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Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique

Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique

  • Downloads：6441
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-23 09:55:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Michael J. Gelb
  • ISBN：1854109596
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews

John Kairis ，

I highly recommend the Alexander Technique to any artists， musicians， athletes， or anyone struggling with bodily tension。 A semester of classes has been more enough to interest me in much deeper study。 The knowledge gained， and the increased awareness of how much there still is to learn， has been very valuable。

Ray Anderson ，

Excellent。 This is a complete introduction and explanation of Alexander Technique。 Highly recommended for anyone interested in the man and his discoveries。

Maria ，

Unexpectedly applicable to more than performance。 Excellent written resource for AT students。

Maggie Cox ，

I really liked this book and liked my Alexander Technique course。 I think the book is tremendously responsible in refusing to give any "at home" ways to practice AT - instead， insisting that everyone get private lessons。 I really liked the final chapters of the book where the author references Taoist readings - especially one quote that says "quality， the result， is a function of quality， the process" I really liked this book and liked my Alexander Technique course。 I think the book is tremendously responsible in refusing to give any "at home" ways to practice AT - instead， insisting that everyone get private lessons。 I really liked the final chapters of the book where the author references Taoist readings - especially one quote that says "quality， the result， is a function of quality， the process" 。。。more

Cat ，

I wish I could give this a 0/5Pseudoscientific， lo key racist （other-ing of cultures， esp those of east Asia） and very myopic book。Written without proper references， quotation， or （it seems） any notion of literary integrity。 Reads like a pompous 11th grader （who really hates english but loves PE）'s essay。Do yourself a favour; remove this book from your curriculum。 Don't read it。 You'll lose braincells。 You'll make your students lose braincells and waste a good chunk of their tuition。 There are M I wish I could give this a 0/5Pseudoscientific， lo key racist （other-ing of cultures， esp those of east Asia） and very myopic book。Written without proper references， quotation， or （it seems） any notion of literary integrity。 Reads like a pompous 11th grader （who really hates english but loves PE）'s essay。Do yourself a favour; remove this book from your curriculum。 Don't read it。 You'll lose braincells。 You'll make your students lose braincells and waste a good chunk of their tuition。 There are MUCH better， in-depth， comprehensive， researched， updated titles and texts to build an Alexander Technique class around。 。。。more

Tilopa ，

Un guide pour le développement des vertus léonardiennes du maintien， de la présence et de la grâce。

Meg ，

A former student who went on to study acting in college recommended the Alexander Technique to me， so I bought this book。 After reading the whole book， I’ve learned that the Alexander technique isn’t really something you can teach yourself; rather， you need to take lessons with a teacher specifically trained in the Alexander technique。 🤷🏼‍♀️ Oh well。 The book was a bit dry， but I read a few pages every night before bed and it put me to sleep， so that’s a good thing。

Lewis ，

Enlightening。

Darina ，

Not very practical （except maybe the last chapter） but engaging in other more philosophical ways。 I found particularly interesting the concepts of inhibition， deliberate direction and the means-whereby。

Kaila Tacazon ，

Helpful and Easy to read。 Of course the actual class in Alexander Technique is better， but the book cements concepts we learn。

Celeste ，

This is a great introduction to the Alexander Technique， including its history， what it is （and isn't）， and different ways its study can improve one's life。 But what it mostly effectively is is a sales pitch — a good one， but not itself much in the way of instruction， as it really needs to be taught directly by an Alexander-certified teacher。 That's something I would love to try， especially after reading this， but don't currently have access to （geographically or financially）。 Four stars because This is a great introduction to the Alexander Technique， including its history， what it is （and isn't）， and different ways its study can improve one's life。 But what it mostly effectively is is a sales pitch — a good one， but not itself much in the way of instruction， as it really needs to be taught directly by an Alexander-certified teacher。 That's something I would love to try， especially after reading this， but don't currently have access to （geographically or financially）。 Four stars because it is exactly what it purports to be， and is very easily readable， but loses a star for only being so helpful。 。。。more

Caroline Rosenblum ，

Insightful， but a tad too repetitive at times。

Woody Hayday ，

Along the path I started to separate body and mind， and basically operate entirely from mind。 This lead to Burnout， back pain， neck ache and many other symptoms。 Much of this ultimately developed due to my incorrect perception of mind and body distinct from one another。In seeking to recover I have explored this dislocation， and can thoroughly recommend this book， read alongside Alexander Technique lessons， as part of a solution。 Each of us will bring different particulars that 'need work'， but A Along the path I started to separate body and mind， and basically operate entirely from mind。 This lead to Burnout， back pain， neck ache and many other symptoms。 Much of this ultimately developed due to my incorrect perception of mind and body distinct from one another。In seeking to recover I have explored this dislocation， and can thoroughly recommend this book， read alongside Alexander Technique lessons， as part of a solution。 Each of us will bring different particulars that 'need work'， but AT is rare in that， if you're keen to develop， you will benefit。 It is as valuable as meditation has been in my healing。 This book is a pleasure to read alongside lessons， and goes into just enough detail in a broad spectrum of aspects to inform and teach。 Quotes from the likes of Huxley， Emerson， and mentions of C G Jung make me all the more enthusiastic to reread。 A gem。Woody Hayday 。。。more

