This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Elyse Shafarman contributed a whooping 140 entries.
The second best piece of advice from a movement teacher also came from the world of yoga (Modern Western Postural Yoga). I was nearing the end of my teacher training and many of the newly hatched yoga teachers were wondering how to design a class sequence, and even really, how to practice on their own. […]
A yoga teacher once told me, “All the yoga poses already live inside you.” I don’t know if she said this to every student, or she said it just to me, but I took it personally, and it made me feel totally empowered to practice yoga. Yoga already belonged to me, it was already alive […]
I whipped this out for my SFSU students. Perhaps you will find it useful. Sometimes in Somatic study, we can feel destabilized by too much internal awareness – especially if it is negative. If you are feeling this, you are not alone. It is something that happens to everyone at one point or another. We […]
Therapist: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your average day. Me: 5 Therapist: Why’s that? Me: Because that’s how averages work. This is an important point – that to be happy, to have self-esteem and personal integrity in life and work, we all have to be “above average” but that’s […]
Every once in a while, I listen to a podcast that hits me at the right moment with important knowledge. Usually, it’s stuff that I already know, but it’s phrased in a way that feels fresh, important and relatable. I can effortlessly take it in and put it to practice. This two-part series on Savoring, […]
An Alexander Technique Teacher’s Back Goes Out I was sitting for morning meditation and I reached diagonally to pet my cat. “Ouch!” the left side of my back said. A few minutes later, I was in the narrow area of my house where the laundry machines are lodged, performing the complicated diagonal high/low reach to […]
A friend wrote, “Send me a “Frank” quote.” He was referring to Frank Ottiwell, my mentor and the director of my Alexander Technique (AT) teacher training course. I wrote back: I can’t think of any particular Frank quote right now, but I am remembering how he would arrive every morning at the Alexander school (we […]
Rest in peace dearest Rome. I am so sad to learn of your passing and so grateful for my time with you. Rome Roberts Earle was one of the last first generation Alexander Teachers, having initially trained at Ashley Place in London with FM Alexander. She was my trainer on Frank Ottiwell’s course and my […]
Practice the Alexander Technique pause to prevent touching your face. Research* shows that people touch their face 23 times per hour. The most common reasons for face touching are: A desire to focus A desire to self soothe An itch. See if you can identify the urge and use your mind to STOP. Stopping does not […]
I’m not sure why I thought it would be ok to teach after a dental extraction. Mind over matter only goes so far. Why do I think it’s a good idea to push my own body through pain and exhaustion when I am constantly counseling my Alexander Technique students to listen to the body, find […]
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