Alexander said: "If you want to do what I do, you must do what I did."
But we now know he didn't give us the full facts.
It’s now generally accepted that FM drew on many sources as he evolved the technique.
To do as he did, we need to know whathe did.
In this course, we will explore Alexander's teaching career, from 1894 – 1925.
We'll also investigate the problems and gifts that came from his Tasmanian childhood.
Tread Alexander’s path to the technique
by studying from his own sources
Play with ideas and exercises from the books Alexander read
Work from instructions in his own early articles
Explore the ideas and methods of people whose work he probably studied,
Build a strong foundation to your own understanding and practice of AT
Warning:
You may find this journey informative, revealing, sometimes a little weird, and surprisingly useful for your understanding and teaching!
Walk alongside Alexander on his own path of discovery!
And along the way, learn much more about the technique itself.
Explore his effective protocols for natural breathing
Find your powerful strain-free voice
Discover the beginnings and purpose of inhibition and direction, antagonistic action and mechanical advantage
Use Delsartean explorations to understand Alexander’s procedures such as coming on toes and walking
Investigate how the Delsarte system may underpin the AT
Alexander wove many threads together with his own genius to create the AT work
By studying these threads, a new story has emerged that shows how his understanding evolved.
This course traces this development from the early articles and other evidence and through the books.
My hope is that by understanding these threads we can explain many of the conundrums and problems encountered by modern day students of AT.
From this we can establish a firm foundation to our work.
Come with an open mind and let’s explore!
Course curriculum
1
Preliminaries
Welcome to the course!
Privacy policy, copyright, medical disclaimer
Introductory survey - Word or PDF - for those who have not yet done it!
2
Alexander’s childhood – its problems and gifts
"Alexander's Preterm Birth" by Jennifer Kelllow
References for module 1
3
First lessons in the Delsarte System of Gestural Training
References for module 2
Delsarte 1: Introduction to Delsarte and why we need to know about it.
Delsarte 2: decomposing exercises
Delsarte 3: Harmonising sequences - movements in opposition
Delsarte 4: Opposition of torso, head and hands
4
Voice problems and FM's first discoveries.
Module 3 references
5
Delsarte and Harmonic poise – finding antagonistic action and mechanical advantage
Module 4 references
Delsarte 6: sequential movements of the arms.
6
Finding breath as a primary movement and your powerful strain-free voice
Module 5 references
Functional anatomy of breathing
7
The beginnings of Alexander technique as we know it - use is primary.
Module 6 references
Delsarte 5: decomposing the jaw and lips and whispered Ah
8
The "unity line" in Delsartean and Alexander’s work - and how to test it
Module 7 references
Delsarte 7: Coming on toes pt 1: Finding the correct standing position with harmonic poise
Delsarte 8: Coming on toes pt 2: Coming on toes with harmonic poise - the early directions of antagonistic action.
9
Procedures in MSI revisited and how they developed
Module 8 references
Delsarte 9: Coming on toes pt 3: The antagonistic pulls of FM’s early and later work compared
Bonus material!
9 videos of Delsartean theory and methods
As part of my research, I made 9 videos of Delsartean work that FM would likely have encountered, and how it might relate to his work. I'm including them here for those who want to know more.
References
Full references will be provided for every module. I will specify throughout what is based on hard evidence, and what is based on speculation, which you can check and make up your own mind.
Penelope’s story
and how this course came about
Tutor
Penelope Easten
After a degree in zoology at Cambridge university, I took my first AT lessons in 1983, then trained at Misha Magidov’s school, qualifying in 1989.
After training my use fell apart, as no-one had taught me how to work on myself. So I took lessons with Miss Goldie – then 86 - who worked alongside Alexander for 30 years. She taught me how to look after myself by thinking in activity. I realised I did not have a complete picture of Alexander’s work, and this prompted my thirty-year journey to understand the differences and power of Miss Goldie’s work. It took me to many other amazing teachers, and to scientific and alternative avenues of exploration and understanding. I have shared this understanding of Miss Goldie’s work in workshops at congresses and around the world. From these I saw clearly how different trainings teach different aspects of the work.
In 2016 I encountered Jeando Masoero’s online work: his understanding of Alexander’s original way of working on yourself with conscious control. Jeando’s understanding is, in part, based on his readings of Delsarte’s system of gestural training that FM taught around 1900. Jeando’s procedures helped me to understand biomechanical aspects of Miss Goldie’s work that I could then find for myself. This showed me a more dynamic form of the AT and enabled me to rebuild strength after recovering from thirty years of chronic fatigue syndrome. I included these theories and methods in my book: The Alexander technique. The twelve fundamentals of integrated movement, published in 2021.
However, I soon realised that some of the historical statements in my book were incorrect or needed verifying. I have researched the history in detail now for three years, reading and experimenting with the methods described by FM and many authors he would have read. I’m also interviewing senior teachers and continuing to build my understanding of the full breadth of the AT work, past and present.
This course is my first presentation of this material.
8 modules, at two weekly intervals with a 5 week break at Christmas:
30th Oct (2024), 13th Nov, 27th Nov,
11th Dec,
15th Jan (2025),
29th Jan,
12th Feb,
26th Feb.
Seminar times
All seminars: Wednesdays, 2.00 - 3.30pm UK time.
Time zone info
2pm: UK and Ireland
3pm: Central European time
4pm: Eastern European time, South Africa
11pm: Korea and Japan
USA:
First session 30th Oct only:
10am New York and EST;
9am: CST;
8am: MST;
7am: PST;
Then USA Summer time ends, so all other sessions:
9am New York and EST;
8am: CST;
7am: MST;
6am: PST.
Please double check the time for your region at www.timeanddate.com, especially as Summer time ends around this time, but differently in different countries.
Do I need to attend live?
While it is always best to attend live if possible, all meetings are recorded and sent to all participants after.
Are there fixed hours to do the course?
No. The only set times will be the online seminars (on zoom) but those will be recorded for those who cannot attend in person.
Can I join after the course has begun?
No, this course will run as a block, so you need to sign up in time for the first seminar.
Who can attend?
All AT teachers and trainees are welcome.
Pricing options for all budgets
Choose the level that suits your current circumstances.
