Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Alexander Technique

Saw my opthalmologist the other day. He recommended trying this for my AS. Anyone tried it? Any opinions on it's value?

sonja has talked about it, and i think i remember her talking about missing it when she wasn't able to go for a while. you might want to look at her posts. i've thought i should give it a try, i've heard nothing but good things about it.

I want to try it but there aren't any teachers in my area. Yeah, Sonja Z and I have posted back and forth about it. I think the Alexander Technique would be good for anyone with or without AS.

Craig

Sounds like a good idea to try it wont do you any harm and anything that benefits you is good.

Kevin

Hi there, here's a link:

Alexander Technique

Just to get you more info. We learned a bit about this technique in theatre school and I remember liking it a great deal. Hope it helps.

Hugs,

I've had 3 lessons so far, after a recommendation from the same source. My first lesson was a little on the weird side, felt very complementary-therapy-ish but my goodness did I sleep well for a few nights after that! And that in itself is reason enough for me to keep exploring this... the teacher was pricey though, but then again this is also London.

I've since (more recently) had two lessons with another teacher. I still can't really explain the technique, but I do find it relaxing and it certainly makes me a lot more aware of my posture. I've not yet got into a regular routine with this, although will try to do so as I think it will make a big difference (I tend to carry tension in my shoulders which get all hunched up - working at a computer all day every day probably doesn't help either...)

The website http://www.stat.org.uk/ should be able to help you find out if there is a teacher in your area...

thanks for this post, though i've seen it discussed before (sonja and craig), for some reason tonight i finally searched on the internet, found this site:

http://www.alexandertech.org/

and just emailed the one person in my area to see if she is taking people.

as others have said, can't hurt. i'll try just about anything (that sounds reasonable) at least once. and you never know what will work unless you try.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Found someone near me and got my first appointment in a couple of weeks. Let you know how things go. I'm generally quite suspicious of complementary therapy. Being a scientist I always want to see proof something works, although I accept that if someone really believes in something, the placebo effect in itself can work wonders for some conditions.
Having said that, Prof Ayliffe did say that it doesn't work the way they claim it does, but does seem to be benficial and I respect his opinion. I am so glad I bit the bullet and went private to see him.

I agree with you about being a bit suspicious of complementary therapy. This specific teacher that I went to for my first lesson was however definitely into those kinds of things, and as I wasn't that comfortable with her I changed teachers. Keep an open mind and see how it goes...

Did Prof A say anything about how it does work in that case??

No, he didn't tell me much detail about how it works other than it encourages better posture, rather than stooping forward.