The Bay Area Alexander Technique (BAAT) was founded to foster a sense of community among teachers who often work in isolation.
By organizing collective efforts, BAAT has expanded outreach initiatives, helping more people experience the benefits of the Alexander Technique. This method of body awareness and re-education improves posture, reduces stress, and enhances movement efficiency.
In an exclusive interview with MysticMag, BAAT shares insights into its mission, success stories, and collaborations with AmSAT to promote awareness and education.
What inspired the establishment of the Bay Area Alexander Technique organization, and how has it evolved over time?
We recognized that teachers tended to work individually and become isolated. We felt the need to organize collectively, build connections, and expand outreach efforts and community involvement.
Can you explain the core principles of the Alexander Technique and how they contribute to improved posture and movement?
Alexander Technique teaches students efficiency and coordination. It helps disengage habits that interfere with natural, easy movement. This can improve posture and balance, ease pain, and reduce impact/stress.
The Alexander Technique is a method of body awareness and re-education and helps to improve overall well-being. It focuses on recognizing harmful habits, reducing unnecessary tension, and promoting balance and ease.
Alexander’s insight was that because vertebrates initiate action from the head, natural alignment of the head and the spine is the most effective way of organizing one’s self. When misalignment becomes habitual, what feels correct may not be. The Alexander teacher offers an objective view and gentle guidance in everyday activities like sitting and standing; the student learns to avoid unconscious habits and replace them with conscious movement and alignment.
How does your organization support and connect Alexander Technique teachers across different regions in the Bay Area?
We host meetings for teachers, students, and the community to meet and mingle, work together, and exchange ideas. There are opportunities for those unfamiliar with the Alexander Technique to work with trained teachers. We are also working to expand outreach projects throughout the Bay Area as a way to increase public awareness.
Could you share a success story where the Alexander Technique significantly improved an individual’s daily life or performance?
- Consistent Alexander practices have helped to partly straighten severe scoliosis.
- A flute player who could no longer play due to shoulder pain is able to play again and was applauded for tremendously improved breath support.
- For a dancer who couldn’t stabilize their rear ankle, when they stopped working so hard and released their leg into length, the ankle was suddenly solid and still.
- A medical professional wasn’t taken seriously by colleagues because they weren’t doctors or nurses. When posture improved, so did poise and presence, and suddenly, they were being treated with respect in the workplace.
- A student asked if I dealt with TMJ. I said I’d worked with it but had no special knowledge. They came for a lesson, and I noticed their arm was incredibly tight; it had been shattered in an accident. It took only a few minutes to guide them to release some of that tension, and the pain in their jaw went away.
- A person living with Parkinson’s Disease not only used the technique to help improve posture and balance but was subsequently able to control hemifacial spasms!
What resources does your Reference Library offer to individuals interested in learning more about the Alexander Technique?
The Reference Library on our website, www.bayareaat.com, provides links to articles on pain management, how the Technique helps musicians, and research studies.
How does the Bay Area Alexander Technique (BAAT) collaborate with the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) to promote awareness and education?
This is an ongoing evolution. We are working with AmSAT to establish a training course and education center in the Bay Area. BAAT is a regional chapter of AmSAT, through which we have non-profit status, allowing us financial flexibility and opportunities to work with other institutions and individuals.
Our language and goals align with AmSAT, and all our teachers are AmSAT qualified. We consider ourselves partners in promoting the Technique and work together to increase Bay Area visibility. Our website links to AmSAT’s for more information and national listings of teachers, articles, and events.
BAAT is run by a Committee of six:
- Bill Olsen
- Dana Ben-Yehuda
- Evelyn Hess
- Galen Cranz
- Jonathan Salzedo
- Lena Hart
Find out more at: www.bayareaat.com
