The Alexander Technique

Rating:
Summary: Simply the best intro to the Alexander Technique!
Review: As an actor and singer, I've had several dozen Alexander Technique lessons over the years, and I learned more from this video than from all the lessons combined! I think a book is the poorest place to start, because you don't get any demonstration the way you do here.

The Alexander Technique is a way of life: to profit from it, you must add awareness of how you use your body to your daily routine. This is what an Alexander teacher will try to teach you in series of lessons. This video, however, makes it EASY to do so because of Jane Kosminsky's incredible explanations and the demonstrations.

As anyone who has had Alexander lessons knows, you may come into a lesson feeling like you were just run over by a truck, and emerge from the lesson feeling weightless, floating instead of walking. A great way to feel, but oh, how elusive!! One difficulty I had as a student was how to get that "just out of an Alexander lesson" feeling without having to go to a lesson. I think this video will help someone accomplish that, particularly with the "self lesson," which no Alexander teacher ever showed me.

I too would love to see a sequel to this video! It deserves way more than the 5 stars I'm giving it!!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful & Excellent
Review: I am a computer person who is about to get disabled due to overworked muscles and bad postures. I tried accupuncture, medication, massage...etc. whatever I could think of, to ease the pain but nothing delievered satisfactory results. This DVD along with "Chi Self Massage" surpassed the all my expectations. The first time I tried the technique I instantly felt the difference and actually felt so much lighter in my neck area. I understand that this is not a quick fix and the technique should be treated and incorporated into your life more like a habbit. You should PRACTISE the theory and technique all the time. But I can guarantee you that you will love to remember what this DVD is teaching, because you feel great. I see myself walking better, sitting better and feeling better. It makes me feel more elegant and graceful too. Also I found myself thinking more positively when I carry my body in the right way. When I have my own kids, I will teach them this technique from early age, so that they can have better postures as a way of life. Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Subtle Technique
Review: I enjoyed watching a non-technical, straight-forward approach that I was able to apply the day after I watched it. Jane Kosminsky & William Hurt have shown what a one-to-one session could be like. How personal it can be even with people who are being very professional, authentic and somewhat playful while being conscious of communicating the method clearly in front of a camera.

Last night, after just watching it, without following along, I was able and eager to apply it today while walking, lifting and bending. The principles of movement ( and pausing to choose ) seem congruent to other subtle, though quite different methods of 'movement with awareness' methods I've tried, such as Feldenkrais, Yoga, Qi Gong & Tai Chi. Perhaps this is why I was able to begin to apply it right away. I have done some reading about the movement and have been wanting to try it for many years. Even another video and a how-to book that illustrates basic steps to take, didn't seem as clear or inspire me to begin trying it out the way this recording did.

Whether it was power of suggestion, or just what applying the technique creates, but I did feel lighter while walking today - when I was focusing on it. It gave me a sense of what I might be able to feel like, more often, as it becomes a habit. And it was fun!

I'll be attending a demonstration workshop and believe this video has improved my understanding and appreciation of the technique that will help me get the most out of it. However I decide to learn it - lessons, on my own, or some combination, I have a practical & valuable tool that will enhance it.

The guided awareness session at the end was too slow to just watch, but I imagine it will be helpful to feel like the teacher's there when I want to practice my self-awareness, but just can't seem to motivate myself to do this slow work on my own.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that it didn't 'knock my socks off' like a film that I'm hoping to get on DVD, called "Rivers & Tides". It's an amazingly done ( both music and cinematography ) documentary-type film about the artwork by a remarkable artist named Andy Goldsworthy, that's more like a story with a very Zen-like feel. Since it's currently my favorite film, the 4-star rating I gave the Alexander video is definitely not due to any criticism, simply an unfair comparison to a completely different genre.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful with neck and back pain...
Review: I have suffered with neck and back pain for a few years. Before my injury my posture was outstanding. I developed a slouch after I was injured because I got used to resting the weight of my upper body on my leaning elbows because the pressure of being upright hurt so badly. Now that a few years have passed and my back and neck muscles have become stronger, I have retained the habit of slouching. I decided to see if this would relieve some of the additional pain I felt. The technique is quite easy to master but the difficulty lies in breaking old habits like slouching. It really helped me a lot, especially with the neck pain. I would recommend this for anyone suffering medium to mild back pain. If your pain is so severe you have trouble with everyday tasks or functioning I highly recommend the "The Back Pain Book", get an electric massager with a long enough handle to massage the muscle spasms away and also floating in a swimming pool (get a cheap membership at the YMCA!) will relieve the pressure causing the pain. Other items I found helpful in my recovery are "The Back Pain Book: A Self-Help Guide for Daily Relief of Neck & Back Pain"
by Mike Hage, Robert G. Addison, "AM Yoga" with Rodney Yee and "Stress Relief Yoga" with Suzanne Deason.

