About Me

My Route to becoming a teacher of the Alexander Technique

I had an initial course of Alexander lessons in 1991 with Maggie Rakusen who was head of NETCAT (North of England Centre for the Alexander technique) in Leeds. Over a period of 23 years I followed these up with lessons with various local teachers.

From 2006 to 2010 I attended several weekend courses at the Fellside Alexander School in Kendal.

From 2012 to 2015 I attended YATS (York Alexander Technique School) 1-day-a-week.

In 2015 I began full-time training at YATS and qualified in July 2018.

My General Teaching Background

In 2002, 2005 and 2019 I attended Eyebody retreats (The Art of Integtrating Eye, Brain and Body) in South Wales (2002 & 2019) and Devon (2005), led by Peter Grunwald, the Alexander Technique teacher who founded this method. In January this year (2021) I also attended the online part of the Eyebody retreat in New Zealand which was face-to-face there as the country was Covid-free.

From 1984 to 2015 I taught guitar in Leeds Schools through the local authority, as well as privately.

From 1992 to 2011 I led or co-led several workshops in creative writing, drama and haiku; in addition to these were three Arts-Council-funded haiku projects. These activities mostly involved both children and adults. They took place in schools and public places in England and Germany and included collaborations with other artists.

Continuing Professional Development

• In April 2019 I attended an introductory weekend to a post-graduate course led by Bruce Fertman in Dorset.
• I attended 6-day Eyebody* retreats in 2019 and 2021 and will be attending again in 2022
• I attended a one-day Eyebody workshop in October 2019 in London.
• I often exchange work with Alexander Technique colleagues online and am attending Alexander Studies Online set up by my professional body ,STAT, which includes working with teachers who have vast experience and a wide range of skills.
• From February 2019 till February 2020 I exchanged work with a qualified reflexologist, mainly on a weekly basis.

* Eyebody is a practice which integrates the eyes, brain, body and environment . The last of these starts with our immediate surroundings and expands according to how we develop. The practice – developed by Peter Grunwald – is closely related to the Alexander Technique. Occasionally it seems appropriate to use some Eyebody aspects in my teaching.