronic Pain

2011-09-21T09:50:00.001-04:00

Karen Krueger, a lawyer, struggled with chronic pain. Her pain issues led her to study the Alexander Technique. Now a teacher of Alexander, she writes about her own journey and how she approaches students dealing with similar issues.

"I first took lessons in the Alexander Technique to help me deal with severe, chronic headaches that were making it impossible for me to continue working as a partner at a large New York law firm. I found the Technique after years of struggling, without success, to solve my problem through conventional medical approaches."
Read the full article: Alexander Technique and Chronic Pain
From the latest issue of the AmSAT News (AmSAT is the American Society for the Alexander Technique).

The AmSAT News is a journal about The Alexander Technique that comes out 3x per year. For more information about AmSAT and the News go to: www.amsatonline.org
(You'll find featured articles on the right side bar of the home page).

Great article on Alexander Technique in the NYTimes today

2011-08-04T21:50:00.000-04:00

To Relieve Tension, Mind the Spine but Do Not Relax
"Improvements: My posture improved. And my piano playing. I trained as a classical pianist when I was younger; my shoulders were always killing me. When I get out of bed in the morning now, at age 55, I don’t have aches and pains."

Special summer rates for private lessons

2011-08-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

Make the Alexander Technique a part of your summer. For a limited time I'm offering special rates for private lessons. Wouldn't it be nice to thoroughly enjoy outdoor activities this season without strain or pain? Whatever your preferred activity, from gardening to kayaking, the Alexander Technique can help you find and maintain your natural ease and coordination, making life simply more fun!

$60 introductory lesson rate.
For new students only.
Save $15 off the regular lesson rate of $75

$15 off a 3-lesson series
3-lesson packages are regularly $210

10-lesson series + 1
Receive one additional lesson at no charge when you purchase a 10-lesson series.
10-lesson packages are $650

*All the above offers are good through August 20th, 2011. 3-lesson packages are good for 60 days from date of purchase.10-lesson packages are good for 4 months from date of purchase.

Alexander Technique in the News (Again)!

2011-06-30T09:49:00.002-04:00

Sit Up Straight. Your Back Thanks You. - NY Times June 24, 2011
"If you want a more systematic, long-term approach to posture change, consider the Alexander technique, a method that teaches you how recognize and release habitual tension that interferes with good posture.
Not all doctors in the United States are familiar with the technique, but recent research suggests that it can help with lower back pain as well as posture. A study published in The British Medical Journal found that lessons in the technique helped patients with chronic back pain. A 2011 study published in Human Movement Science concluded that the Alexander technique increased the responsiveness of muscles and reduced stiffness in patients with lower back pain."

Alexander Technique - Dr. Weil's Therapies
"What is Dr. Weil's opinion of Alexander Technique? Dr. Weil is a proponent of good body posture and alignment. He believes that chronic pain often stems from habits of poor posture and movement, and may be significantly relieved with this type of therapy."

Great new video about the Alexander Technique

2011-06-19T23:09:00.001-04:00

Very instructive (and only 2 minutes long)!
Watch this new short video about the Alexander Technique made by journalist Channon Hodge as part of a feature about effective methods for dealing with back pain. It features one of my former teachers, Brooke Lieb (Director of the American Center for The Alexander Technique) and Karen Krueger a former lawyer and now a teacher of AT who describes her own history with pain that led her to study and then train in the Technique. She also gives a great description of her first lesson.
WATCH THE VIDEO

Alexander Technique featured in Spine Health

2011-05-09T23:15:00.001-04:00

From December 2010- a great short interview with one of my Alexander mentors about the effectiveness of Alexander Technique in treating back pain, spinal conditions, and repetitive strain injury.

Spinal Health: "Would you call the Alexander Technique an “alternative treatment”?"
Judy Stern: I call it “Integrative Medicine.” It is not a treatment, nor a therapy, it is an educational process with therapeutic results.
Read the full Interview with Judith Stern, Alexander Teacher and Physical Therapist

Alexander Technique in New York Press

2011-05-05T22:18:00.000-04:00

Body Movement without Stress. April 27, 2011 Click here to read

"Martin points out that the Alexander Technique is not goal-oriented, an aspect that separates it from other exercise systems. "Trying too hard with anything just produces more tension and rigidity," Martin explains. "The hallmark of the Alexander skill is not to do something, but rather recognizing what it is that is getting in your way and letting it go."

