One-to-one lessons

Why have lessons?

Responsibility for your own health ~ You are learning skills that will give you a unique self-governance. Taking you from being at the mercy of your pain, the constant “patient” visiting the clinic, to being your own brilliant caregiver and teacher. To be resolute in your quest for health is admirable, but you need the skills to be able to move forward in the right direction. You can learn those skills here.

Self-improvement is for everyone ~ you can use Embodied Mindfulness to improve the balance and coordination of your body; you can enhance your proprioception, interoception and kinaesthetic awareness. However, this work is so much more than just these things. It’s a pathway to mental, emotional and physical health.

Get back to doing the things you love ~ No one should have to live with chronic pain (major or slight), for most people the cause is unnecessary muscular tension, heightened by stress. A universal consequence of this work is the ability for clients to return to the physical things in life; the gardening, the gym, getting on the floor (and easily up again!). What would you love to get back to?

Emotional wellbeing ~ When your body’s musculo-skeletal health fails, it not only impacts your physical world but can disconnect you from your family and friends. When you cannot do the things you love, due to pain or discomfort, your emotional and mental health suffers too. It can be a slow slide into a lesser version of you. Getting back your health is a multi-level improvement.

Embody your authentic self ~ Due to emotional pain in childhood or adult life, one can develop a sense of disconnection to both body and environment. Mindfulness techniques and embodiment practices can help to reconnect, bringing that sense of lost-self home again. Mindfulness equates to mind presence in the here and now. Embodied Mindfulness is when we bring that conscious state of presence into the whole of our being; our mind, body, and spirit.

Performance enhancement ~ With the broadening awareness of the importance of posture (poise & good body-use) there has been an increasing number of enquiries for improvement in fields’ of performance such as sports, acting and music. Embodied Mindfulness can be applied to enhance skills and prevent injury.

How many lessons are needed?

You are learning a set of skills; with any learning you can choose your level of mastery, and this will dictate how many lessons you require.

The foundation of this teaching is the Alexander Technique, which is essentially a re-education, therefore, it is ideal to come for a course of lessons. We are all individual and learn at different speeds, so it is difficult to say exactly how many lessons are needed to bring about the desired changes. However, I recommend that a course of 15 to 20 will give you a good starting block!

What to expect in a lesson

During one-to-one lessons my role is to facilitate a new and unique awareness of your body-use. I use a combination of embodiment and somatic practices, primarily based on 25 years’ experience teaching the Alexander Technique. This is done through gentle hands-on-work and verbal instruction. If you would prefer touch not to be a part of your experience, we can work without it just fine. During an online lesson, verbal instruction and your own developing sensory skills are the key factors of learning.

No special equipment is used, simply a chair and therapy table or floor.
Because you are learning a skill it is important in the beginning to come regularly; weekly is ideal, but we can work around any time or regularity constraints.

The common thread that bonds all my clients is the feeling of autonomy over themselves and a growing sense of wellbeing.

Lessons in your home

In special circumstances I can come to your home. This can be especially useful for horse riders, or musicians who play a large instrument. Please contact me for more details on this.

Lessons for children

If you feel your child may benefit from learning the Alexander Technique or any aspects of Embodied Mindfulness, get in touch and we can have a conversation about this. My usual recommendation is for you to have a session and bring them along so they can see what it’s all about. It’s good to note that this work can be very good for teenage stress, especially if a talking therapy isn’t their thing. I have taught children as young as nine years old. We will often have a shorter session for young children.

General cancellation policy for one-to-one lessons

I understand that in life there is always “the unexpected”, and this can get in the way of making it to your lessons, but if it happens more than once, I will need to charge for a no-show lesson. Please make a cancellation at least 24 hours in advance.