Surprisingly, some people still have doubts about whether it’s possible to learn the Alexander Technique without the touch of a teacher’s hands.
I’ve been teaching the Alexander Technique for musicians since 2007; I’ve taught without touch and online since 2012; and exclusively online since 2018, two years before the pandemic hit.
I love teaching this way, and my students love learning this way.
Why? Because it WORKS.
Not only that – this way of teaching the Alexander Technique (specifically, The Art of Freedom® Method with Primal Alexander) works REALLY WELL.
This way of learning is 100% empowering for my students, since they understand what’s going on in every moment we’re working together. They know exactly what they’re thinking/doing to improve their experience, and they have very simple and powerful things to work on for just a few minutes a day to get the results they’re looking for.
Whether it’s pain-relief, healing from an injury, overcoming performance anxiety, relieving tension when they play their instruments, or working on vastly improving their musical skills… this approach allows them to enjoy positive changes and increase their awareness right away, and the improvement continues consistently, the more they stick with it and practice the methods I’m teaching them.
Having been traditionally trained to use touch when I teach, and having taught for years with AND without the hands, I have no desire whatsoever to go back to hands-on teaching.
Sadly, there are Alexander Technique teachers out there who STILL don’t believe it’s possible to teach AT without touch, and that it’s not “the real thing”. I have a lot of theories about why, which I won’t share here.
But I will say this: I believe they are wrong.
When I teach, I am true to the universal principles of the Alexander Technique, and I am true to the origins of what Alexander did for himself to make his discoveries and overcome his vocal performance issues for himself.
F.M. Alexander solved his problems without a teacher’s touch or kinesthetic guidance.
He said (paraphrasing), “Anybody can do what I did, if they will only do what I did… but nobody wants the discipline.”
That doesn’t mean we have to spend years observing ourselves in mirrors like he did; it means we need to wake up within ourselves the same attitude of experimental curiosity, open-mindedness, and willingness to learn that he had…
…and then carry out certain thought-experiments and explorations that he told us about in detail in his book, The Use of the Self, in the chapter called “Evolution of a Technique”.
F.M. also said, “You can change the habits of a lifetime in an instant. If you use your brains.”
It’s simple! It’s easy! It happens instantly!!
You just have to understand how to do it for yourself.
That’s what I teach. I call my work The Art of Freedom® Method because it’s all-inclusive, and puts the top priority on realizing our human birthright to be free in mind, body, and spirit.
The Art of Freedom is based on the principles of the Alexander Technique, adheres to what Alexander shared about his original discoveries, and incorporates the brilliant, practical, methodical and hands-free teachings of my partner, Mio Morales, called Primal Alexander.
To sum up… I consider what Alexander did for himself the Alexander Technique. It certainly wasn’t somebody else’s technique (even though he was clearly influenced by Delsartes).
Alexander changed how he taught his work to others years later, and the Technique has evolved greatly over time since he made his original discoveries.
He himself taught without touch for years, then with touch, and he later taught others how to teach with touch…
…but to me, the fact that there are many ways to teach the Alexander Technique doesn’t mean that what he did for himself in the beginning wasn’t the Alexander Technique.
There’s so much more I could say, but this post has gotten long enough already.
If you’re a musician and you want help with something, and you want to greatly improve your well-being and your musicianship… the process I teach works.
Just send me a message here to ask for more information about my private coaching and group programs; or send me an email to Jennifer@ArtofFreedom.me
Find out for yourself. I’m here to share what works! ❤