"With Alexander, you don't have to put on special clothes, set an hour aside, go to the gym and sit on a mat," Connington said. "You can do it whenever—driving a car, sitting at a computer or singing."

Spring Classes in the Alexander Technique

2011-04-10T23:16:00.004-04:00

Free Introductory Class
Thursday May 5th from 6-7:15pm

Advanced registration required

This class will introduce the Technique with hands-on demonstrations, discussion, observation, and group activities. A great introduction to Alexander and a wonderful way to get more information on how Alexander Technique might be of benefit to you.

5-Week Small Group Class

This class is now full. This group series will be offered again in Fall 2011 - get in touch for more info and/or join the mailing list by clicking on the link under CONTACT (I send out emails only about classes, private lesson specials and workshops).

Thursday evenings May 12-June 16 (no class 5/26) from 6-7:15pm

Fee: $195 (includes one 45 minute private lesson)
Enrollment limited. Advanced registration required

The 5-week class is a wonderful learning environment for new students and a great opportunity for returning students to deepen their understanding. In addition to group activities and discussion, the small group format allows for hands-on individualized attention. Students also benefit from the chance to observe others in the process of change. Each week we'll work with a different aspect of the Technique and its application to a range of activities.

Contact me for more information and to register. rachelbernsen@gmail.com

All classes will take place in New Haven at Erector Square - 319 Peck St. Directions

"Alexander Technique single best treatment for spinal stenosis"

2011-04-09T19:24:00.000-04:00

As stated in a recent article (April 6) on the Huffington Post:
Alternative Therapies For Back Pain written by Loren Fishman, MD

Article in Psychology Today about the AT

2011-03-31T23:34:00.005-04:00

"Back and neck problems account for a huge percentage of visits to health care providers, according to a 2008 study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association"; this in turn results in over $100 billion spent on treatment and evaluation, and billions more in lost workplace productivity. The Alexander Technique has been viewed as a cost-saving alternative...the Alexander Technique works through the release of tension, more balanced muscle activity and improved flexibility. Advocates thus emphasize it is more than simply changing postural habits; the technique is more about moving. Ideally, this reduction in tension will minimize its corrosive effect on muscles and other structures of the spine."

Read the full article:
Overcoming Pain:
Why people experience chronic pain, and the power they have to de-intensify it.
by Dr. Mark Borigini

The Alexander Technique on NPR!

2011-03-28T10:47:00.001-04:00

Click here to read the npr story which aired on 3/28/11

I love this quote from the teacher interviewed in the article:

"The whole point is that you understand the process so that you can arrive there yourself."
Alexander Technique is meant to provide you with the tools you need to make lasting changes on your own and be able to improve the quality of your life!

Improving Posture with the Alexander Technique

2011-01-20T11:31:00.001-05:00

It's a question that has been coming up a lot recently in my practice, and it's an important one: How can I improve my posture? And, how can the Alexander Technique help with that? This article goes a long way in explaining how Alexander Technique benefits postural alignment.

Posture and the Alexander Technique

By Joan Arnold and Hope Gillerman with Terry Zimmerer

The posture problem
You look in the mirror and you're not happy with what you see. Maybe your shoulders round forward. Your butt sticks out. Your knees point in. You don't like your walk. You can't stand that stoop. Maybe you try to fix the problem by listening to the familiar voices in your head — "Stand up straight!" "Tuck your pelvis!" "Pull your shoulders back!" "Hold your head up!" You try arranging body parts.You tuck your pelvis. You straighten up. It looks better, but feels like so much work.You let go, and there's the same old posture again. You figure you're lazy or too tightly wound or out of shape. Maybe you think your posture runs in the family.

How you move affects how you look
Though you may not realize it, what you do and how you do it affect the shape, tone and feel of your body. We are constantly in motion, even while sitting, and posture is like a still photograph of the way we move. By changing the way you perform ordinary activities with the Alexander Technique, your posture naturally improves — not from artificial, external stiffening, but from ease and inner expansion.

You can change
You can change your posture. By refining your overall body awareness with the Alexander Technique, you start to recognize when your alignment is out of balance. You learn a manageable, sustainable way to restore it. With the teacher's gentle hands-on guidance, you let your neck and shoulder tension go. You allow an easy relationship between the head, neck and spine. You learn to elicit what Alexander called the primary control: the tendency of the spine to lengthen in motion. With it, you relieve tension and discomfort while streamlining your movement.

