Entries by Elyse Shafarman

A Memory of my teacher Frank Ottiwell

One day in an Alexander Technique lesson with Frank, I sat under that giant indoor ficus, with the sunlight streaming through the green leaves. He was working on my hands. He was lightly holding my hand and moving it. My body became translucent and the tension was gone. “What are you doing?” I asked. And […]

How would you rate…?

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 […]

On Savoring

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, […]

A memory of Frank Ottiwell

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 […]