The structure of an Alexander Technique lesson is pretty simple.

Chair. Table. Chair.

Meaning we work sitting and standing a bit, then transition to a massage table, and back to the chair.

The movement is gentle and non-judgmental.
The aim is to peak under the hood to see what’s happening.

I usually begin by telling you that this isn’t about trying to get anything right.
It’s not about being a good sitter and stander.
I’ll say that I want you to take your time and try not to rush or be eager.

I’ll gently put my hands on and give you a little nudge this way and that.
We’’ll proceed to move in and out of the chair a bit.
And inevitably your strategies will start to present themselves.

The movement will remain simple but your experience and awareness will grow with each lesson.

In the first few lessons there are three main things I want you to have an experience of.

#1 You have time.

On a certain level, what we’re actually dealing with in an Alexander Technique lesson is the force of habit. And habits are essentially a unit of time. They are an efficiency that allows you to do things without thinking. I encourage you to pause and perceive. It is particularly fruitful to experience a pause and release at the top of your spine.

#2 You are in counterbalance.

The easiest way to experience your innate counterbalance is to look up/ down. Look down and your head goes forward in space, your hips go back and the weight on your feet should remain somewhat even. Look up and it’s the opposite. Simple in theory. In practice we tend to do all types of strange things.

#3 You are a balance of curves.

Neck and low back pain is common in adults. In the womb and as infants the default curve of the spine is a gentle, restful primary curve.. Gradually, you become upright by adding opposing, secondary curves to the mix. First the cervical and later the lumbar curve. This allow us to first look into up into the world with the neck and later to stand on two legs with the help of the low back. Moving forward you are a literal balance of curves. If we can rebalance the curves, often neck and back pain resolve themselves.

Taken together, these three things are present at all times. You may be rushing or out of balance, but that’s just the current state of things.
So things are a certain way and it may be good to get to know how they are so you have choices. Which relationships to encourage and which ones you’d like to prevent.