Applied Alexander Technique Blog

Hello my dancing friends,

I invite you to come to an Alexander Technique workshop and free your hips!

Alexander Technique gives you that extra edge, by releasing tension you may not even notice - till it releases. It's that level of tension that's just "how you are..."

Unless it isn't.

This class will focus on freeing the hips for easier, lighter, smoother movement. Release tension in your muscles and joints. Discover the power of your legs!

We’ll take a look at how your skeleton is built and learn to free the hips and legs to move easily and independently. Learn new ways to connect your thinking and your body for freer, easier movement. Knowledge is power!

Saturday, March 30 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Continue reading "Alexander Technique for Dancers at Cheryl Burke Dance " »

Hello my friends!

The holidays are upon us! It’s a fun time to dress up and be glam.

If you’re like me, you like being comfortable in your shoes – and you also love, love LOVE your heels ☺.

Come to a fun class for walking in heels!

Students – dancers and non-dancers alike – say they find they are more confident and more comfortable. Balance and poise improve. You'll leave walking with more ease and have better posture, too!

* Learn tips and tricks for walking in heels that you can immediately use.

* Bring a pair of heels that you love, and a pair of “hope” heels that are sitting on the sidelines. Dancers, your dance heels are welcome!

* Bring shoes of any comfortable height. A Better in Stilettos® class will help you walk better in heels of any height! You can start small and grow tall.

Class: Alexander Technique/ Better in Stilettos®
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2012
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
Call the studio for an advance ticket and save $5.00 (650) 864-9150

Address: Cheryl Burke Dance
1400 No. Shoreline Blvd., #A-1 Mt. View California 94043
Phone: (650) 864-9150

Remember, "...if you're going to wear them - wear them well!®

See you this Saturday,

In heels!
Dana

Hello friends!

Sometimes people aren't sure about new things...like Alexander Technique. I can understand that feeling. It took me three years from the time I first heard about it, to try it!

When I was a kid, we used to watch Life Cereal commercials. Do you remember “Does Mikey like it?

If you're still waiting to try a "taste" of Alexander Technique, here’s a chance for you to find out, "...did Mikey like it?"

A Pilates instructor and competitive dancer who participated in my class last Saturday wrote,

" …I traveled from San Rafael, about 1-1/2 hours away, to find out about the Alexander Technique...The ride home, another 1-1/2 hours, was totally different than the drive down. I was floating and connecting to some inner grace. I'll bet you don't hear that from too many folks about driving on 101N!"

Come try it! If dance is Life, then Alexander Technique is the milk…everything flows better and it’s much more fun. It’s known to help balance, release tension and ease pain.

Maybe you’ll even enjoy driving more on 101. :-)

Saturday at 11 am, at Cheryl Burke Dance, Mountain View....read on for details :-)

Continue reading "Alexander Technique for Dancers at Cheryl Burke Dance - Saturday drop-in classes" »

Hello my friends!

I wanted to let you know about some more group classes coming up in November, at Cheryl Burke Dance in Mountain View.

Saturdays, Nov. 3, 10, and 17
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
$20 in advance (call the dance studio) $25 at the door.

For anyone who’s had lessons or knows a bit about Alexander Technique, I invite you to the wonderful world of Up!

If you haven't experienced it yet, come on in, the water's warm! No previous experience necessary.

Here's the scoop:

Continue reading "Alexander Technique for Dancers at Cheryl Burke Dance" »

Hello my dancing friends!

I had so much fun working with people at the Pacific Grand Ball.

One dancer really understood this work. She surprised me, sitting in the chair and asking, "may I have some of your energy?"

Yes! This does open the flow of energy in the body.

I barely touched her; she felt the energy flow. Gentle Alexander hands-on, undoing tension and sensing the flow.

We all have this ability; we're born able to move effortlessly. I love seeing people's eyes widen as they suddenly have this feeling of a free neck. They get it; this is about releasing and freedom.

