”Running training for appropriate movement coordination” is based on my three years
education to become a. F.M. Alexander technique teacher.
Michèle Schmid
Teacher of F. M. Alexander Technique SVLAT
(Running practice for 15 years)
What is the Alexander Technique?
Life changing: freedom of movement, freedom from pain, improved alertness,
able to learn again, improved confidence, better health, improved breathing,
inner calmness, to mention but a few changes.
The Alexander Technique teaches the skilful "use of the self": how we move,
how we stay still, how we breathe, how we learn, how we organise our awareness
and focus of attention and, above all, how we choose our reactions in increasingly
demanding situations.
It is a subtle and thoughtful discipline, but essentially practical and problem-solving.
The Alexander Technique works through re-establishing the natural relationship
between the head, the neck and the back - the "core" of the body that supports the
strength of the limbs and which provides the structural environment for breathing
and for the internal organs.
The principles of the Alexander Technique
The natural working of the head, neck, back relationship can usually be seen to be
working powerfully, beautifully and effortlessly in small children.
At the same time as learning to access the natural relationship between the head,
neck and back, conscious and reasoned body awareness, spatial awareness and
behavioural awareness are developed so that long-held patterns of movement,
posture, breathing and muscular tension, and habits that, for example, affect our
learning abilities and psychological stress reactions can be reassessed.
Learning gradually to refine and to utilise an improved relationship between the head,
neck and back is powerfully health-giving. Good habits of diet and exercise are well
understood in their capacity literally to "change what we are"; the long-term effects
of good habits of the "use of the self" are less well known, but no less life-changing.
You get stronger, you become both more relaxed and more alert, aches and pains fade,
you feel calm, confident and self-reliant, you have more stamina, you think more clearly,
you recover from injury more quickly, you cope with stress better.
The Alexander Technique can enhance personal performance across the whole
spectrum of human activity, from elite athletic or artistic performance to the
management of disability, pain, illness or injury. Although the effortless upright
posture of small children is in sharp contrast to that of most adults, it is possible
for practically anyone to rediscover freedom and ease in movement by learning to
become aware of, and then learning gradually to strip away, the habits of movement,
tension and reaction that interfere with, distort or obscure natural and healthy
patterns of coordination.
Learning the Alexander Technique is like learning any complex skill, such as playing
a musical instrument or sailing a yacht; you need a teacher who has been "playing"
or "sailing" for their own pleasure and benefit for years, to teach you new skills, and
to help you to incorporate them into your own understanding and your own practice.
Similarly, the real value of the Alexander Technique lies in becoming able to apply its
principles, by yourself, to your daily activities.
The Alexander Technique for Sport and Fitness
The Alexander Technique will help you in your sport.
The Technique will help you become more aware of how you think and move.
Thinking in activity will improve your performance by
- improving breathing
- reducing undue muscular tension
- facilitating recovery
- reducing the likelihood of injury
- improving reflexes, balance and coordination
- improving quality of movement and mobility
The Alexander Technique gives you a fresh and interesting approach
to every training session.
Valerie Thompson Williams, Rowing masters gold medalist
«My times became faster as I looked at the readouts on my displays while training
using the Alexander Technique. It was a real boost to my mental training to have
the Alecxander Technique in my back pocket when I placed ninth in the 1999 Canadian
women's Open Lightweight Erging Championships and when I rowed in the Masters
Nationals (5 gold) and World Lightweight Championships (2 gold) and the Royal Canadian
Henley Regatta (1 gold). I was thrilled with my placings in these events and I can
definitely say without hesitation that I wouldn't have had the rowing success that
I have had the luxury of experiencing in my short time on the water without finding
the Alexander Technique and the great teachers that I have had the privilege to work with.»
4055 Basel
061 383 07 37
info@runplus.ch
