Testimonials about the Alexander Technique with Elizabeth Hathaway
“For some time I had been aware that my posture was not as it should be. As a child I suffered from bronchitis and both coughing and breathing were painful, hence I tended to hunch my shoulders to relieve some of the pressure. In February of 2007 I underwent major surgery on my stomach. Stretching was impossible for a few months and consequently my posture suffered yet again.
I had heard about the Alexander Technique and thought I would try to find a teacher. I telephoned the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique and they gave me the number of my local teacher – Elizabeth.
I have now been having lessons for about four months, and am amazed at how much I have changed. At the end of the first lesson, I felt that I was already standing a little taller. My back is straighter, my chest more open and my shoulders are no longer hunched. The technique is subtle and non- intrusive yet so very effective. Much more though, is the way I have been made aware of how I am using my body in carrying out everyday tasks. I now stop and think before bending, sitting, standing etc.
Elizabeth has opened my eyes to the way my body was and is slowly but surely creating a new me. I am really pleased with all I have achieved and cannot thank Elizabeth enough for giving me all the support and encouragement to continue her good work in between visits. I would not hesitate to recommend her to others who would benefit from her teaching.”
M. Sharp (October 2007)
“Learning the Alexander Technique has been beneficial in many ways. I first went to Elizabeth with repetitive strain injury in my left wrist, which was impairing my ability to work (my job involves a lot of keyboard work), and to play the cello, my spare time hobby. Not only has the technique helped with the immediate problem in my wrist, but it has enabled me to reduce strain in my shoulders from bad posture whilst typing, and has improved my cello playing through identifying and letting go of unnecessary muscular tension. Elizabeth's expert and gentle teaching and encouragement mean that the lessons, which last abut 40 minutes, are always productive, and usually quite fun!”
D. Morrison
“I came to the Alexander Technique following Spinal Surgery and months of pain—pain which did not respond to other more conventional types of therapy.
The Technique has shown me a way of reducing my pain by relieving the tension in my muscles. I feel it is teaching me a discipline which, with just a minor change of posture, can control my muscle spasm.
I am building an awareness of my body and I am increasingly able to recognise when I need to relax my muscles. Indeed, I am much more aware of how tension in one part of my body can be affected by incorrect posture in a different part. My sitting position has radically changed: I no longer sit with legs crossed or slumped in a chair.
I think I will continue with the Technique and feel it will be extremely helpful in assisting good posture as I grow older.
I am gradually gaining control of my muscles; they no longer control me.”
J. Orpin
“I don’t pretend to know what [the Alexander Technique] is, or how it works, all I know is that for me it has changed my life.
I am 52 and a female dentist. The postures of both working in the surgery and at my computer are neither ideal on a long term basis. I have been qualified and working now for 30 years. A few years ago I began to suffer neck problems, a common complaint of dentists. It became so that every morning I would wake up with a stiff and sore neck. I would try to do exercises to relieve the soreness, but it continued, I decided that with another ten years to work, I had better do something constructive to relieve the discomfort...
I started to attend [the Alexander Technique] two years ago at Easter, once a week for the first few months, and subsequently once a fortnight. The change is wonderful. I rarely wake up with a stiff neck. I have very little stiffness or pain. In fact days go by and I forget all about it. No more paracetamol, no morning neck exercises to get me going and very few headaches.
Over a period of time, I believe that with [it] you become more attuned to the use / misuse of your body and your unconscious ability to find that position of equilibrium improves. I have found that for me it has to be this unconscious improvement, if I try to realign myself consciously, I have great difficulty.”
W. Martin
“I feel in much better harmony and balance after a lesson.”
J.H
“When I came to Elizabeth I had a really bad back injury from playing tennis and had difficulty moving around. After only a few sessions I was able to walk around without pain and within a few weeks I was playing tennis again.”
G. Shaw
“When I went to my first Alexander lesson I remember I was unable to sit for more than a few minutes, and I ended up walking up and down the room trying to explain what was wrong with me. I had long ago given up on doctors because X-rays showed there was nothing physically wrong with my back and so there was nothing specific to treat. I was not even in a great deal of pain, so painkillers were pointless. I knew what had caused the problem - more than twenty years of stressed working days, mostly spent sitting at a keyboard - but I had simply run out of ideas on how to change things. My back seemed to have quite literally collapsed.
Alexander lessons gave me a whole new vocabulary of words to describe how I felt, all of which made perfect sense. Poor ‘use’ was precisely what I had been putting my body through, followed by a completely incorrect pattern of behaviour to try to right things. After only a few lessons I became aware of what I was doing wrong and I had learned how to ‘inhibit’ my old patterns of muscle behaviour. Just the very act of getting up out of a chair became a real revelation. I also liked the one-to-one teaching, as I am completely allergic to any kind of group activity!
What the Technique is not is a quick-fix solution, but my experience of those is that they never last. Thanks to the Technique I can now sit on a chair for as long as required, stand in comfort for long periods and even tend my garden without spending the next day or two recovering.”
K. Shreeve
“I feel better and more comfortable in myself.”
T. Walters