Rita Rivera BodyMind

Rita Rivera BodyMind Private Work and Classes that Focus on Healing the BodyMind Continuum to Discover the Power Within.

Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) was a Shakespearean orator who developed voice loss during his performances. After doctors found no physical cause, Alexander reasoned that he was doing something to himself while speaking to cause his problem. His self-observation in multiple mirrors revealed that he was contracting his whole body prior to speaking. He developed the hypothesis that this habitual pattern of pulling the head backwards and downwards needlessly disrupted the normal working of the total postural, breathing and vocal mechanisms. After experimenting to develop his ability to stop the unnecessary and habitual contracting in his neck, he found that his problem with recurrent voice loss was resolved. While on a recital tour in New Zealand (1895) he began to realize the wider significance of head carriage for overall physical functioning. Further, Alexander observed that many individuals commonly tightened the musculature of the upper torso as he had done, in anticipation of many other activities besides speech. Alexander believed his work could be applied to improve individual health and well being. He further refined his technique of self-observation and re-training to teach his discoveries to others. He explained his reasoning in four books published in 1918, 1923, 1931 (1932 in the UK) and 1942. He also trained teachers to teach his work from 1930 until his death in 1955. In the 1960s, there was enough interest to start the first dedicated school, called The American Center for the Alexander Technique, in New York City. Famous people who have studied the Alexander Technique include actors Michael Caine, John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Judi Dench, Suzanna Hamilton, William Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Hugh Jackman, Sir Ben Kingsley, Kevin Kline, Patti Lupone, Paul Newman, Mary Steenburgen, Hilary Swank, and Robin Williams; musicians Madonna, Paul McCartney, Yehudi Menuhin and Sting; playwright George Bernard Shaw; writers, Robertson Davies, and Aldous Huxley; and Nobel Prize winner for medicine and physiology Nikolaas Tinberge

08/27/2025

Monday and Tuesday classes are cancelled for the month of September.

Taking a break from teaching (still d**g privates).... xoxo

08/27/2025
Sale at Melt!
08/27/2025

Sale at Melt!

08/24/2025

This coming week is the last week of classes, Monday (Embodied Anatomy), Tuesday (Balls & Soft Rolling)...

I'm taking off the month of September ;)

Infinite Love - Rita

Major growth time for me in NY!https://www.facebook.com/DanceTeacherMagazine/posts/pfbid033eipx31L9cdQQ2Wxixeh2mBYu8rCmh...
08/09/2025

Major growth time for me in NY!
https://www.facebook.com/DanceTeacherMagazine/posts/pfbid033eipx31L9cdQQ2Wxixeh2mBYu8rCmhuTivXe6qHsLLC7hAytrhAmax7xqBKRfgu1l

Erick Hawkins made modern dance history as the first male dancer accepted into Martha Graham’s company, but he also earned success as a choreographer and creator of the Hawkins technique. His movement was characterized by a free-flow aesthetic—one that required hidden strength—and informs many of the somatic disciplines we know today, like Body-Mind Centering technique.

Learn more about Hawkins at the link in the comments. 💚

📝: Rachel Rizzuto
📸: Erick Hawkins in "Early Floating," first performed in 1961. Photo courtesy of the Dance Magazine archives.



Image description: A black and white photo of a male dancer jumping with knees bent and arms extended to the side above shoulder height. Text: Erick Hawkins: Martha Graham’s First Male Company Member and the Creator of the Hawkins Technique

07/17/2025

Dynamic Posture | The Alexander Technique is coming up soon!

This weekend retreat combines the Alexander Technique and body-mind integration to help you release postural habits that contribute to pain and fatigue. Discover tools to sit, stand, and move comfortably; enhance breathing, reduce stress, and support overall wellness through guided movement, meditation, fascia work, and gentle anatomy education.

Weekend highlights include:
- Freeing the neck & back
- Balancing on your legs & integrating legs into your pelvis
- Fine-tune the weights and balance of your torso
- Balance and ease of your shoulder girdle
- Discover fluid support

✨ Restore alignment, confidence, and vitality — from the inside out.�
📅 August 1–3 | 🧘‍♀️ With host Rita Rivera, dancer, choreographer, healer, and educator at Mount Madonna�

Sign up: https://www.ritarivera.com/august-mount-madonna-retreat

07/11/2025

Ready to feel lighter, freer, and more aligned in your body?🌀

Join Rita Rivera, dancer, choreographer, healer, and educator, for Dynamic Posture | The Alexander Technique from August 1-3, 2025.

This weekend retreat, featuring gentle movement, breathwork, and posture exercises, is designed to help you discover how to reduce tension in daily life, move with greater ease, and breathe more fully. You’ll gain practical tools for back and spine health, release tension in your neck and shoulders, and embody an easeful alignment, supporting you in all daily activities.

Sign up: https://www.ritarivera.com/august-mount-madonna-retreat

07/09/2025

Dynamic Posture / Alexander Technique

Address

1651 El Dorado Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA
95062

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 7pm

Telephone

+18314197816

Website

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