live life in balance

What is the Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a skill that anyone can learn and apply to their everyday life. It increases your awareness of how you move and how you respond to the world around you.

The Alexander Technique helps you to understand your movement patterns and move in the most efficient way to reduce tension and relieve pain.

As babies and toddlers we learn to move our bodies instinctively. Most children are extremely good at it. Their movements are graceful, effortless and painless. However, our instinctive movements become habitual. If we don't consider how we move gradual changes and tension sneak in and they become part of our habitual movements. This tension throws our bodies out of balance and results in more tension and effort being required to do even the most basic daily activities such as sitting and standing. The Alexander Technique teaches us to notice when our bodies are out of balance and how to change our poor postural and movement habits so that we can reduce the amount of tension and effort we put into living our lives. The Alexander Technique brings us back into balance and allows us to move with grace and ease just like we did when we were young.




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Hi and Welcome!  My name is Julianne Bolton and I am an Alexander Technique Teacher in Canberra.  I discovered the Alexander Technique out of sheer desperation.  At 20, I started having back pain after a lower back injury.  It progressively worsened until I started  Alexander Technique lessons at 36.

During those 16 painful years I saw doctors, physiotherapist, chiropractors, osteopaths and massage therapists. I also tried pilates and yoga and spent countless hours doing prescribed exercises only to have my pain get worse. I even saw a surgeon and contemplated having major abdominal surgery. Sadly, I had to give up the things I loved doing such as playing netball and tennis, running and even swimming.

At 36,  I was in constant pain, and the pain had spread beyond my back.  I also  had hip pain, neck pain, leg pain and  tension headaches. I developed plantar fasciitis and kept straining my calf muscles (even while swimming).  My spinal muscles would often spasm and I would regularly strain either my neck or back so badly that I couldn't do very much for about 24-48 hours.  This was incredibly difficult with 5 young children!  My whole body ached and it was exhausting.  Out of desperation I searched the internet  and came across the Alexander Technique.  I had never heard of it but had nothing to lose and everything to gain.  At my first lesson I knew I had finally found something that was going to make a difference.  How did I know this?  What I learnt made so much sense.  I discovered that the way I was using  my body was affecting the way it was functioning.  Once I learnt how to reduce the amount of tension I was putting into even the most basic daily activities, things finally started to improve.  I have a twist in my spine which is why my back got so bad at such a young age and why, if I'm not careful I can easily slip back into pain.  No-one's body is perfectly aligned and we all have injury and illness but as along as we are working with our bodies and not against them, we can always improve.  Now at the age of 45,  I am fit and active and back doing all the things I love.  I will be forever grateful that I came across the Alexander Technique.  It changed my life and it can change yours.
The traditional way of learning the Alexander Technique is through a series of one-on-one lessons.  During  a lesson I will use my hands to guide you through movement to help you notice what your specific postural, movement and breathing patterns are and teach you how to direct cognitive changes which will lead to muscular release. We practice everyday movements such as sitting, standing and bending but also spend time applying the technique to the pupils own particular needs or interests.  This could include any sporting activity, playing a musical instrument or how to work better in front of a computer, just to name a few.  Part of the lesson will involve lying on your back on a table to explore the possibility of letting go of tension that you may not even be aware of.  

I suggest people wear loose comfortable clothing avoiding skirts and singlets. The only item you will need to remove is your shoes.

To book a lesson please contact me directly on 0402 121 663.

Living Balance

Alexander Technique

Contact us 0402 121 663

 
  • 32 Leist Street, Weston ACT, Australia