Your internal support system — the primary control
What appears as lazy or stiff posture is really a lack of central coordination: some muscles work too hard while others barely engage. Alexander Technique lessons will change how you perceive and experience your body's support system.You see that it functions not in segments but as a whole. Your teacher provides a model of graceful body management, and helps you marshal the ideal relationship between head and spine. You come to understand that you are not held up by an outer shell of tension, but are motivated from within. You learn how to engage your internal support system, to release and direct your own internal dynamic energy.

The benefits of ease & poise
As you restore your natural poise, you find greater stability, balance and fluidity. Good posture is the contour of improved functioning: your stance looks better because your body feels good and works well. Regaining your full stature has other implications.You learn to handle stress with more calm.You bring to your personal and work life greater confidence, improved concentration, better endurance. And you understand that you have more control than you realized over how you look and feel.

copyright: Joan Arnold and Hope Gillerman

Upcoming Classes for 2011

2010-11-21T23:53:00.009-05:00

I am offering a number of group classes in the new year. If you're new to the Technique and want more information before you jump in start with a free introductory workshop, new and returning students here's an opportunity to immerse yourself in a 5-class 5-week course, or if you're already a student of the Technique try one of the winter refresher workshops.

Michael Phelps, left, lengthens his spine, lets his neck be free and head release...to win this race!

(Notice the pulling back of the head of his competitor).

Free Introductory Class
This class is now full. Contact me to be put on the waiting list.
Thursday January 27th, from 6-7:15pm
Seating is limited. Advanced registration required.

This class will introduce the Technique with hands-on demonstrations, discussion, observation, and group activities. A great introduction to Alexander and a wonderful way to get more information on how Alexander Technique might be of benefit to you.

5-Week Group Class
This class is now full. Interested in taking this class next time it's offered? Sign up for the mailing list or contact me for more information.
Thursday evenings February 3 - March 3, from 6-7:15pm
$195 ( includes one 45 minute private lesson)
Class size is limited to 6. Advanced registration required.
New and returning students are welcome.

A wonderful learning environment for new students and a great opportunity for returning students to deepen their understanding. In addition to group activities and discussion, the small group format allows for hands-on individualized attention. Students also benefit from the chance to observe others in the process of change. Each week we'll work with a different aspect of the Technique and its application to a diverse range of activities.

Special Workshop: Enjoying Outdoor Activities With Ease

From Walking, Running and Hiking to Bird Watching

Saturday April 2nd from 2:30-4:30pm
Workshop fee: $40
Advanced registration required.

A Winter Refresher Workshop for students with previous experience only. This offers a great opportunity for private students to experience a group class setting and observe fellow students in the process of change. For group class alumni it's a chance to refresh awareness and continue to explore the Technique.

In preparation for Spring, this class will deal specifically with outdoor activities like walking, running, hiking (we'll use stairs), biking, and observing nature (yes, we can bring excess tension even to the simple act of looking). We'll look at the mechanics of these activities, notice how we often interfere with easy forward motion and learn strategies for moving with greater ease. Students will have the opportunity to work on a related activity of choice. Bring your walking/running shoes.

For further information and to register: rachelbernsen@gmail.com
or call 917.531.4484
All classes will take place at Erector Square
315 Peck St. New Haven, CT. Directions

Sitting Longer, More Easefully and Without Pain

2010-11-14T12:05:00.009-05:00

When my students arrive for their lessons each week I often ask them to share with me how they are integrating the Alexander Technique into their everyday lives. This question acts as a gentle reminder to keep alive what they've learned between lessons. My students share questions, observations and new experiences of being in their body.

Not infrequently students notice positive changes in their experience of sitting. Many of those I teach are professionals or academics who spend much of their day sitting in an office, traveling, sitting in conferences, and doing research on their computers so this change is very very important for them.

After a long period of traveling for work, a student recently noticed that sitting was now easier and that she could do it for much longer periods without discomfort. She felt she had gained the tools to deal with fatigue when sitting and now slumping felt like work! Instead of going into her slumping habit when tired she was able to access a more balanced way to sit that put less stress on her system and kept her back from aching.

Another student reported succinctly she was now able to sit longer, with more ease and less pain.

