My Story

So I went back to my list, and there, right at the bottom, the words were looking back at me. “Alexander Technique”.

I found a Doctor in Leicester, where I lived, who actually taught this unheard-of thing. So on the bus I jumped and found myself in front of a bubbly, smiling Doctor/Alexander Technique teacher. At once she saw my problem. I was using my body terribly. I was standing badly, one shoulder lower than the other, with both rounded forward. I was slumping. In sitting, I was a collapsed heap. And I was was stressed. Very, very stressed. Dr. Miriam Wohl, thankyou soooo much, for your patience and skills, you life-saver!

Learning the Alexander Technique was a revelation. I soon began to feel a bit better, and each session left me feeling positive. My RSI was taking a long time to heal, I'd hurt myself so badly with my bad posture, bad habits, and bad attitude. But I was on the road to recovery. Something just felt right.

I’d fallen in love with the Alexander Technique. At last I’d found a way to crawl out of the hole I’d ended up in, a way to be free from the pain and posture problems that had dogged my adult life. And it felt great!

I decided this was for me, and I signed up right away to learn to teach it myself. That way, I'd have to be an expert in this technique – there'd be no avoiding it. Well, I'm sorry to say, I was a slow learner. Clumsy and stubborn. But gradually it started to make sense. A lot of sense. And my sense of well-being grew and grew. I felt great! 

It was a full-time training for three years, in Kendal in the beautiful Lake District (well, it’s beautiful when it’s not raining, those lakes don’t fill up by themselves you know!), and over time I learned to teach this fabulous method to others. People like you.

It’s amazing how you can apply the technique to so many things, from working with a computer to being a top golfer, to simple pleasures like gardening without pain, or playing with the grand-kids. It’s all about working and playing with less tension and much more self-awareness, so you get fantastic, light, easy-feeling movement, which means you’re left with stacks more energy at the end of the day. Think of it as mindful movement rather than autopilot drudgery. Think of it as a skill you can learn and repeat, so you don’t have to rely on anyone else to fix you.

Armed with my graduation certificate from three-years full-time training, and full of excitement, I settled in Heaton Moor near some friends, and opened my doors for the flood of new patients. Day by day, week by week, no-one came. I fell further into debt and started selling off my belongings. But then gradually, people started to come to see me. Many of these people still come and see me today, for refresher sessions a couple of times a year. I'm sooooo grateful to them, and to the friends they recommended to come and see me. You can find many of their testimonials around this website.

Not long after, a study was published in the British Medical Journal. A proper, large randomised control trial funded by the NHS and the Medical Research Council. The results were amazing. People with chronic back pain halved it in just six sessions. People who took more dropped it 86%. And it was clinically proven. Soon after, the papers were declaring it brilliant, the best cure for back pain, and articles about stars like Victoria Beckham started to pop up all over the place. Hooray, at last!

That was way back in 2007. Since then, all I’ve done is be a full-time Alexander Technique teacher. It really is a full-time commitment for me. Many Alexander teachers keep another full- or part-time job to pay their bills, and don’t build a big enough practice to switch to going full-time. A few others don’t really need to work at all, thanks to independent means or rich spouses. Oh if only I were one of them! I don’t know many other Alexander teachers who do the work full-time, like I do. It’s a big commitment, teaching all week, but I love it. And the satisfaction of guiding people safely to a better quality of life is priceless. I wouldn’t change it for the world. Unless I won the lottery, in which case you wouldn’t see me for dust!

So now I enjoy training people of all ages and all kinds of backgrounds, both privately and in groups. As I mentioned, it never ceases to amaze me how widely applicable the technique is to so many activities and ways of life.

I was helping people with back pain, neck pain, sciatica, headaches and many other problems caused by bad posture and bad habits. At long last, I'd found my vocation! And to this day I still love teaching the Alexander Technique. Every. Single. Session.

Many people come to me to reduce back and neck pain. Others to improve their posture or to look slimmer. Some just want to learn a fun new skill. Many want to be more mindful. And some are just curious. Everyone leaves satisfied.

I’m a Member of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique

Only approved Alexander Technique Teachers, like me, who’ve had three years full-time training, and are fully insured and registered with the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, are approved to teach Alexander Technique by the Government’s Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, the CNHC. Alexander Technique is recommended by NICE.

And it’s not just pain and posture that I can help you with. More and more people are taking an interest in mindfulness, meditation, and consciousness – which are massively enhanced by learning Alexander Technique, which means less anxiety and stress!
How Does It Work?
It works by increasing your self-awareness and improving your posture, so you know how you’re sitting, or walking, playing golf around Cheshire, playing with the kids, or simply using a computer at work. Whatever it is you do. How could you benefit from moving with less pain and effort, and being much more aware of your posture and actions? Being self-aware like this feels really good, and it stops you mindlessly slumping in front of the computer or TV – so you’re sat well, poised, pain-free and ready for action. My clients talk of feeling ‘poised, light and graceful’ which is the opposite of ‘tired, slumped and in pain’ anyway you look at it! Which one of those are you right now? Are you going to stay like that forever? Really?

You’ll learn to put much less effort into everyday tasks, rather than stomping around like a bull in a china shop (with a bad back, bad posture, and stressed – a bad combination!). I’ll gently and safely guide you into better posture and then teach you to keep it going whilst you’re active. Easy but effective!

Lessons are usually fun, never painful (there were no contra-indications in the clinical trials either), and a fascinating process of self-exploration. At first you'll keep catching yourself sitting or standing badly, slumped or too tense. After a while it gets easy and you'll have great pain-free posture all-day long, so you can make the most of your free-time.

And, most importantly, learning to move freely, poised and in balance takes no physical effort at all. No drugs or pills, no painful embarrassing gym classes, nor uncomfortable massage or manipulation. Just easy learning.

You don’t have to wear jogging bottoms and sweat away at the gym, you don’t have to be able to do a daft handstand on your head, and you don’t need to work out. We’re not in the ‘no pain no gain’ camp here! It’s all in your thinking.

And because thinking takes no effort, you’ll soon be moving smoothly and working effectively to relieve your pain, improve your posture, look slimmer, and feeling better than ever.

Call me now on 0161 4316977 (you may need to leave a message if I’m already with a patient or teaching at the University) to set up your first session, email me, or use the contact form.

I’ll get straight back to you. If you have any questions just ask me – no matter how daft you think your question is. It’s not daft to me – just ask!