Rating:
Summary: Subtle, and especially helpful if you've already had lessons
Review: I watched the Kosminsky portion of the DVD before my first lessons with a live teacher. Although I found that the DVD provides some helpful introductory material, I was also confused by some of Kosminsky's instructions. For example, to let the shoulders "float" over the ribcage, as she instructed, I wasn't quite sure what to do. However, I re-watched the DVD after a few lessons with a live teacher (whom I selected after trying two different teachers) and found that the DVD instructions made much more sense and provided some helpful reinforcement. In fact, I was a bit sorry I had seen the DVD before attending the first live lesson, as I went into that live lesson with an expectation that might have made the teacher's job and mine a bit more difficult, especially as the work is very subtle. My suggestion, therefore, is that you may find this DVD most helpful AFTER you have taken at least a few lessons, or perhaps as a resource if you do not have access to a qualified teacher. At the end of their portion of the DVD, both Kosminsky and Hurt stress the importance of seeing a live teacher and, even with my own limited experience, the importance of this is clear to me as well.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic but please go for lessons with a teacher as well.
Review: My library of Alexander related books pretty much includes everything in print including all FM Alexander's original books and I have been a student for a number of years yet this really stands out.

Perhaps its the advantage of the medium (video vs book) or perhaps Jane is just a particularly skilled educator. I think it is perhaps a mixture of the two as I do have other videos which I havent found anywhere near as useful as this.

I think Jane has gone as far as possible to explain the technique without actually being there in the room with you and being your teacher.

Many videos bypass this potentially difficult area and avoid the "how" bit and are really just introductions giving you enough detail to decide whether you want to contact a teacher - this is perfectly understandable given the nature of the subject but Jane has taken a risk here I think she has managed to achieve the very difficult balance between reaching a wide audience and the responsibility of an educator.

I cant recommend this enough.

I would add...

I feel this DVD is absolutely fantastic !!! If I could give 6 stars I would .

I can see why one reviewer said this DVD is worth many books - I am not saying I would give up my entire library of books for this one DVD, but it comes quite close !!

Jane's video is the nearest thing I have seen to something which could either reduce the number of lessons you require or perhaps help someone who has had lessons but has lapsed. Even if your teacher is fantastic I would still say Jane may have something for you here in this video.

I believe a total beginer should still seek 1-1 lessons ( at least 10 and preferably 30 or more ). If you live at the North Pole or something then perhaps you should proceed alone with the help of this DVD (be careful to really listen) but for anyone else I would say that an attempt at "self teach" even with this DVD is an unwise choice unless you really dont have an alternative. It took FM Alexander 9 years to work this all out for himself - a teacher can help you make the journey in weeks.

Rating:
Summary: Not much content...
Review: There's really not much in this DVD. It consists of two parts, a lesson in the basics of the Alexander Technique and a lesson concentrating on using the Alexander Technique to help with back problems.

There's a lot of talking and not a whole lot of doing on this DVD. Apparently this is part of the "Technique", but I found it boring. There is also a ton of overlap between the two parts...I found it slow even when I watched it in fast forward. I found the part where she corrects some student in his posture when he eats soup highly amusing, though. Who eats soup so often that it causes chronic back pain?

I know there's all this talk about how you can't learn the Alexander Technique by yourself and how you must go pay for expensive lessons. That has always sounded like a scam to me and I was hoping that this DVD would teach me the basics without having to plunk down the bucks for lessons...Perhaps it did, but if this DVD is what the Alexander Technique is all about, then there's not much there. I think I can sum it up in one sentence: "Keep your head balanced above your shoulders at all times."

Rating:
Summary: Not much content...
Review: There's really not much in this DVD. It consists of two parts, a lesson in the basics of the Alexander Technique and a lesson concentrating on using the Alexander Technique to help with back problems.

There's a lot of talking and not a whole lot of doing on this DVD. Apparently this is part of the "Technique", but I found it boring. There is also a ton of overlap between the two parts...I found it slow even when I watched it in fast forward. I found the part where she corrects some student in his posture when he eats soup highly amusing, though. Who eats soup so often that it causes chronic back pain?

I know there's all this talk about how you can't learn the Alexander Technique by yourself and how you must go pay for expensive lessons. That has always sounded like a scam to me and I was hoping that this DVD would teach me the basics without having to plunk down the bucks for lessons...Perhaps it did, but if this DVD is what the Alexander Technique is all about, then there's not much there. I think I can sum it up in one sentence: "Keep your head balanced above your shoulders at all times."

Rating:
Summary: A Great Place to Start
Review: This is an excellent video that gives you theory, and techniques to start using the Alexander method. It's practical and enjoyable to watch with ample humor added in.
My only question is, where is the Second Lesson?

Rating:
Summary: Free Movement
Review: This video is a terrific introduction to the Alexander Technique. I found it helped me understand my body's anatomy in a way that I never had before, and the manner in which they show you how to move and think about how you are moving was a real revelation for me. The Technique has improved my once rounded-shoulder posture enormously, and I find I have much less trouble with back pain. Since I bought the video I have had some private Alexander Technique instruction, but I find that I still refer back to the video as a sort-of "refresher course"--in particular the self lesson demonstrated, which is very useful.