Click Here to read a recent feature from the New York Times Opinion Pages about the dilemma of too much sitting in our lives. The first contributor, Galen Cranz, is an Alexander Teacher!

Click Here to see a video on the Alexander Technique from the Mayo Clinic. Although it doesn't address the activity of sitting directly, I'm posting this video again because it talks clearly about Alexander Technique's effectiveness in dealing with poor postural habits, ones that can get in our way of sitting comfortably!

From the students point of view

2010-10-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

A student of mine is on a journey toward becoming pain free. She chronicles her road to this end on her blog and recently wrote a fantastic post about taking lessons with me in the Alexander Technique. She clearly and articulately describes each of her 10 lessons, detailing her experience lesson by lesson, detailing our activities, reporting on her progress and sharing observations.
Curious about what lessons are like and how AT can affect change? Here are one student's reflections.
Click here to read her post.

New Mayo Clinic video about the Alexander Technique!

2010-09-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

Click here to watch this great video

ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE GROUP CLASS Fall 2010

2010-08-12T12:45:00.000-04:00

With Rachel Bernsen

6-Monday evenings Sept 13 – Oct 25 (no class Oct 11)
6-7:15pm
Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health
35 Boston St. Guilford, CT

$240 fee includes one 45-minute private lesson (all private lessons will take place at my teaching studio in New Haven).

Over 100 years ago F.M. Alexander was searching for a way to resolve his recurring vocal problems.
Now, a study recently published in the British Medical Journal finds Alexander Technique more effective for treating back pain than other conventional or alternative therapies.

Benefits of the Technique include
-relief from pain
-stress reduction
-increased range of motion
-improved coordination and balance, and much more.

Join Rachel in a small, friendly group class environment. We’ll explore this work with group activities, hands-on demonstrations, and discussion. Walking, reaching, sitting, and standing can be transformed when we engage our mind, creating the opportunity for change.

Advanced registration required. Class limited to 8 students

For more info and to register: rachelbernsen@gmail.com or 917.531.4484

Pix from my teaching studio wall

2010-08-04T22:26:00.000-04:00

I have a growing collection of photographs, newspaper clippings, and photocopies made from favorite books that hang on the inside of the door of my teaching studio. All are there because they inspire. Each photograph uniquely represents a quality of presence, vitality, and availability. Although suspended in time by virtue of being captured in a photograph, each subject is clearly moving in many different directions at once, going out and up into movement. It's exciting to see all those oppositions engaged. It's the dynamic quality we all know so well in our favorite athlete, dancer, infant...

Here are a few...clockwise from top: image of a baby from Michael Gelb's Body Learning; Rafael Nadal; Jim Rice(who played football in the early years)folding and expanding all at the same time.

Amazing fingers to toes connection in order to reach to catch that ball! Unknown baseball player

Image of baby from Michael Gelb's Body Learning. Beautiful internal diagonal spiral connections from opposite feet to fingertips, top of head to heel.

Serena Williams, reaching through all her limbs and beautifully folding at her hip joints for a powerful return.

And of course Merce Cunningham. Here he has an infant like curiosity, his whole body follows his eyes. He's totally engaged.

Study finds AT highly effective for surgeons

2010-06-13T20:37:00.000-04:00

I just received this article from a fellow teacher on the results of a small study on the effectiveness of the Alexander Technique for laparoscopic surgeons. What they found was that it markedly improved the surgeons posture, balance, coordination, endurance, and overall surgical skills.
The study was undertaken in order to find ways to deal with recurring and chronic neck, shoulder and back pain experienced by surgeons. A surgeon's work is highly demanding. In addition to requiring highly refined motor coordination skills it often involves standing and leaning in over patients for hours at a time, taking a toll on these areas of the body.

HERE'S THE ARTICLE:

AUA 2010 - The impact of the Alexander Technique in improving posture during minimally invasive surgery - Session Highlights
Monday, 07 June 2010

SAN FRANCISCO, CA USA (UroToday.com) - It has long been recognized that laparoscopy presents challenging ergonomic issues for the surgeon. Previous investigators have found that neck, shoulder and back pain in the surgeon can all be associated and related directly to laparoscopic surgery. Researchers from Cincinnati, Ohio utilized the Alexander Technique (AT) as a process of psychophysical re-education of one’s body in order to improve postural balance and coordination and to evaluate the efficacy of this in improving posture during the performance of laparoscopic surgery.