Thank you for stopping by.
Come again!

Dana

Hello my friends!

I’m excited to teach Alexander Technique at Cheryl Burke Dance.

If Alexander Technique is new to you, here's what it is and more importantly, why to learn it, in a nutshell.

When you dance, is your neck free? Do you stiffen it a little...or a lot? Do you struggle for balance or relax into it?

When your neck is contracted and stiff, it pulls your head down into your neck and shoulders. It may push your head forward or pull it back down into your shoulders. Either way, it puts you off balance and out of alignment. It creates tension throughout the body, slows you down and shortens your line.

Alexander Technique helps you release tension patterns in movement that are so habitual, we don't even feel them. It focuses on the freedom of the head and neck in movement and creates freedom and poise.

Come try it! Come discover how free you can be!

See you soon - Saturday, September 22nd at 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Call the studio at 650.864.9150 or drop me a line if you're planning to come.

with Joy!

Dana

Hello, my friends!

The body that sits in front of that computer is your dancing body!
Come undo the tension and pain of daily life and enjoy your dancing more!
Leave with skills you can immediately use to improve your dancing and your life.

Come to Cheryl Burke Dance for a special, two-hour workshop on Saturday, Sept. 22nd! Try something new, have some fun and feel better!

No previous experience necessary

• Release muscular tension.
• Alleviate pain.
• Better balance.
• Light, easy, efficient, graceful movement.
• Feel better!

Alexander Technique is unique in that it specifically increases your awareness of your head, neck and back, and gives you tools to release tension, direct the lines of your own body, and flow in movement.

Date: Saturday, September 22
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cost: $25
at: Cheryl Burke Dance, Mt. View 650-864-9150

Everyone: Please bring a yoga mat and 2-3 paperback books (or a bath towel) to place under your head during floor work.

Ladies: Please wear or bring loose slacks or workout clothes.

Don't miss this opportunity!

Dana

Alexander Technique is a world-class system of body awareness in activity that relieves pain and releases muscular tension. Taught at 50 Conservatories and Universities and used in pain management centers across the U.S., and integrated into medical systems in England, Israel and Australia.

Dana Ben-Yehuda, M. AmSAT, is a Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique with over 1600 hours of training. She has been in private practice for over ten years and works with dancers, musicians, and computer users suffering from neck & back pain.

To the members of El Camino Hospital's Cancer Support Group, hello!

Come learn how the Alexander Technique can help cancer patients and their caregivers, at the support group meeting on August 28, 2012.

Alexander Technique gives a sense of peace in the body and alleviates pain. It saves energy when you sit, stand, and walk. (BBC, "Perspective: Posture and Pain.") Students say they feel lighter and that tension melts away. By practicing Alexander Technique, simple sitting and standing comes into balance and alignment. I use this in my ballroom dancing all the time. Balance helps movement, posture and poise, and you can use it at any level.

Benefits of the Alexander Technique:

– Learn easier ways to move – sit, stand, and walk with less effort
– Alleviate pain – relieve physical tension – quiet the mind
– Learn a cheerful process that gives freer movement and better balance

A cancer survivor and former Alexander student says:

Continue reading "El Camino Hospital, Cancer Support Group - the Alexander Technique" »

How would it feel to have less tightness and more freedom in your body?

The basic way you do things all day long trains the same body you use for dancing. Come to an Alexander Technique workshop to shed everyday habits of tension, free your dancing body, and have some fun!

People liked the two previous workshops so we are doing another! This week we’ll learn ways to apply the Alexander Technique to relieve pain, feel lighter, and have freer movement.

- Learn basic concepts of the Alexander Technique
- Increase awareness of the head and neck
- Explore how this connects with releasing into length

Date: Saturday, July 21st, 3:30 - 4:30 pm

Cost: $12

Location: Dance Vita
85 43rd Street, San Mateo, CA
650-345-VITA

Everyone: Please bring a yoga mat and 2-3 paperback books (or a bath towel) to place under your head during floor work.

