By Stella Weigel We are constantly tossed about in a sea of forward-planning, meeting deadlines and commitments, that we invariably lose sight of what it means to live “in the moment,” to really stop and allow things to unfold in their own time. We prefer, instead, to be in control, to hold onto things. The […]
Continue to Full Post...By Stella Weigel In Thinking Aloud [Mornum Time Press, 1994] Walter Carrington describes what was probably the last lesson between Alexander and an old lady who had been a pupil of his for some years. At the end of the lesson, Alexander “patted her on the shoulder and said, “Now, my dear, see that […]
Continue to Full Post...By Stella Weigel I recently attended the Alexander Technique Workshops International in Tuscany, organized by Michael Frederick. I had not attended since 2007, the summer after I began my lessons, and I knew this would be an entirely different experience. The place had not changed (I had even been given the same room), yet everywhere […]
Continue to Full Post...by Stella Weigel What do you think of your shoulders? I only ever thought of mine as being ugly and rounded. I loathed seeing them in a mirror or in photographs, and tried to conceal them from display, not wishing to draw attention to them. I was asked to push my shoulders back and I […]
Continue to Full Post...by Stella Weigel 3 December 2010 marked the final day of teaching at 18 Lansdowne Road, Holland Park. For the past fifty years, it has been the London home of The Constructive Teaching Centre, dedicated to the study of the Alexander Technique. This historic turning-point has demonstrated the Centre’s ability to practice what it teaches: […]
Continue to Full Post...By Stella Weigel The King’s Speech, based on events from the life of King George VI of England, has taken the world of cinema by storm. The film shows “Bertie” struggle to overcome his stammer and find his voice, in order to rally the free world to resist Nazi aggression. The film illustrates how a […]
Continue to Full Post...by Stella Weigel In Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, FM Alexander provides the following illustration: A seven-year-old boy was given an aptitude test designed to measure “control.” The test involves an electronic apparatus with holes varying in size. His task was to touch the centers of the holes with a small, pencil-like, metal rod […]
Continue to Full Post...by Stella Weigel Alexander could not have been clearer: “In those cases where the psycho-physical mechanism is imperfect and functioning more or less inadequately, we cannot expect the best results in the conveyance or the acquisition of knowledge.” (CCCI) My own education paid full testament to this in providing me with all the necessary tools […]
Continue to Full Post...By Stella Weigel I am small in physical build and height. I have been the smallest student in my school throughout my three years of Alexander teacher training. But until very recently, I had not considered how much my body image, perhaps thinking of myself as “small” had conditioned my habits of use and had […]
Continue to Full Post...By Stella Weigel “Man, know thyself” is an old axiom, but in my opinion the more fundamental one is “Man, know thy needs.” Of course, it may be contended that he who knows himself knows his needs, and that to know one’s needs implies knowing oneself, but the contention does not apply to that great […]
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