They performed a prospective study on 8 subjects who served as their own controls, and underwent PreAT-Test of basic laparoscopic skill assessment, PreAT-Test of postural co-ordination, the planned AT education session and then PostAT basic laparoscopic skill assessment and postural co-ordination. All of the subjects reported a subjective improvement in their overall posture following the AT training session. There was a statistically significant difference in the PostAT Posture scores for the neck, spine, shoulder, hands and fingers in the subjects. The subjects also demonstrated improved ergonomics and improved ability to complete the skill sets with the PostAT load time test, suturing and cutting demonstrating statistically significant differences.

This AT training program resulted in significant improvement in posture, trunk endurance and surgical ergonomics and was accompanied by reduction and perceived discomfort when performing basic laparoscopic skills. This is certainly interesting information and warrants further investigation in other aspects of surgery. Perhaps the Alexander Technique of psychophysical re-education of the body will become part of surgical training.

Presented by Pramod Reddy, Trisha Reddy, Paul Noh, and Krishnanath Gaitonde the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 29 - June 3, 2010 - Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA USA

Reported for UroToday by Jason Lee, MD, FRCSC, Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, CA.

Free Introductory Class in Guilford

2010-04-05T11:09:00.000-04:00

THE CLASS IS NOW FULL.
Please contact me if you'd like to be added to the wait list.

Thursday April 29
6-7:15pm
The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health
35 Boston St. Guilford, CT
www.shorelinewholistic.com
Class size is limited. Contact Rachel to reserve your spot.

Rachel will introduce the Alexander Technique through hands-on demonstrations, discussion, and group activities.

Interview about Alexander on: thefrisky.com

2010-02-21T17:28:00.000-05:00

Click Here to see an interview I did about using the Alexander Technique as a tool to enhance sexual pleasure.

Working with sleeping habits

2010-02-19T01:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a testimonial from a student who participated in one of my small group classes last Fall:

"I'm falling asleep faster and sleeping more deeply, and waking up with much less back pain."
-Kevin, IT Manager and singer

In one of my recent group classes we devoted some time to looking at how we sleep and what positions we sleep in. I had the students bring in their pillows and I worked with each of the students sleeping patterns individually as the rest of the group observed. We observed habits such as sleeping with tightened fists (sometimes holding on to a pillow), or wound up in a tight fetal-like position.

It's important to remember that the habits of tension we carry around with us during the day can often stay with us when we sleep. The modifications we made to their sleeping positions in class helped many of the students feel more supported, enabling them to let go of unnecessary tension and better relax into sleep.

Click here to watch a video about the Alexander Technique

2010-01-18T23:24:00.000-05:00

This video is a great introduction to the Technique. It centers around the results of a large clinical study done in the UK. Published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2008, the study found Alexander Technique highly effective for treating back pain. It showed that participants experienced significant reduction in their level of pain or became pain free after studying the Technique.

Offering a second workshop at Fresh Yoga

2010-01-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

The class in November filled up quickly and it was a wonderful experience to bring this work into people's yoga practice, and to teach in Fresh Yoga's wonderful new space in 9th Square...so we're doing it again!

Alexander Technique and Yoga - Focus on Shoulder Girdle and Arms
Sunday January 24th, 2010(happy new year!)
1:30-3pm
Fresh Yoga at 9th Square, 49 Orange St, New Haven, CT
$25
Workshop is limited to 20 people

I'll introduce the principles of the Alexander Technique through its application to basic poses. In this class we’ll focus on finding freedom in the shoulder girdle and arms in weight bearing and in shoulder and chest opening asanas. Explore how the practice of yoga can be transformed when we engage our mind, creating opportunity for change.
For more information and to register go to: freshyoga.com

Alexander Technique small group class

2009-11-30T10:46:00.000-05:00

5-week Group Class
January 4 - February 1, 2010

THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. CONTACT ME TO PUT YOUR NAME ON A WAIT LIST.

Monday evenings (class will meet on Jan 18, MLK day)
1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25, 2/1
6:15-7:30pm
Center for the Arts at Christ Church in downtown New Haven

$185 (includes one 45 minute private lesson)
Class size is limited to 6
Advanced registration is required

Over 100 years ago F.M. Alexander was looking for a way to resolve recurring vocal problems. Today the Technique is proven effective for relieving chronic and recurring back pain (as shown in a 2008 study in the British Medical Journal), injury prevention and recovery, enhancing performance skills, stress reduction and much more.