Ladies: Please wear or bring loose slacks or yoga pants.

See you there!

Dana

Hello my friends,

Come to an Alexander Technique workshop at Dance Vita Ballroom Studio this Saturday, July 14, 3:30-4:30 pm, in San Mateo: Alexander Technique - Alleviate Pain and Improve Line and Flow

This will be the second workshop in a series, however I’ll refresh the basics, so everyone is welcome.

Note from last week: some people found relief from pain just in that one hour. I tell you, this is helpful and if you have back pain or you dance, I hope you come!

* Alleviate pain
* Release more freely into length
* Improve body awareness

Continue reading "Alexander Technique - Workshop for Dancers" »

Hello my friends!

I'm so happy to share Alexander Technique and the magical feeling that it gives me. I love the way it helps me release tension out of my neck and shoulders.

Come and feel it for yourself in two workshops, Saturday, July 7th and 14th, at Dance Vita Ballroom Studio. $12/one, $20/two.

So many times we try too hard and only end up with sore muscles and excess tension. This is a way to learn to release tension and still be upright - to let your head be up on top naturally, without strain or pushing. Feel like your bones are hanging and you move without effort.

There is a difference between an appropriate amount of tone (good) and excessive tension (bad; it blocks your movement). These workshops help you learn conscious control of muscular effort. Imagine if you could do more with less effort?

Alexander Technique is a fundamental skill that you can apply to anything in life - from less effort brushing your teeth, to less effort being up on your toes.

Continue reading "Alexander Technique at Dance Vita Ballroom Studio" »

Hello friends,

I'm happy to share with you about an upcoming workshop that I'll be teaching. Dancers: this is specially fine-tuned for you. We'll focus on reducing pain in the muscles and joints, releasing into length and improving awareness, particularly, the head and neck.

How would it feel to have less tightness and more freedom in your body?

This series of 1- hour workshops will give you tools to let your muscles flow with ease and improve your balance. Through hands on activities drawn from the Alexander Technique, a sophisticated system of musculoskeletal rehabilitation, you will learn to:

• Reduce pain
• Release into length
• Improve body awareness
• Resolve common movement problems that cause chronic pain
• Release compressed joints and muscles

Come unwind tension and feel better! Leave with skills that you can immediately apply to improve your dancing line, and your life.

Dates: Saturdays, July 7 and 14
Location: Dance Vita Ballroom Studio in San Mateo
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Cost: $12/class or both for $20. Highly recommended to attend both days!

Everyone: Please bring a yoga mat and 2-3 paperback books (or a bath towel) to place under your head during floor work.

Ladies: Please wear or bring loose slacks or yoga pants.

Alexander Technique is the method taught at the Julliard School, the San Francisco Ballet and American Conservatory Theater, to improve line and flow, increase body awareness, and to manage pain and tension issues.

Hello my friends,

Good posture can give you a competitive edge whether you’re looking for a job or you’re up for promotion. This Thursday is Career Day at the APICS Santa Clara Valley Chapter.

Come hear a talk about literally positioning yourself to win.

I'll give a talk about how good posture can give you a competitive edge whether you’re looking for a job, or you’re up for promotion. I’ll share results from some new studies on job hunting and posture, and I’ll give you some quick tips that you can use right away.

Other speakers will also cover topics like resumes, interviews, personal strategies, and follow-up.

12:15 PM - 5:30 PM

Questions: Call APICS at 408-727-1125

If you're interested in some posture coaching for your own job hunt, I suggest considering a short series of Alexander sessions. Give me a call!

CONTINUE READING for details on Career Day/ where to go, etc.

Continue reading "Job Hunting? Improve your Posture to Increase your Odds" »

Hello my friends!

Here is a rare find: Nikolaas Tinbergen's Nobel Prize acceptance speech from 1973, for his work in ethology and stress diseases.

