Very nice description of how SOME Alexander Technique teachers teach. But many also teach on-line, and find that way of teaching to be more effective than in person lessons. I think it's simply not accurate - and a disservice to the work of many excellent teachers today - to say that a teacher's use of their hands is necessarily an important aspect of teaching. One way it can be counter productive if it causes students to become dependent on their teacher. It's worth noting that F. Mathias Alexander didn't use his hands for years at the start of his teaching.
Thanks for your comments Robert. I do make the point in this video that teaching styles differ and all of the videos on my channel (with the exception of this one) are made to help those that are learning online. I also teach online and publish an online course. Your point about Alexander teaching verbally at the start of his career is also accurate but as you know, Alexander moved to using his hands and also trained the first generation teachers to teach in this way. STAT approved and affiliated training courses continue to dedicate almost all of their time to training teachers to use their hands and the moderation of teachers prior to receiving their certificate is also based on hands on teaching. I certainly intend no disservice to any teacher that chooses to teach remotely and it's great that technology has reached the point where this is now possible but the overwhelming opinion of those that teach Alexander Technique is that hands on teaching is still incredibly useful for conveying experiences that will help students to break habits and improve their 'Use'.
@@MovementandPosture but this is the video I'm commenting on. And I don't think the overwhelming opinion among AT teachers is that hands on teaching is still incredibly useful. That was probably true a couple of years ago, but thanks to covid, that has changed as you can see from discussions on Facebook.
@@TheAlexanderTechnique As an online student of Alexander technique, I suspect hands-on and online each have their strengths. Online learning is both convenient and challenging, and it pushes you to do your homework and overcome the obstacles (otherwise you learn nothing). However, I would be glad to have a hands-on session just to touch base with the teacher more thoroughly. Online physical therapy and psychotherapy have similar limitations. The fact that covid forced practitioners to adapt and adopt new ways of service doesn't mean the old way isn't useful. Usefulness and availability are two different things.
@@stanthefeline I agree both approaches can be useful. Personally I prefer on-line teaching but for sure some students will do best with in person teaching.
@@TheAlexanderTechnique you say that you don't believe the overwhelming majority of teachers believe hands on work is 'still incredibly useful', but is this is just anecdotal evidence. Do you have proof? Could your opinion be based on being an online teacher who works in an echo chamber with teachers doing a similar thing. From my own anecdotal experience and discussing with AT teachers I have an opposite option to you. The evidence presented to the public for the effectiveness of AT is solely based on research of hands on teaching. Is there evidence (not anecdotal) of the effectiveness of your online method?
Hi, the course is a practical introduction. Some employers and organisations may count it towards CPD and depending on your country's tax laws, the cost can be claimed as an expense as training if you are self employed. There is no formal certification but I'm always happy to generate a certificate for anyone who competed the course if it is useful to them.