Join Rachel in a small friendly group class environment. Students will participate in group activities, demonstrations, and discussion. Each student will receive individualized attention and have the opportunity to observe others in the learning process.

Walking, bending, speaking, and other daily activities can be transformed when we shift our awareness, creating the opportunity for change.

Testimonials from past group class students:

"I'm falling asleep faster and sleeping more deeply, and waking up with much less back pain."
-Kevin Bailey, IT Manager and singer

"Rachel brings her experience, professionalism, training and compassion into this learning situation. She so obviously cares about this work and about sharing it with others, so others can move forward and improve the quality of their own lives. Rachel shares her own story as a performing artist and what this work has done for her art. Throughout my experiences in Rachel's classes, I have continuously been blown away by the metaphorical resonance of this work; the Alexander Technique is life. I am extremely grateful to have had Rachel introduce this important work to me; it has changed my life."
-Janet Zamparo, Professor of English Literature and singer

"The Alexander Technique helps me relax and feel more comfortable in my body. I am more at peace in my own body."
-Bohdana Smyrnova, Filmmaker

To register:
Contact Rachel

link to blog post about Alexander & Yoga workshop

2009-11-25T17:38:00.000-05:00

My friend, student and Rolfing Practitioner, Brooke Thomas, took my workshop last Saturday 11/21 at Fresh Yoga and it inspired her to write a very interesting and personal reflection on her own path to wellness.

READ IT HERE

Free Introductory Class Nov 9th - Reminder to reserve your spot!

2009-10-23T13:40:00.001-04:00

Monday November 9th from 6:15-7:30pm
Erector Square, New Haven

Join Rachel for an introduction to the Alexander Technique in a friendly low-key environment. The class will consist of discussion, group activities and hands-on demonstrations.

Seating is limited for this class and it's filling up quickly.
Advanced registration is required to reserve your spot.

Workshop in Alexander Technique and Yoga

2009-10-23T13:28:00.000-04:00

Click here for more information

I'll be teaching this workshop on
Saturday November 21st 1:30-3pm
at Fresh Yoga - in their new Ninth Square space.
$25
space is limited. Advanced registration required

This workshop will focus on enhancing your yoga practice through the application of the Alexander Technique!

A recent article about the Alexander Technique

2009-10-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

I am currently writing a regular article on practice building, featured in each issue of the AmSAT News, a tri-annual news and journalistic publication of the American Society for the Alexander Technique. Here's my latest installment:

Building a practice in the Alexander Technique

Focus on Kitty Breen from Cambridge, MA

By Rachel Bernsen

Originally published in the AmSAT News, Issue No. 80, Summer 2009

Kitty Breen had a successful career in the non-profit and business world before she decided to become a full time Alexander Teacher. She trained as a teacher in order to heal debilitating back pain resulting from a car accident as a teenager. Two weeks after graduating from teacher training in 1992, no longer in pain, she entered a graduate management program at Yale. After a number of years in Education Philanthropy she decided to teach the Technique full time, but found she couldn’t make a living as an AT teacher. She was dismayed that something so seminal in her own life couldn’t translate into a living wage. She changed her strategy by rethinking her personal mission, asking herself, “What is important to me about this, if not the money.”

Kitty found that it was important for her to separate out the need to make a living (although admittedly a necessity) from what she saw as her real goal: to relieve suffering from pain and to give back the benefit of what she received from this work. Clarifying her goals left her more confident to promote the work instead of herself, or her practice.

Now in her sixth year of full time teaching, her practice is thriving. Her teaching has focused on people with chronic and acute pain, and her attention to this demographic has led to partnerships with members of the medical community. Breen has cultivated her relationships with doctors and hospitals carefully, waiting until she felt assured in her presentation, use, and knowledge of her practice.

She offers a complementary lesson to doctors who attend her presentations. Dr. Don Levy, who spoke at the 2008 AGM and is head of the Osher Clinical Center for Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, has become a mentor of Breen’s; he is also one of her students and overcame back pain through regular lessons. Kitty is also now in Osher’s referral network.