Quite a bit of his speech is all about the Alexander Technique; what it is, why and how he overcame his own scientific skepticism, and the results of the lessons he, his wife and daughter all took.

Fascinating slides with before and after photographs of patients of Dr. Wilfred Barlow are about 2/3 through the speech. Dr. Barlow was a noted rheumatologist, who trained with F.M. Alexander to be a practitioner of the Technique.

Nine minutes fly by when the information transforms your life.

Namaste,

Dana

Hello my friends!

I’ve been working on a program to help women feel better – and look better - walking in heels.

The way you walk, sit and stand delivers an instant message about who you are.
What does YOUR image say?

Now there is a program for women to feel empowered, confident, elegant and sexy in heels. It is designed to work for any level; the principles are applicable to heels of any height. You can start small and grow tall!

Class will be limited to 10 people to allow personal attention, so I encourage ladies to RSVP early. See below for dates and times.

In heels :)

Dana

Continue reading "Be Confident in Heels!" »

Hello my friends!

This Saturday at the Pacific Grand Ball was wonderful. I had the opportunity to work amongst many good people and see a bit of the most beautiful dancing in the world.

A number of people tried Alexander hands-on. Everyone who tried it, liked it! A short time on the table was enough to feel a change; freer, lighter, easier in the joints and taller, to boot!

More people were curious; what the heck is this Alexander, anyway?

"It's like dancing; try a few steps, try a little gentle hands-on and see."

For those of you who were brave souls, thank you for your trust. Maybe next time, if you weren't one of those people, come for a few minutes and try it!

Imagine releasing your joints into movement rather than muscle through, with effort. And...it feels good. This is a skill that can be learned, and like dancing, it works best when your teacher dances with you so you feel it. This is similar; it works best with gentle hands-on, so you feel it.

Hope to see you soon! Call me and mention the PGB; I'll give you a free 20 minute telephone consultation.

Dana

Hello friends and dancers!

The Pacific Grand Ball is coming up on September 24th!

While you're there, you are invited to try some gentle touch, Alexander hands-on and release tension from your neck and back. Restore your energy and renew yourself!
$1/minute, special event pricing.

This is a special offer; sign up at the event or contact me in advance to reserve time.
Most people say that they feel better right away. It's a long day...try it and see!

In health,

Dana

p.s. follow the PGB on Facebook for the latest updates!

Hello friends,

On the morning before my talk at East-West Bookstore, Bonnie Coleen interviewed me about the Alexander Technique, on her personal growth talk radio, Seeing Beyond. We spoke about the essence of the Technique; what it is and also, what happens in a lesson. Bonnie did a great job pulling stories out of me. I hope you'll listen and let me know what you think!

Hear the talk online by clicking here.

You'll hear an invitation to come to East-West, so please be just a little patient as it begins.

I'd love to hear from you.

Peace,

Dana

Hello my friends!

Are you curious about what this Alexander Technique is all about?
Come to a free talk that I'll be giving later this month.

It will be at East-West Bookstore in downtown Mt. View. Here is the information from their Events listing.

Come say hi if you attend. If you mention that you saw the notice of the event on this blog, I'll offer you a complimentary 20-minute consultation.

Peace,

Dana

About the Event:
We all know that good posture is better for our health. Indeed, the way we carry ourselves in our daily life affects our whole self—the entire, psycho-physical-spiritual being. But despite all we know about posture, why is it so difficult to do? Mind and body are inextricably linked and we can help that connection improve its function. Dana Ben-Yehuda, M.AmSAT, is a Certified Alexander Teacher in her 10th year of private practice. The Alexander Technique is about the connection between thought and muscular activity and is a skill for self-empowered healing. Come to a lively talk/demonstration and see for yourself what it's all about.

Details below

Continue reading "Health is a Question of Balance - Free Talk" »

Hello Friends!

It has been too long...and it is time to reconnect. Thanks so much for stopping by.

