Opera singer and Alexander Technique teacher Laura Parker shares how a moment of curiosity during college led to a life-changing exploration of body awareness, breath, and healing. From overcoming performance anxiety to recovering from a traumatic injury, Laura’s journey reveals the profound power of the Alexander Technique—not just for performers, but for anyone seeking more freedom, balance, and presence in everyday life.
What initially drew you to the Alexander Technique, and how has it impacted your performance as an opera singer?
I am naturally curious, and when I saw a presentation by an Alexander teacher during my freshman year at Boston University, it piqued my interest. After a few moments of Alexander Technique (AT) guidance, the singers working with the teacher seemed so effortless. I took a few lessons in my college and I noticed everything in my body worked together as a whole when singing, as opposed to micromanaging my vocal technique. My sound was fuller and more vibrant; it was more ME. AT also helped me combat my performance anxiety.
When I moved to New York to pursue my singing, I continued studying the technique. Then one day, I was crossing the street and was struck by a car. My neck muscles were so traumatized that I could not sing at all without tremendous pain in my head, neck, and back. Alexander Technique lessons helped me regain my ability to sing and move easily when I felt hopeless. Then, I knew I not only had to keep studying the technique, but someday I would teach it.
Could you elaborate on how Alexander Technique addresses the physical and emotional challenges faced by performers in high-pressure environments?
High-pressure situations often cause a person to go into a startle pattern, which applies to performers and non-performers. When you are startled or stressed, it is like pulling the parking brake on your system: you contract the muscles of your neck to pull your head back and down, causing the entire back to shorten and narrow, restricting freedom of movement throughout your body. When people react habitually with a startle, they often try to combat it by “doing” something, like pulling the shoulders back, lifting the chest, or taking a deep breath. That’s a lot of doing, and it often leads to more tension and anxiety.
In Alexander Technique lessons, you learn to stop and create a space to do less, allowing your neck to be free so your head can release forward and up, and your back can lengthen and widen, and you can let your air out. It takes a lot of trust to say “no” to a habit and take your time to give yourself constructive directions, but the rewarding result is moving from a place of choice, rather than habit. Observing, stopping, and giving new directions provides an instrumentalist with the agency to play a concerto with more musicality, a singer to soar on a high note without straining, and an actor to leave their habits behind to embody a character fully.
This isn’t just for performing artists. Stress is universal, and choice can be as well. The Alexander Technique can be used to put dishes away without back pain, give a presentation at work with confidence, own your width in an airplane middle seat, or breathe easily while in heavy traffic.
How does the Alexander Technique complement traditional physical therapies or healing methods in terms of pain management and injury recovery?
In my experience with injury, physical therapy alone was not enough. While it was important for regaining strength, I was still very stiff. Alexander Technique helped me calm down the startle pattern in my body that seemed ever-present after my injury, and helped me regain confidence in my breath, balance, and voice. I needed to work slowly with my AT teacher to trust that I could walk without falling, sing without tightening my neck, and breathe without pulling in the air on every inhalation. My teacher also helped me stay patient in the healing process and celebrate my resilience and progress. I cannot thank my teacher, Bill Connington, enough for those life-changing lessons.
What is the most significant change you’ve witnessed in your students after they begin practicing the Alexander Technique?
There is a quality of being relaxed and ready for anything. A musician student recently said, “[AT] lets me feel like I don’t need to worry about anything and I can just focus on making music.” That’s what I love to hear as a teacher. More freedom, more joy, more music.
How does the Alexander Technique promote a deeper understanding of body coordination and balance, particularly for individuals dealing with stress or anxiety?
I talked a bit about this earlier because performers are battling anxiety just like everyone else. Stress and anxiety are related to the future; the Alexander Technique is a tool for staying in the present. AT is mindfulness in activity, bringing awareness and choice to our thoughts and actions. When we take the time to slow down and observe ourselves with curiosity, we can replace habit with intention and develop more agency over ourselves. In other words, AT allows a person to respond instead of react. When we allow ourselves time and choice, we have more freedom and presence in the moment.
There are a lot of things that can bring us down and make us feel heavy and worried about the future. Having tools to appreciate and care for yourself, breathe easily, share your voice freely, and take up space proudly has never been more vital.