In addition to private lessons, which are the foundation of her work, Kitty has organized her practice into several courses as part of “The Educated Back”™ series. “Back to Basics”™ is an 8-week course that includes one group class and one private lesson per week. She also offers a 6-week continuing education course called “Back on Track”™ that follows the same format. She feels this model is much more successful than just a group class or just private lessons, particularly for those suffering from back pain. Another success has been her introductory 2-hour course called “Freedom From Back Pain”™, which includes one private lesson. It is a prerequisite for the “Educated Back”™ series but is also designed to be useful to those who may not be interested or able to pursue ongoing lessons or classes.

Kitty’s syllabi are the result of many years of thoughtful research (her presentation at the 2008 Int’l Congress addresses this research) and feedback from her students, all of whom she asks to fill out comprehensive evaluation forms.

These programs provide students the tools they need to resolve their pain in an efficient and economical manner; their successful implementation has allowed Kitty to realize her goal in serving others while supporting herself.

Next Introductory Class is Monday November 9!

2009-10-02T12:38:00.000-04:00

FREE introductory class in the Alexander Technique.
Monday November 9, from 6:15-7:30pm

Location: Erector Square in New Haven

Join Rachel in a friendly group class environment. Rachel will introduce the Technique through discussion, hands-on demonstrations, and group activities.

These introductory classes are always well attended and space is limited so, please reserve your spot.

To register or for more information: Contact Rachel

Great reading on the Alexander Technique!

2009-09-27T15:53:00.000-04:00

Here's 3 to get you started:

Back Trouble, A New Approach to Prevention and Recovery by Deborah Caplan
A practical guide to the principles of AT. Great photos and visual aids, anatomical drawings etc. Not just for people struggling with back pain. Great for all students of this work. Written by a prominent Alexander Teacher who taught the Technique at Juilliard for many years and was the co-founder of the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT), the oldest teacher training program in the US.

Body Learning by Michael Gelb
A great readable introduction to the Alexander Technique. Philosophical musings and practical information rolled into one. Shares his own journey with this work. Great photographs (with a few exceptions). Written by an Alexander Teacher and a Consultant to business and professional groups world wide.

How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live, Learning the Alexander Technique to Explore your Mind-Body Connection and Achieve Self Mastery. By Missy Vineyard
Missy shares her knowledge of neuroscience, stories of her students: their breakthroughs and struggles, and her experience as a teacher and director of the Alexander Technique School of New England (ATSNE). The book also includes guidelines for self-experiments. It's a wonderful book but not %100 recommended as your first read on the Alexander Technique. (Read it along with other texts or while taking lessons or classes).

More recommended reading to come...

All the links above are to AmSAT Books. Used copies of most of these texts can be found on Amazon.

I'm teaching Alexander in NYC at Movement Research starting Sept 2nd

2009-08-25T23:17:00.000-04:00

Every Wednesday 12:30-2pm
Sept 2nd - Oct 28th
at Movement Research at Eden's Expressway
537 Broadway, 4th flr. (bet. Prince & Spring)

Group class for dance artists.

$13 single class
Class cards available -- good for all Movement Research classes
www.movementresearch.org

Alexander Technique & Stretching Class

2009-08-04T22:57:00.000-04:00

The Alexander Technique & Stretching
Sept 13 - Oct 11 (no class on 9/27)

4-class series
Sunday evenings from 5-6:15pm

At The Center for the Arts at Christ Church in New Haven
84 Broadway (Entrance on Elm St.)

$100 for all 4 classes
class size limited to 8
Advanced registration required--contact Rachel to register

Whether you stretch after exercise or as part of an injury recovery program, the Alexander Technique can help you maximize the benefit of your stretching routine.

The Alexander Technique can help you undo excess muscular tension that gets in the way of effective muscular release. Proven to increase range of motion, it teaches you to release into the stretch instead of strain.

Join Rachel in a friendly class environment. downward dog, forward bend, stretching quads and hamstrings, and low back releasing can be transformed when we shift our awareness.

Students may bring their own yoga or floor mat.

Fall 5-week Group Class

2009-07-23T23:57:00.000-04:00

Alexander Technique Small Group Class
Sept 14 - Oct 19 (no class 10/12)

5 classes + 1 private lesson
Monday evenings 6:15-7:30pm

Location: Erector Square, New Haven

Cost: $185 (includes a 45 minute private lesson)
Enrollment limited to 6
Advanced registration required -- Contact Rachel to register

This class is open to new and returning students.

