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Alexander Technique lessons:

One-on-one private lessons/lessons at companies/lessons for kids by Alexandra Mazek, STAT-certified Alexander Technique teacher Contact: mazek@chello.at

portrait von Alexandra Mazek
Foto: © Johannes Siglär

I’m based in Vienna and I’ve been working as a full-time Alexander Technique teacher since 1999, including work as an assistant at the Vienna Training Centre for Alexander Technique (WAAT).

Are you suffering from stress? Do you have pain or tense muscles that limit your mobility? Are you feeling tired and don’t know why? Do you feel that you’re not living to your full potential? Do you wish you were more relaxed?

There’s something you can do about it!

What my clients say:

“We’ve been working with Alexandra Mazek for six years now, as part of our occupational health services, and the collaboration has always been very positive and constructive. The results speak for themselves: We continue to see strong interest in the Alexander Technique among our employees.”
Marion Hoffman, Quality Manager at the LKH Hainburg hospital

“I’m learning to relax muscles I didn’t even know existed, and that feels great.”
Emile Schenk, Projekt Manager

“For the first time in years, I can feel my body lengthening and standing tall again.”
Dr. M. Walder, physician

“Since I started taking Alexander Technique lessons, I’ve become much more aware of my spine and I’m feeling much more relaxed now when I’m walking, lifting things, and sitting down.”
Martina S., white-collar worker

You can contact me at:
mazek@chello.at / 0699 14079822

A.M. im Ausbildungszentrum für AT Lehrer_innen (WAAT), am Boden kniend, hebt den Arm einer liegenden Person, im Hintergrund andere Person
WAAT
Logos von Landesklinikum Hainburg, Fonds Gesundes Österreich und Amadeus School Vienna

Alexander Technique lessons

Letting go of old habits

I’ll guide you through simple, everyday movements. In this process, you’ll become familiar with your responses and movement patterns. You’ll make the pleasant experience of how light you feel when habitual responses and routine behaviour are replaced by a better coordination of mind and body.

Step by step

Step by step, you’ll become familiar with the basic principles of the technique until you are able to apply them yourself.

How many lessons?

How many lessons you need depends on your individual situation and your goals. Learning the Alexander Technique means changing old, deeply ingrained habits. This means that your active participation is required. A course of 20 to 30 lessons can provide a good basis for most people. The standard price is 40 euros for 40 minutes (discounts are available for kids and if you buy a 5-lesson package).

Everyday routine before
Everyday routine after
" You can turn at any instant. That is the beauty of oppertunity ... The oppertunity is every instant of time. "
P. Rajagopalachari

Alexandra Mazek

My own personal stumbling block

Why look for change if everything is fine? I was living my dream: working with farmers in Nepal, far away from roads and electricity, collecting material for my PhD thesis on arable plants. After completing my thesis, I had the opportunity to work in a management position in a development project. But then something completely unexpected happened: I developed dystonia (a neurological condition that causes muscle spasms), which caused me to lose my voice. I held on to my dream for some more years and kept on working regardless of my condition, but inside I knew that I had to change my life in a fundamental way.

A new start

Eight years later, I found my way back to school. But it was a school without any desks, where I spent three very rewarding years in training to become a teacher of the Alexander Technique. I had immediately realized that this was the right way for me after taking my first one-on-one Alexander Technique lesson in London. I felt secure and self-assured – a feeling that I’d lost without knowing it. I wanted to find out what this change was all about and how I could trigger and nurture change in myself and in others.

Getting in touch with yourself

My clients come to me because they have run into some kind of problem – just like I did. In many cases, that’s the start of an exciting process during which they learn to become more aware of themselves and get to know themselves better.

Qualifications

STAT-certified Alexander Technique teacher: In 1999, I completed an internationally recognised three-year training course for teachers of the Alexander Technique (1600 hours) run by the STAT (Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique), which qualifies me to teach the Alexander Technique. I’m an active member of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT).