Asha Francis ，

It was an interesting book， intriguing but because I have never taken a class in the technique was like reading a really long advertisement。 It worked！ Not sure their are any practitioners in Barbados though。 There were some points raised especially in the reflections after the end of the Chapter that were useful for me to ruminate on and in general I think I would benefit from simply observing myself and other and from stopping myself from responding to stimuli in ingrained ways。

Justin ，

Not much actionable here。 Mostly encourages you to see a professional

Colleen ，

Great overview about the Alexander Technique

Bett Correa-Bollhoefer ，

This is an excellent intro to Alexander technique。

Anthony ，

As a Soldier， athlete， father， writer， student， and active human being， I'm always looking for ways to get the most out of my time， my body， and my mind。This technique is one that I've applied in all aspects of my life and this book provides a solid introduction to it。 As a Soldier， athlete， father， writer， student， and active human being， I'm always looking for ways to get the most out of my time， my body， and my mind。This technique is one that I've applied in all aspects of my life and this book provides a solid introduction to it。 。。。more

culley ，

I think of the Alexander Technique as a holistic， Western method for opening yourself up to the Taoist notion of Wu Wei， or the psychological notion of Flow。 It can aid and compliment other systems and beliefs， and it is a concrete tool to help us live up to our full potential， physically and mentally。 I have just barely dipped my toes into this practice and already I have begun to break from my habitual postures of mind and body I find myself more susceptible to grace and even compassion。 The e I think of the Alexander Technique as a holistic， Western method for opening yourself up to the Taoist notion of Wu Wei， or the psychological notion of Flow。 It can aid and compliment other systems and beliefs， and it is a concrete tool to help us live up to our full potential， physically and mentally。 I have just barely dipped my toes into this practice and already I have begun to break from my habitual postures of mind and body I find myself more susceptible to grace and even compassion。 The experience has been profound and uncanny。 Obviously not everyone is going to be inclined to get into this stuff。。。。 but if you have a lot of chronic pain or if you are having trouble developing some skill or practice elsewhere in your life or career， or even if you just want to change some habits， the Alexander Technique is a groovy way to go about your healing and development。 Want to learn to sing？ Roller skate backwards？ Quit smoking？ Speed read？ Paint？ Speak a new language？ It helps you do or learn whatever it is that you want to do or learn。 This book isn't going to be very meaningful without private lessons。 。。。more

Marlane Barnes ，

A wonderful companion to the class itself。

Kira ，

A great introduction， this book serves to open your mind to the condition you are in。 I can fully understand that one would need Alexander lessons from a trained professional in order to really learn the techniques and the correct Use of their body。 This book was great for giving an idea of what the Alexander Technique is， and for simple awareness of one's own body。 A great introduction， this book serves to open your mind to the condition you are in。 I can fully understand that one would need Alexander lessons from a trained professional in order to really learn the techniques and the correct Use of their body。 This book was great for giving an idea of what the Alexander Technique is， and for simple awareness of one's own body。 。。。more

Nick ，

Dry reading， but very helpful in learning about body awareness。

Carmen ，

Good theoretical teachings of the Alexander Technique。 To truly learn the technique， I would recommend a trained professional。。。 sometimes it is not really possible to know how to truly repair the posture and body without assistance。

Deena ，

This is an excellent introduction to Alexander Technique。 Very easy read， totally understandable。

Aliza ，

Very basic introduction to the Alexander Technique。

Sam ，

A great and accessible intro to the technique。 Awesome stuff！

Hunter ，

Just starting my first class in Alexander Technique， so can't profess to know how thorough or insightful Gelb's book is， but it's answered a lot of questions about where the Technique came from， what it is， and （perhaps most importantly） what it is not。 Intriguing anecdotes and some inspiring possibilities arise throughout。 Excited to see what I might discover of myself through class this fall。 Just starting my first class in Alexander Technique， so can't profess to know how thorough or insightful Gelb's book is， but it's answered a lot of questions about where the Technique came from， what it is， and （perhaps most importantly） what it is not。 Intriguing anecdotes and some inspiring possibilities arise throughout。 Excited to see what I might discover of myself through class this fall。 。。。more

Ian ，

Best book written about the Alexander Technique。 Besides being good， having excellent photographs， the language is very readable。

Kim ，

This is a good introduction to the Alexander technique， which stresses efficiency of motion and is especially useful for musicians， actors and people with repetitive stress injuries。 After reading this book you'll see movement differently。 This is a good introduction to the Alexander technique， which stresses efficiency of motion and is especially useful for musicians， actors and people with repetitive stress injuries。 After reading this book you'll see movement differently。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0