Over 100 years ago F.M. Alexander was searching for a way to resolve his recurring vocal problems. Now, a study recently published in the British Medical Journal shows that the Alexander Technique is more effective for treating back pain than other conventional or alternative therapies. A recent New York Times article recommends all back pain sufferers try the Technique before more invasive interventions.
People also use the Technique to alleviate stress, improve balance and coordination, enhance, performance skills, increase range of motion, and much more.

Join Rachel in a small friendly group class environment. Here, students observe each other in the learning process, engage in discussions, and participate in group activities. Walking, speaking and other daily activities can be transformed when we engage our mind, creating the opportunity for change.

NEW Alexander Group Class

2009-06-22T21:41:00.000-04:00

THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL

5-Sessions + 1 private lesson
Monday evenings, 6:15-7:30pm
July 20 - Aug 17, 2009
(July 20, 27 and Aug 3, 10, 17)

Throughout my experiences in Rachel Bernsen's classes, I have continuously been blown away by the metaphorical resonance of this work; the Alexander Technique is life. As a result of this work, I have found freedom in creative expression and in any expression, period. My art, both in performance and the visual, has blossomed. I have found comfort in my body and as a result in my entire self. Alexander Technique is powerfully transformative. The physical results of comfort and health are in and of themselves enormous; however, the spiritual and psychological results for me have been awe inspiring. Rachel brings her experience, professionalism, training and compassion into this learning situation. I am extremely grateful to have had her introduce this important work to me; it has changed my life.
-Janet Zamparo, Singer and Professor of English

Join Rachel in a small and friendly group class environment.
Walking, speaking, and other daily activities can be transformed when we engage our mind, creating the opportunity for change.
Students will receive individualized attention and explore the Technique through demonstrations, activities and discussions.

5-session class fee: $185 (includes one 45-minute private lesson)
Enrollment limited to 6
Advanced registration required. Contact Rachel to register.

Location: Erector Square, New Haven

Free Introductory Class

2009-06-04T12:01:00.000-04:00

Thursday July 9, 6:15-7:30pm

Location: Erector Square, New Haven
Space is limited. Please contact Rachel to reserve a spot.

A new study recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has shown the Alexander Technique to be more effective in treating back pain than some conventional or alternative therapies, and with longer lasting results. Students of the Technique report greatly reduced pain and often become pain-free. Doctors familiar with Alexander will often recommend patients try lessons in the Technique first before going on to other more invasive treatments-as discussed in the latest piece about the Alexander Technique in the New York Times (June 1, 2009). (See previous blog post for a direct link to this article)

F.M. Alexander discovered this work over 100 years ago as a way to avoid surgery for chronic voice problems. His self-observations led him to understand that his habits of holding tension throughout his body was contributing to his vocal loss. He was literaly cutting off his vocal chords by tightening his neck.

Alexander Technique can be beneficial in many ways including:

relief from chronic pain and stiffness
stress management
enhanced respiratory function
improved balance and coordination
injury prevention
improved ability in athletic activities

Join Rachel for a free introduction to the Alexander Technique. In a friendly group class environment we'll explore the work with hands-on demonstrations, group activities, and discussion.

Recent New York Times article about Alexander

2009-06-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

From the New York Times on June 1, 2009

Click here to read the latest on the Alexander Technique in the New York Times

Read about Alexander in Dance Magazine

2009-05-26T22:43:00.000-04:00

Read a recent article about Alexander Technique for dancers in the May issue of Dance Magazine:

Read the full article here

Beautiful head-neck-back relationship

2009-04-11T00:33:00.000-04:00

Michael Phelps (on left) going 'forward and up' to win this race i.e. notice that his head is leading, his whole spine following. (Thanks Jessica Wolf for discovering this pix).

2008 BMJ Published study about effectiveness of AT in treating back pain

2009-04-10T23:35:00.001-04:00

In 2008 the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a study that showed the effectiveness of the Alexander Technique in treating back pain. It showed it to be more effective than all other methods of treatment included in the study such as traditional medical treatment, prescribed exercise regimens, and massage. The combination of exercise and Alexander lessons also proved effective.

Here are links to the full study and some recent articles about the study in major US and British Publications:

Click here for the complete BMJ Study

From April's O, The Oprah Magazine

Boston Globe, November 2008

From the Times Online, UK

From BBC News