Let Your Students Play (And Get More Business)

How precious do you need to be about the work? Dr. Barlow, back in the days after Alexander's death, strove to identify Alexander Technique teachers with Doctors. The constitution of STAT – and the affiliated Societies that followed it – were shaped by strict, purist values: protect our profession; behave in a dignified manner. STAT's original professional guidelines, in the late 50's, barred all but the most rudimentary advertising. Doctors and Lawyers were similarly constricted at the time. Changing values have trumped this impractical means to establish the "respectability" of professional behaviour, as the world woke up to the fact that advertising was a powerful and effective form of communication. However, I wonder if our Profession's nascent reticence to advertise still carries on as an unquestioned legacy which tempers a lot of how we behave today? I get my fair share of oblique criticism these days that my attempts to market the work cheapen and degrade what we have to offer. There is still a significant proportion of teachers who believe that being a good teacher is all you need to do to have a successful practice. Well folks, there's ample evidence for the fallacy of that belief (when you are open to looking for it). It is worth noting Alexander's own prolific marketing proclivities on this score: Letters to the Editor, leaflets and books, case histories, name dropping, networking, step-away marketing, outrageous pricing, even more outrageous claims to cure just above any ailment under the sun. As I wrote in another blog, if Alexander operated today, he would be quickly slammed down by authorities. So how careful do you need to be? Do you have anything to protect? Recently I used the word "harmful" in relation to chair and table work, and I regret the choice of this word as it was quickly misunderstood that I was criticizing teachers and implying their chair and table work was harmful. I do not believe that. Providing it is legal, ethical and moral, I totally honour your right to teach in any manner you wish. Au contraire - I think it is almost impossible to harm anyone who comes in contact with Alexander's ideas. It must be possible – I've heard a few stories – but I doubt that it amounts to more than 1% of what goes on in the name of Alexander Technique in the world today. And this is the real point I want to make today: how precious do you need to be about the work? In recent years at BodyChance, I have taken to advocating that my students start helping others as soon as they wish. That can be after just one day at the school, after just one lesson. Far from harming others, I see this as a way to wake people up – both to their own possibilities, and to their inherent ability to benefit others. Sure there will make some messes – I still do that my Self – but what messes can you really make by reminding people of a true fact of nature? Alexander didn't invent a series of treatments or specialized movements – he recognized the existence of a universally constant influence on movement and health. How can even the clumsiest attempt to explain that be anything but good? Next month I am going to offer a workshop exploring this idea, and many other teaching innovations that turn the tables on a lot of obstacles that may be unconsciously barring you from establishing a thriving practice… I will let you know when I am opening my online workshop for registration, but if you want to stay in the loop, join my mailing list at this link. You want to be there from the start. How To Let Your Student Become Your Willing Ambassador In 1976 I started out as a fundamental Alexander purist – totally sure that only with deep, dedicated practice could anyone hope to impart even a shred of the magic known as Alexander Technique. Today, I am so relaxed about this as to be almost at the other end of the spectrum. What changed my mind?

The realization that what we have is not an invention, it is not a technique as you consider Yoga or Pilates to be, it is not a "thing" that you learn. It is a truism that nobody owns, not even Alexander Technique teachers. Why would you want to protect people from hearing the truth? In the same way that Copernicus concluded that the earth revolves around the sun, so Alexander concluded that head movements govern vertebral co-ordination. It was always so, it will always be so, and it doesn't matter a twott what you believe. However, stating it out loud with proof made a huge difference in the human realm. And it will continue to do so every time a new person hears it. Neither Copernicus nor Alexander can be credited with anything else than discovering a gigantic, paradigm-shifting insight into the nature of things. They don't own it, anymore than you do. We all own it – it is a fact of nature, a part of us all. Why hinder it's communication? You mission (should you wish to accept it) is to find one student and encourage them to go out from your lessons and act as a "teacher" to a friend, relative or cocktail party candidate – they need to hear that our of respect for you. This is a warm-up exercise for next month's workshop on teaching, so please post any results to our group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/