Greg Ford Alexander Technique Sydney

03/04/2024

If you are after some testimonials of people who use Alexander Technique, google and find names like Aldous Huxley, William Hurt, Dame Judi Dench, Alan Rickman, Hugh Jackman etc etc!! There are so many and yet there is little known about Alexander work in the general population.

In the music profession also, in orchestras, student colleges there are many who have found the Alexander work a revelation. They will perhaps tend to be the ones that have suffered from pain and injury or technical limitations due to excessive tension but they will also, often be the ones whose career has great longevity due to learning skills that prevent injury and promote postural comfort and joy in movement.

So, even if your doctor or physiotherapist has not heard of, or knows nothing about Alexander work, don't be put off! There are thousands of people over the world who are thanking their lucky stars that they found the benefits!

01/04/2024

Alexander Awareness Week is from the 1st to 7th of April.

Many people, but particularly performers -- actors, musicians in all genres, speakers, sports people etc, have found the Alexander Technique to be one of the most valuable tools for their work and wellbeing. The health benefits can be numerous and include pain reduction, wider range and more ease in movement, a more calm and confident approach to practising any skill or activity and freer breathing.

Because Alexander Technique lessons substantially increase your awareness of the whole of your body/self in movement and your habitual responses it is a great asset for preventing injury as well as improving coordination.

Alexander Technique is not a therapy -- more an educational tool but most people will also report great therapeutic benefit from sessions with an Alexander teacher. Check it out!!

12/01/2024

The less we scrunch ourselves the easier it is to move but we can tend to scrunch so much that we don’t even notice and it feels “normal”.

Alexander technique gives us a way of getting out of slump and regaining a more reliable sense of what we are actually doing . The benefits tend to be self reinforcing . It’s something we can practice and refine. Movement feels lighter, more coordinated and natural . Voice becomes clearer and more resonant when applying the technique, so the implications for performers are huge.
The Alexander Technique is not an exercise regime but rather something that can be applied to whatever you are doing and even a few seconds of directing attention can make a large difference. And the implications for our general health are huge especially as breath frees up and oxygen can flow more easily through our body.

18/11/2023

If you live in Brisbane and are curious about the Alexander Technique I have some availability between Dec 6 -22 for lessons. Please check my website for contact details or message here.

06/09/2023

Introductory Workshop at the Flute Tree for musicians and music teachers interested in learning about Alexander Technique.

06/09/2023

Looking at the science of movement from a biotensegrity perspective has become accepted by more and more movement educators as common sense. However, for some the question of why biotensegrity is a better explanation of our movement than traditional biomechanics remains, as does that of how we can best explain it to our clients.

Jan Trewartha, founder and director of the British Fascia Symposium and The Fascia Hub, addresses this nuanced conversation.

Read her discussion of this topic here: https://bit.ly/TFH-BLG-BTGTY



Body in Harmony Training

31/07/2023

Bradley Newman and I are running a workshop. Details below:

Musicians and Music Teachers!
We are running an Introductory Workshop showing how Alexander Technique helps improve playing, prevent playing-related injuries and recover from playing-related problems. September 10 in Leichhardt, Sydney. Details below:

Introductory Workshop at the Flute Tree for musicians and music teachers interested in learning about Alexander Technique.

28/06/2023

June 23, 2023, 6:05 PM · Do you really know how your own body works? Here are a few questions - and some answers that you may find surprising:

24/06/2023

I will be based in Brisbane from the beginning of October until just before Christmas and I will have some limited availability for lessons and workshops for musicians and other performers.

28/05/2023

Alexander Technique private lessons and groups available in Camperdown.

I have over three decades experience teaching the Alexander Technique.. to musicians, actors, speakers, people living with pain etc…

I have always loved the variety of people I have met teaching this work and always feel I learn so much from them.

If you’re curious 🤨 ….
contact details on this page or on my website.

12/12/2022

I never ask for testimonials but have received many emails and messages from people who have been at the end of their tether with pain, headaches and confusion about their condition who say that the Alexander Technique has transformed their lives (and often quite quickly!)

Once we realise that we can teach ourselves to free our necks , (even a little bit),and let go of a lot of clenching, all sorts of symptoms can start to abate and this is one of the most important and liberating aspects of the technique.

19/10/2022

One of the great things about Alexander is that you can practise it wherever you are and for as long as you like -- even a few seconds! You don't need to set aside a block of time (although that is still a good idea) and you don't need to go somewhere else or find equipment! Even if you are curled up in bed you can start to experiment with giving Alexander "directions" and without actually consciously moving, start feeling more free and expanded, breathing a little more easily - and then when you do move the quality will be more flowing and easier. It's true that if you continue practising the benefits will increase.

Even if you decide you don't have time to "practise" more at the moment, you have sharpened your awareness a little and more than likely the benefits will keep showing up because your sensory perception becomes more attuned and reliable. One of the most common comments people make after early Alexander lessons is how they start to notice that they are clenching (hands, feet, eyes etc) and they can soften the neck and let that tension go. Before, they would not have noticed these tightenings but maybe just felt uncomfortable or tired.

