Training Philosophy and Principles

The Teaching Resource
The students draw on the complementary skills and experience of the teachers in order to develop inhibition and direction which we see as the core of this training

Adult Learning
The school is a place for people to learn. All of us at the school see ourselves within a learning context. The initiative for change is with the individual, with due regard given to being able to work within a community of other students. The course is suitable for students who have an ongoing interest in exploring the implications of Alexander's ideas on psychophysical unity, and who have a desire to teach these to the general public.

Personal Growth
The work of becoming an Alexander teacher involves us in a process of change that is larger than the acquiring of the technical and professional skills. In order to work in an easy and non-invasive way, the teacher needs to be aware of the impact of his/her personality on the pupil, and of the importance of establishing a safe context for the work.

Individual Autonomy
During their training students are encouraged and given ample opportunity to find their own unique expression of the Alexander principles. The school appreciates the diversity of individual teachers within the Alexander community.

Alexander Technique
Alexander Technique offers delicacy and refinement of approach in the field of body image, body awareness, and kinaesthesia. It provides an easy, non-invasive pathway towards the release of inappropriate postural sets. The core work of the school continues to be a thorough investigation of Alexander's principles, and techniques for communicating these to the public.

Real Activities
The Technique involves us in a consideration of those things which come before the 'doing' of anything else. If the Technique remains separate from everything else as a thing in itself, it can lose its vitality. Applying it to activities such as voice-work, movement, creative painting, drawing and writing are an integral part of this course. Tuning the instrument is only the preparation for playing music.

 

JAMIE McDOWELL, MICHAEL HARDWICKE
March 1997

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