Further qualifications

Continuing to develop my skills and knowledge is very important to me. I’ve completed a post-graduate training course at the Alexander Educational Center in Berkeley, California, and I’ve had the privilege of attending seminars held by some of the most experienced Alexander Technique teachers worldwide. My yoga practice and regular retreats help me to find balance and joy in my life, which is essential for my teaching.

Alexandra in Nepal, auf den Stiegen zu einer Hütte aus Stroh sitzend, an deren Front das Logo der NGO Öko-Himal hängt.
Alexandra in Nepal
betitelt “sitzen” zeigt A. M. wie sie einen sitzenden Mann auf seinen Sitzbeinknochen nach vorne kippen lässt, sein Rumpf ist dabei locker aufgerichtet.
alexander technique seating
betitelt „Alexander-Technik Unterricht im Liegen“, zeigt A.M. mit den Händen auf den Schultern einer am Rücken liegenden Frau.
alexander technique lying
Logo von STAT, der Society of Teachers of the Alexander-Technique
Logo der STAT
Weiterbildung bei Giora Pinkas, zeigt Alexandra Mazek mit einer Gruppe von 9 anderen Menschen, teils stehend, teils sitzen, alle nach vorne gewandt.
Course at Giora Pinkas

F. M. Alexander’s Discovery

Voice problems threaten Alexander’s dream

Frederic Matthias Alexander’s dream was to become a successful actor and reciter, but he suffered from problems with his voice that led to chronic hoarseness on the stage and threatened his career.

Willpower is not enough (to change old habits)

He began to watch himself in a mirror and discovered a particular pattern of movements, which intensified whenever he recited. The most conspicuous finding was that he kept drawing his head backwards. He came to the conclusion that this pattern was connected to his hoarseness, but he also realised that he could not change it deliberately. Every time he started to talk, he fell back into his habit.

Change through inhibition and reorientation

Finally he found out that he had to withhold (inhibit) his immediate response between the impulse to speak and the actual activity of speaking. This gave him time to improve his orientation in space. And he realised, above all, that he was able to control his entire muscular apparatus indirectly by controlling the relationship between the head, neck and back.

Healing

This process of self-healing and developing awareness lasted ten years. Not only did it free Alexander from his vocal disorders, but it also improved his overall health. Alexander continued to develop and refine his technique for the rest of his life.

F.M. Alexander
F.M. Alexander Teaches
Primarycontroll
"It is all so simple: the snow falls on the bamboo leaf, which gently bends under its weight: at a certain moment the snow slips to the ground without the leaf itself having stirred."
Eugen Herrigel "Zen in the Art of Archery"

Like snow from a bamboo leaf

End-gaining

100 years ago, Alexander already diagnosed a disease of our time, which he called end-gaining: the habit of working towards an intended state, a purpose, without thinking of the “means-whereby”, the way we get there.

Writing beautifully and calculating quickly, no matter how?

By the time we reach school age, most of us learn that the only thing that matters is the end result and that the process leading there is but a cumbersome necessity. We’re told to “write beautifully”, no matter how much we tense up in the process, or to “calculate quickly”, etc.

We’re taught to always think two steps ahead in everything we do. Our thoughts are racing, we lose coordination in our thinking and in our movements, and our breath becomes rushed.

Poise

What a big difference it is to watch people who are still in touch with themselves and their environment, and to observe the natural grace they show in their everyday activities – everything at its time, each movement embedded into a rhythm.
The Alexander Technique can bring back a measure of poise into your life and restore the joy that comes from opening up anew to each moment.

Who is it for?

The Alexander Technique can help you:

  • If you suffer from stress
  • If you suffer from problems caused by bad posture, e.g. back pain, tension in the neck and shoulders, muscle and joint pain, breathing problems, etc. The Alexander Technique can help you to mitigate, overcome or avoid these problems.
  • If you’re recovering from an operation, injury or illness
  • If you’re an artist: Many performing artists find that the Alexander Technique can help them to fully develop their power of expression and to deal with stage fright.
  • If you’re an athlete: If you’re into sports, the Alexander Technique can help you to improve your flexibility and efficiency and to avoid injuries.
  • It’s for all ages: The Alexander Technique can be beneficial for people of all ages and allow them to discover a whole new dimension of well-being and creativity.

