It was around 1990, after my second child was born, that I first came to the Alexander Technique, having suffered from back pain for years. It was a revelation to me how every lesson brought a sense of well-being and how emotions and inefficient postural habits are interrelated and one influences the other. I developed habits to survive the stresses of life, we all do it, and some of these habits can be harmful over a long period of time. I learnt how to look after myself effectively, my back pain has virtually disappeared and an unexpected (at the time) by-product of the technique has been that my singing in an amateur choir has become much freer and the sound I produce is fuller.
I had attended lessons for years at the Manchester Alexander Technique Training School (MATTS) whilst I was working as a civil servant. Eventually I decided to give up my day job and apply to study full-time. The 3-year-course at MATTS is supported by the Society of the Teachers of Alexander Technique (STAT) and I am now a member of the society. STAT is the oldest and largest professional society of the teachers of the Technique.
I still regularly attend MATTS to enhance my professional development while looking after the new students.