MysticMag has the pleasure of working with Dana Ben-Yehuda, a Certified Alexander Technique teacher, M.AmSAT, with over 20 years of private practice in Mountain View, California. Trained in both the U.S. and Israel, she has worked with individuals facing a range of physical challenges, including musicians and dancers, to help them overcome tension and stress patterns. Dana has been featured in numerous publications and served as Media Spokesperson for the American Society for the Alexander Technique. She is passionate about empowering people to live pain-free with grace and ease. Since 2002, Dana Ben-Yehuda has been an AmSAT-certified Alexander Technique teacher, complemented by her training in Reconnective Healing in 2013, with advanced seminars completed in 2024.
Dana, how did you first discover Alexander Technique, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?
I first heard of Alexander Technique while at a professional theater school in Los Angeles. A couple of years later, I was introduced to a teacher and had my first lesson. I felt like I was floating as I walked around afterwards. Amazing! I joined the teacher training course a year later because I loved the way the work feels. Honestly, it was a natural progression to share it with others. My training was interrupted for some time when I took a break to raise a family.
The inspiration to finish training and teach came later, as a sudden realization during a dance lesson. I was poised on my feet preparing to move when my teacher said, “nose over toes” and later told me to “carry your head through space.” My body responded instantly; I could feel my head weight precisely. I flashed on the connection with the incredible freedom of the Alexander Technique and its focus on the head and spine in movement. I was inspired to become a teacher and share this incredible work with dancers.
How has your background in theater and music influenced your approach to teaching Alexander Technique?
My experience in the arts means I can relate to the important issues from the inside. I trained and worked in theater and film and studied music. I’m also an avid Tango dancer and competed in Ballroom dance.
Dancers often use too much muscular effort and tension. Through Alexander Technique they gain body awareness and tools for freedom, lightness in movement and control without tension.
It is astonishing how many musicians are in pain. For example, violinists can discover freedom from neck tension. Freeing their arms from shoulder pain enables full expression. Singers free their breath and release throat/ neck and body tension. Actors improve body awareness to express character and emotion in an integrated way.
Interestingly, a study on stage fright with musicians and Alexander Technique showed musicians were able to stop taking beta blockers before performance.
Can you explain how Alexander Technique differs from other mind-body practices in terms of its approach to managing stress and improving posture?
T. Harv Eker said “consciousness is living from choice in the present, in the moment, vs living from programming and habit from the past.”
Alexander Technique is also about consciousness. The work is quieting to the nervous system and creates a moment when we pause, or stop, rather than moving by unconscious habits. It empowers you to make conscious choices moment by moment both mentally and physically. Posture is retrained by releasing old habits and bringing forth the natural uprightness that is our birthright but has been covered up by patterns of compression and tightness.
How do Alexander Technique and Reconnective Healing complement each other in your practice, and what unique benefits does each offer to your clients?
Sometimes it is useful to approach more from the physical side and at other times energy work is better – in fact I’ve even had people switch from Alexander Technique to Reconnective Healing.
Alexander Technique is a beautiful skill that teaches you a skill to coordinate yourself in activity. It’s about the connection between thought and muscular activity. It produces beautiful posture without tensing up to hold yourself there. It gives a sense of ease and being comfortable in your own skin. It is a hands-on, educational process that empowers you to take care of yourself.
Reconnective Healing is non-touch healing energy work. It is Light, Energy and Information that reconnects us to the essence of who we are, and the healing can take many forms. It can be done in person or via distance healing. People receiving the frequencies of Reconnective Healing say they have a sense of peace, some see light and colors, and almost universally tell me it is very relaxing. While there can be no promises or guarantees, some have had remarkable results.
One client reported changes after a series of Reconnective Healing sessions:
“Everything is moving in the right direction. Shoulders wider. More upright and neck longer and hips seem much looser. Perhaps most notable, a huge increase in rib mobility on my right side. It feels like there’s been a big improvement.” He added, “I have no idea how Reconnective Healing works. But it does.”
Another reported:
“Oh wow it was lovely. I felt my head opening up and all the worries and fear drifting away and replaced with just a warm loving peace. All these circles of light doing like a deep cleansing. My allergies were bothering me a lot now my inflamed nose feels like it is so much better. Thank you!”
The Reconnection utilizes the same frequencies as Reconnective Healing. It is different in that it’s a once in a lifetime process that accelerates your life path. It is done by a very precise application of the frequencies with the meridians and energy points in your body. It reconnects you to the energetic lines of earth and out to the energy lines of the planets and stars. My personal experience of my own Reconnection was profound, incredibly healing and expansive in my life.
How does Alexander Technique help individuals become more aware of their habitual patterns, and what are some common patterns you observe in your students?
The first step is awareness! Therefore, in the first lesson I observe my students in simple activities, walking, sitting at a desk, perhaps playing a musical instrument or singing. I notice patterns that may be connected with the problem they’re experiencing and share this information with them. Then we begin the work. People generally notice changes within a couple of sessions.
Body habits can be like refrigerator noise, we become oblivious to them. If you’re curious to discover your own patterns, try having someone video you. If you see these patterns, you are potentially living with poor habits that may impact aging, your health, and pain:
Neck is poked or dropped forward.
Muscular patterns are out of balance; often people are using their backs instead of their legs but don’t realize it.
Stiffening muscles to hold posture.
Pulling the head back and down into the neck and shoulders “turtling in.”
Hips slouched and perhaps locked forward, body slumped, head forward.
The head is extremely heavy – try carrying a bowling ball around a few inches ahead of your body and you’ll understand why this matters!
I love helping people out of pain and into freedom.
Contact Dana for a free call to discover how she can help you!
Dana’s websites:
Alexander Technique: https://alexandertechniquestudio.org/
Check out her Blog https://appliedalexandertechnique.com/
And for dancers, Dance Without Limits: https://dancewithoutlimits.us/