With the Alexander Technique, you learn how to use your thoughts to reorient your body in space. You also learn to better control your thoughts, which will have positive effects on your mind and body.

betitelt „Musiker“, A. M. steht neben einem sitzenden Mann mit Gitarre, eine Hand auf der Stirn des Mannes.
Artist
betitelt „Haltungsprobleme“ zeigt A. M. neben einer Frau in weißer Arbeitsuniform, eine Hand am Nacken der Frau.
Posture
betitelt „Kinder mit Skelett“, zeigt 4 Kinder im Volksschulalter in Schuluniformen, die ein Skelett betrachten, daneben ein braunes Poster mit einem von Kindern gemalten Skelettbild.
Children

Alexander Technique for business

Healthy employees – higher satisfaction – more efficiency

Well-being at the workplace
Our training program for companies is designed to improve employee well-being at the workplace. The training sessions are held directly at the place of work so that employees can immediately put into practice what they have learned.

Beginning is easy

Alexander Technique for kids

In today’s world, many kids don’t have a carefree childhood anymore. As a result, many children suffer from concentration problems, muscle tension, headaches, stomach aches and sleep disorders. One of the main things our kids are taught is to spend hours and hours and hours sitting down.

But movement is essential for developing a healthy spine and strong postural muscles. In today’s world, many children are not spending enough time moving their bodies.

The Alexander Technique can help children to get to know themselves better, to experience the connection between their minds and bodies and to enjoy learning new things and moving their bodies.

Pilot project at a school

Together with a team of Alexander Technique teachers, I carried out a pilot project to teach the Alexander Technique to schoolchildren at Vienna’s Sacre Coeur primary school in the academic year 2004/2005. The project was entitled “Aller Anfang ist leicht” (“Beginning is easy”) and received government co-funding by the Fonds Gesundes Österreich. For three months, a team of Alexander Technique teachers taught ten sessions of 1.5 to 2 hours to first- and third-grade students.

The teachers and after-school educators also received Alexander Technique lessons, and sessions and parent-child workshops were offered to get the parents involved.

Goal

Encouraging positive posture habits in schoolchildren and getting teachers and parents involved.

As soon as the kids and their teachers realize that there are ways for them to control the way they feel, they are in a position to develop a healthy relationship with themselves in the long term.

betitelt „schreiben“ zeigt ein Mädchen im Volksschulalter, das Kreise auf eine Tafel malt, mit einer AT Lehrerin, die ihren Arm führt.
Writing
: „In Balance sein“ zeigt ein Mädchen im Volksschulalter, das auf einem Holzbrett, welches auf einem Zylinder liegt, balanciert.
Balancing
„Balancespiele“ zeigt ein Mädchen im Volksschulalter auf einer roten Scheibe balancieren.
Balancing
betitelt „Aller Anfang ist leicht“ ist eine Kinderzeichnung mit einem kleinen Mädchen, lachend, mit ausgestreckten Armen und leicht nach links verschobenem Kopf.
Beginning ist easy

Results of the pilot project:

  • Pain caused by bad posture, like headaches and back, neck, shoulder and wrist pain, improved or disappeared in 80% of the third-grade students.
  • We optimized the kids’ physical work environment (chair and desk height) and we encouraged them to read and write on a slanted surface, which 81% of the kids found to be more comfortable than a flat desk.
  • High levels of acceptance: 83% of the first-grade students and 91% of the third-grade students enjoyed the Alexander Technique lessons, and 84% of all the kids said they would like to continue the lessons.
  • All kids responded positively to one-on-one work, which is one of the main formats of instruction in the Alexander Technique. We also received positive feedback from the parents and teachers.
  • The project demonstrated that regular lessons at schools can be offered at affordable rates.
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