by Sue Miller

A century-old method of body awareness is finding a new audience among those managing the condition

When Lori Anderson asks a student to stand up from a chair, she doesn’t ask them to simply stand. First, she asks them to stop.

“We pause,” says Anderson, who has taught the Alexander technique for 8 years and has a particular interest in working with people with Parkinson’s. “We bring attention to how the weight rests through the sitting bones on the seat and the feet on the floor.”

It is a deceptively simple starting point for a method that practitioners say can improve posture, make movement more efficient and, for people with Parkinson’s, help ease the daily friction of living with the condition. The technique aims to give people tools for self-management and self-care, rather than treating symptoms directly.

Alexander Technique lessons are ideally taught one-to-one and typically last about 45 minutes. Anderson combines gentle hands-on guidance with verbal coaching, helping students recognize and avoid patterns of compression and tension while sitting, standing still or performing basic movements such as walking.

Those principles are then applied to whatever a person wants to do more easily, whether that is tying shoelaces, lifting a kettle, gardening or writing.

Take rising from a chair. Anderson guides students through how the weight of the head is balanced, the length and natural curves of the spine, and how to move freely by pivoting at the hip joints. Only then do they attempt the movement itself.

“By slowing down and switching our attention to how we do what we do, we can learn first to notice, then to interrupt patterns of excessive tension and collapse throughout the body,” she explains.

Some sessions also include a rest period, in which students lie flat on their backs with knees bent and heads supported by a stack of books. Anderson says this can become a valuable part of a daily self-care routine, calming both mind and body. “It often helps with neck and back pain,” she adds, “not to mention your mood.”

What people with Parkinson’s report

People with Parkinson’s who have taken lessons describe feeling steadier on their feet. They say they can sit or stand comfortably for longer and take a fuller part in social interactions and activities they enjoy.

At the heart of the approach, she says, is rethinking automatic reactions to gain more choice in how tasks are carried out. “Learning to do things with less stress and tension can have a profound effect on our physical and emotional wellbeing.”

Patience required

Anderson recommends a course of 20 to 30 lessons for a solid grounding in the technique, though she says helpful changes can begin in the first session.

Once learned, the approach can be used anywhere, whether at rest or in motion, and in the most ordinary moments, such as waiting in a queue or brushing teeth.

She cautions, however, that results take time. “The way we hold ourselves and move have developed over many years, and as with other habits, patience is needed to change them.”

The effort, she says, tends to be worthwhile. “Most people find their Alexander lessons both valuable and enjoyable.”

More information about the Alexander Technique: https://alexandertechnique.com

Sue Miller is a journalist in Singapore