The Dance Department at San Jose State University has a year-long class in Kinesiology. This term they're studying practices for injury prevention and well-being. Luckily, that includes Alexander Technique and I was lucky to be invited to teach.

The Technique is a skill for thinking in the body, in activity and stillness. It's a way of increasing your awareness that empowers you to have more conscious control in movement. So...come find freedom to choose your expression, dancers! If you didn't wake up in time today, see you Thursday!*

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 am, May 3 - 12.

Hope to see you there!

Dana

*Enrollment in the course is required.

Better in Stilettos™

Come learn to walk beautifully in heels!

Be elegant, be sexy, be confident in heels!

Venue: Los Gatos JCC
Date: Saturday November 13th
Time: 11:30 am -12:30 pm
Fee: Members $15 Non members $25

PLEASE REGISTER IN ADVANCE (see below)

Participate in a Private Workshop to learn tip and tricks for successful heel wearing.

Learn how to incorporate healthy posture and balance into your daily wardrobe, enhancing your overall well-being while looking your best. It's never too early or too late to learn how to stand.

Ages: teens and up are welcome.

Better in Stilettos™ is an Applied Alexander® class

“…if you’re going to wear them, wear them well!” ™ ~Dana Ben-Yehuda

To register:
Contact Kelly Gosk, Director of Mind & Body Fitness, Los Gatos JCC
Phone: 408.357.7418
Email: kellyg@svjcc.org

Making the Crooked Straight
- by Simona Fuma – reprinted with permission

They're the words a girl loves to hear: "Have you gotten taller?" "You've lost weight!" Such were the unsolicited comments I received when I visited the United States from my home in Israel recently, where, for the last three months, I had been practicing the Alexander Technique (AT)—a movement re-education program that involves hands-on adjustments to improve posture and coordination.

While yoga, Pilates and other posture-enhancing methods have swept the U.S. in recent years, AT has enjoyed a thriving presence under the radar. Its hubs include London, New York, San Francisco and Israel, which boasts one of the highest numbers of AT teachers per capita (300). Stateside, there are an estimated 800 certified teachers and tens of thousands of students.

Oscar-winning actress Hillary Swank was one of those students while preparing for her 2001 role as an 18th-century French countess in The Affair of the Necklace. "Jean Louis [her AT instructor] taught me that an aristocrat didn't just sit down in a chair," Swank famously told the The New York Times. "She floated down. And she floated up and down stairs. She certainly didn't climb them, for that implies effort." AT also counts Lady Judi Dench, Paul McCartney and Sting among its famous fans.

According to Dana Ben-Yehuda, media spokesperson for the American Society of the Alexander Technique (AmSAT)—and, perhaps fittingly, the daughter of an Israeli father—in the U.S. the Alexander Technique is popular among two categories of people. "Singers, actors and musicians use the technique to enhance their performances," she explains. In fact, the father of AT, Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), was an Australian actor who developed the method to help him overcome chronic laryngitis.

The other category comprises people who are in pain and looking to AT for relief. After all, most health experts agree that good posture and proper muscle relaxation go a long way toward preventing back pain, the fifth most frequent reason for all physician visits in the U.S.

Dr. Howard L. Rosner, medical director of The Pain Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says that the number one complaint of the patients he sees is lower back pain, and he recommends the Alexander Technique, along with other forms of physical therapy, to treat muscular-skeletal pain. "The Alexander Technique can retrain people to use their bodies more constructively," he says. "It can impact neck pain, low back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome."

Continue reading "Alexander Technique - Making the Crooked Straight" »

Would you like to carry yourself with poise and presence?

The Alexander Technique has been in continuous practice for over 100 years and is used by actors and actresses to enhance stage presence and improve carriage and movement. It is taught in at least 50 drama and music Conservatories and Universities across the U.S.

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal proves its long-term effectiveness in reducing back pain by 86% over a year after the study began.

Find out what this can do for you.

Click here to download a brochure in PDF format and learn more about the Alexander Technique.