10/10/2022

Alexander discovered that he needed to stop tightening his neck if he was going to prevent his voice becoming hoarse. This was something he trained himself to do --or not do! It took a conscious intention to prevent the tightening from happening because it was such a strong and unconscious habit. He was not even aware that it was happening until he observed himself in mirrors. He then spent a lot of time practising and experimenting not tightening, before it started to become a new way of approaching using his voice where he was able to maintain and increase the resonance and not force it (which lead to his actually losing his voice.)
When "learning" Alexander Technique it's beneficial to just take a few minutes here and there to slow down and consciously take note of the way we habitually do things and then experiment with using less and less effort. As teachers we get our students to think of freeing the neck before and during the movement/activity (along with other directions). However, especially in the beginning we might give these directions and not necessarily notice anything/feeling different. So I suggest always check in with the breathing and just make sure that the breathe is not being held and air is flowing easily in and out of the nostrils and that is easy to monitor. It's not possible to breathe easily with tension in the neck..
For information about lessons in Camperdown please check

Greg Ford teaches Alexander Technique to individuals and classes in Camperdown Sydney to improve posture, balance, coordination and body aches and pains. He specialises in musicians, actors, public speakers.

30/08/2022

I was speaking with someone after an introductory talk I gave (about Alexander Technique) last week who had been seeing a physiotherapist for a few months because he had shoulder pain.
He had been practising all the exercises that he had been given to no avail. He was amazed, because after this talk which included a guided arm release exercise, with AT directions, the pain had gone.
This is not such an unusual occurrence because with the Alexander Technique you learn to pay attention and tune in to the whole body rather than just the area that's giving grief.
For instance, if you are practising (supposedly) remedial exercises with a neck that is tightening each time and no clarity about the way we are designed to move freely its obvious that not much can improve. In Alexander Technique lessons we are paying constant attention to the breathing as well and it is often through tuning in to that, that we are able to release previously unnoticed tightening.

22/08/2022

www.alexandertechniquesydney.org

Greg Ford teaches Alexander Technique to individuals and classes in Camperdown Sydney to improve posture, balance, coordination and body aches and pains. He specialises in musicians, actors, public speakers.

18/08/2022

AUSTAT is the society of Australian teachers of the Alexander Technique.
Their revamped website is austat.org.au

Lots of information there about the technique so if your curious about the work and looking for a teacher close to you or with a specific interest in mind check it out!

I am teaching in Camperdown and whilst many of the people I teach have been musicians and other performing artists I enjoy working with anybody who is interested in learning to help themselves and take charge of their own health.

07/08/2022

Youtube Part 1- Learning and applying the Alexander Technique for Musicians

A very useful informative interview with a professional flautist about her experience with Alexander Technique. Emphasizing the benefits to her sound as well as everything else.

12/07/2022

30/05/2022

Alexander technique is not a relaxation therapy. It's not about finding correct positions (there aren't any).And it's not about improving posture either.

On the other hand it is very common for people to float away from their lessons feeling sooo relaxed. A by product of AT lessons is what people might call improved "posture" but this is because they have increased their awareness and discovered that it is possible to move without so much tension. After many years of slumping and unconscious tightening, learning to move up out of that with ease and clarity is a revelation for most. People tend to try to improve their posture by sitting or standing "straighter" and that usually involves unnecessary tension and effort so they often give up thinking it's not possible.
Alexander Technique provides tools for us to learn to work with ourselves to notice how we react and how we can learn to pause and choose more flowing, easy and coordinated ways of being and moving.

For musicians we can apply the technique to ease and enhance technique and performance. Also we learn how to discern whether the practice we do is on the right track or reinforcing a habit that can lead to pain and injury.

We can learn how thought influences our musculature very powerfully. In fact the two are inseparable. So AT gives us much more choice and confidence about the ways we move and react. Much, much more than a relaxation technique!

30/05/2022

The difference the Alexander Technique can make in Education.© STAT - © FM Alexander Trust

24/05/2022

Dr Sean Carey suggests that Alexander Technique-style lying down may help athletes to de-stress

21/02/2022

Resharing this...

19/01/2022

Teaching in person lessons (masked) and online. Please check my website for more details. www.alexandertechniquesydney.org

Greg Ford teaches Alexander Technique to individuals and classes in Camperdown Sydney to improve posture, balance, coordination and body aches and pains. He specialises in musicians, actors, public speakers.

19/01/2022

Many reasons why people come to Alexander work.

21/12/2021

Frequently asked questions about AT...answered by an Alexander teacher who is also a chiropractor.

Dr. Schalow talks with Michelle Marcomb about the FM Alexander Technique and how it came about and how it can improve your life! Learn more at www.myrockfo...

19/12/2021

Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com After recently reading some rather disheartening discussions on various social media platforms, where professional musicians were discussing the “inevitabi…

16/12/2021

Faulty sensory appreciation is when we don't feel accurately what is actually going on. One common example is when we bring our attention to the knees and realise they are locked -- often the case, and this is usually associated with a lower back that is braced forward. Often a revelation because this pattern is a major cause of back pain!

Space is Joy -- Open to Lightness The Alexander Technique’s benefits are more than postural, which sometimes gets lost in the process of the table and chair work, facing one’s physical imbalances, and that is, the negative mental tape habits that are parked inside that physical pattern.

02/12/2021

Improvements in breathing and vision, greater rib elasticity, increase in muscular discrimination, greater ease, joie de vivre, more energy, improved digestion --- some of the benefits of Alexander Technique!
After Alexander moved to London it wasn't long before doctors began sending patients with a myriad of often severe symptoms that responded positively to his work -- as in disappeared!
Taking time to listen to what's going on in the body and notice that choices can be made.. We don't need to be enslaved to habitual responses that tighten us up and impede free movement.