Lauren Hill’s journey from chronic pain sufferer to Alexander Technique teacher is a testament to the profound impact this mind-body approach can have on one’s life. After years of searching for relief from debilitating neck, shoulder, and back pain, Lauren discovered the Alexander Technique—a method that not only alleviated her physical discomfort but also opened her eyes to the intricate connection between her mind, body, and emotions. Driven by a desire to deepen her understanding and share these insights with others, Lauren became a dedicated teacher. In this interview, she shares her insights on the core principles of the Alexander Technique, its benefits, and how it has enriched her life both professionally and personally.
How did your personal journey with chronic pain and the Alexander Technique influence your decision to become a teacher?
I started studying with an Alexander teacher at age 25, six years after the onset of my chronic neck, shoulder, and upper back pain at age 19. I took Alexander lessons for five years before taking the leap to train to teach others. What I learned during those years helped me to feel better physically. However, what was more important was what I learned about the connection between my mind, body, and emotions—and how I could exercise more control over myself to feel better. It was fascinating and I was hungry to learn more. It’s said that to truly understand something you have to teach it to someone else. I became a teacher primarily to understand the Technique better for myself. Secondarily I wanted to work to make the Technique more understandable to the general public and hopefully more widely known—because even after 125 years most people have still not heard of it.
What core principles of the Alexander Technique do you emphasize most in your teaching?
Number one is definitely slowing down and taking time. Studying the Alexander Technique will help you develop skills to tackle your habits that are getting in your way, causing or contributing to pain or keeping you from performing to your potential. But to truly see your habits you have to slow down below the speed of habit. That’s very hard for a lot of folks to do. But once you can slow down a lot can happen.
A good friend and Alexander colleague of mine gave—in my opinion—one of the best interviews about the Alexander Technique on the radio several years ago.
Asked to explain the Alexander Technique she said the Technique helps you learn how to disengage the emergency brake instead of continuing to step on the gas.
When you have a problem, you typically approach it by looking for something to do to fix it—often before you even truly know what the problem is. But have you ever thought about approaching a problem by taking a step back and being curious about what you’re already doing that might be causing or exacerbating the problem? The answer might just be doing less of that, instead of doing more of something new.
So number two is the emphasis on stopping doing the things you are already doing that are getting in the way. Not doing something new. For that reason I sometimes refer to the Alexander Technique as “a technique of subtraction.”
For those unfamiliar with the Alexander Technique, how would you describe its fundamental benefits in simple terms?
The Alexander Technique is associated with helping people alleviate pain and feel more comfortable in their bodies by improving their posture. Unfortunately, too often posture is simply approached as trying to stand up straight and pull your shoulders back.
But it’s not the whole story. And posture is a lot more interesting than that.
There’s another aspect of posture that’s often overlooked—your patterns of tension or what’s also known as postural tone. The Alexander Technique focuses more on teaching you about your patterns of tension than finding some ideal shape to assume.
Your habitual tension patterns are intertwined with things like how you think, react, and focus your attention, as well as your emotions. Ultimately the Alexander Technique will help you approach your posture differently by learning how to harness your mind-body connection.
There are two main reasons that people seek out the Alexander Technique today. The first group are those suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain. Chronic low back pain followed by persistent shoulder and neck tension have been the main reasons people have come to my practice over the past 20 years.
The other group are those who come to get help performing better at a favorite activity, such as theater, music, dance, or athletics; or to simply do their everyday activities with more ease. Many Alexander teachers are also performing artists themselves.
In what ways has teaching the Alexander Technique enriched your life beyond the professional realm?
The Alexander Technique is a true mind-body approach. To teach it you have to live it. Above all it has made me a superb observer of myself. It has helped me problem solve by focusing on what I can do less of instead of doing more. Probably most importantly it has helped me develop a sense of curiosity about myself which encourages me to keep learning and growing as a person. It has helped me understand myself in a much fuller sense than I believe I would without it.
Are there any simple exercises or practices from the Alexander Technique that you recommend people try on their own to improve their posture and reduce tension?
One of the simplest ways to help yourself improve your posture, reduce excess tension, and manage the effects of stress is the Alexander Technique constructive rest practice. Even without any experience with the Technique you can benefit from adopting the rest position described below regularly.
Lie down on a firm surface like a carpet or yoga mat with some paperback books or a yoga block under the back of your head for support. Bend your knees and stand your feet on the floor. Bend your elbows and rest your hands on the front of your body or let your arms rest easily out to the sides, palms up. See if you can just stop and do nothing for a few minutes. Focus on allowing the floor and the stack of books to support you and let gravity help you rest gently on the ground.
Because of the important role your head plays in your posture, the second thing you can do is start paying more attention to where your head is literally some of the time. Most of the day when you’re engaged in an activity you have no sense of what your head is doing. Is it hanging down in front of your body as you text or is it pushed forward toward a computer screen? You have all your attention on the activity you’re doing and no awareness of your body in space. Start by simply asking yourself periodically throughout the day “Where is my head?”
To reach out to Lauren visit:
www.alexanderteachingstudio.com
Lauren’s blog hosts a variety of post with easy explorations of The Alexander Technique:
www.LessEffortMoreEase.com
Keep an eye out on Amazon for her upcoming book What Your Body Wants you to Know: exploring body awareness, posture, and movement with the Alexander Technique due out in early 2025.
