This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Elyse Shafarman contributed a whooping 140 entries.
As an Alexander Technique student, learning the Buddhist practice of Metta (Loving kindness) Meditation, gave me, for the first time ever, enough self-compassion to look at my habits without shame. When I learned to watch my thoughts in Buddhist Vipassana (Insight) meditation, I gained an understanding of what it might mean to “allow.” Meditation gave me the […]
Recently, someone asked me to come up with a few, “one-liners” that describe my work as an Alexander Technique Teacher. Here’s the one that is true for me, and connects to my passion in the work: “I help people hone the mind body connection and discover the power of thought to instantly free the body.” […]
Last Thursday I ventured out the the Asian Art Museum in SF to meet some friends. I didn’t know that I was going to spend an hour sitting on cold marble floors chanting, “Om Namah Shivaya.” Luckily, I have the Alexander Technique up my sleeve. In other words, I have the secret power to make […]
Could the Lumo Lift be used to support Alexander Technique Students? According to the Lumo Lift marketing department, “Lift was built based on scientific research showing that when you hold yourself in an upright and open position, you actually get a surge of hormones that make you feel and become more powerful.” I bolded the […]
“The Alexander Technique is more about reducing than increasing, more about subtraction than addition. It is a set of skills, and a strategy, for reducing or eliminating stress, strain, compression, pain, tension, pressure, worry, rigidity, anxiety, and smallness of mind and body. It has profound and positive emotional, psychological, and physical effects.” — Mark Josefsburg […]
Jessica Santascoy (who once upon a time came to me for Alexander Technique lessons because I gave an introductory talk in high heels…but that’s another story) asks, “What do Alexander Technique teachers think of teaching anatomy?” I think it’s helpful. Anatomy helps a directional thought (like “head forward and up”) arrive at the right address. […]
According to my Grandma: “If you’re satisfied, it’s OK. But if you’re not satisfied, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone. Even I get out of my comfort zone. I eat with different people every day. I call different people. Just take a little step. Take a baby step and try something different.”
According to a recent New York Times book review, “The simplest definition of meditation is learning to do one thing at a time.” My grandmother, Phyllis Punch, who’s a young 96, said as much to me this afternoon.
After work in Berkeley, I went for walk in the hills and listened to Reggie Ray’s Dharma Talk, “A Knock On The Door,” which is pretty awesome in and of itself, but even more so when I realized that Edward Albee’s play, The Zoo Story, which I saw yesterday at A.C.T.’s Sky Festival, is a […]
Thinking the following “Directions” developed by F.M. Alexander will help you find more ease and spinal length. Let me neck be free (smooth, long, soft) Let my jaw be free (space between back molars, lips soft) To let my head pivot forward and up (as if nodding yes) To let my spine lengthen and my […]
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