"You are not here to do exercises or to learn to do something right, but to get able to meet a stimulus that always puts you wrong and to learn to deal with it. "

F. M. Alexander

About Lessons

You can learn the Alexander Technique in individual or group lessons.

The Alexander Technique is a simple yet practical problem-solving method. People take Alexander Technique lessons for a very wide range of reasons, including physical ailments such as chronic pain and discomfort in the neck, shoulders, back and hips; mental problems such as stress, anxiety and depression; and to improve breathing, posture, movement, daily activities and performance such as playing instruments, singing, presentation. STAT Certified Alexander Technique teacher Yukihiro Takada will teach you about the Technique in a concise, clear and enjoyable way.

Learning the Alexander Technique will help you discover things about yourself that you were not aware of before and lead you to improve your problems.

Lesson Fee (as Reference)

Individual Lesson (Duration: 30min. to 45min.)

One lesson

6000 JPYen

Six lesson series

30000 JPYen

Ten lesson series

40000 JPYen

Group lessons are also available. Please contact us at any time. We will listen to your wishes and propose the most suitable plan.

Information

Location details will be provided upon booking.
Lessons on business trips are also available. Please contact us for details. (Travel expenses may be charged separately.)
Please refrain from wearing tight clothing, hoody clothing and skirts when coming to lessons.

"For the Alexander Technique doesn't teach you something new to do. It teaches you how to bring more practical intelligence into what you are already doing: how to eliminate stereotyped responses; how to deal with habit and change. It leaves you free to choose your own goal but gives you a better use of yourself while you work toward it."

Frank Pierce Jones: "Freedom to Change" p. 2

Individual lesson

Learning about the principles and philosophy of the Alexander Technique through group sessions and reading books can be helpful in the beginning. However, nothing is better than private lessons as a place where you can gain a deeper understanding and enjoyment of the Alexander Technique. Each of us is different and unique. This means that the habits you will address and let go of also vary from person to person. Private lessons are the best place to find out what you need most and learn to unlearn your habits.

Lesson durations vary from teacher to teacher. In my case, as mentioned above, I average between 30 and 45 minutes. This is because I find that in many cases, if the lesson is too long, it becomes difficult to maintain the attention needed to make a change.

The number of lessons required depends on how deeply rooted your physical, mental and emotional habits are and what you want to achieve with the lessons. It is advisable to take between six and ten lessons to get to know and experience the basics of the Alexander Technique, and 30 lessons to learn it well. It is also effective if you take lessons at least twice a week for the first two to three weeks. Later on, as you become more familiar with the principles of the Technique, you will be able to apply them yourself in your daily life, so once a week or even once every few weeks will be fine.

What takes place in an Alexander Technique lesson can vary depending on your own needs and the teacher's teaching style and specialisation. If possible, it is a good idea to take one or two lessons from each of two or three teachers to see which one suits you best. Various organisations have lists of qualified teachers and you can find them on the internet. If you feel that a lesson with me is not a good fit, I can refer you to another teacher I know.

First lesson

The first lesson is usually a little longer than subsequent lessons.

The teacher will first ask you why you have decided to come for the lesson and what your expectations are. There is no requirement that you have to have something wrong to benefit from the Technique. However, if something (good or bad) seems to be bothering you when you come to the lesson, it is easier for us to help you if you tell us about it and any events you can think of that you feel may have caused it.

The teacher will also ask you if you know anything about the Technique and what you don't know. You do not necessarily need to know anything about the Alexander Technique before your first lesson. If you know nothing at all, feel free to say so. If you have had lessons somewhere before, it would be great if you could tell us about it.

In the first lesson, a little time may be spent explaining the principles and history of the Technique. Please note that, unlike massages, you do not need to take off your clothes except to remove your shoes.

In an Alexander Technique lesson, the teacher gently guides you in what we call a 'hands-on'. This Technique is a very practical education. The teacher gently moves your limbs and head while encouraging you not to help it. In doing (or not doing) so, the teacher checks for excessive or inappropriate tension in your muscles. These lessons are given in a variety of situations: lying on a massage table, sitting in a chair or standing etc.. If you are interested in a particular movement, exercise or performance, you may be asked to perform it during the lesson.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher will advise you how many lessons you need and how often you should attend.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to write about the Alexander Technique experience in its complete form in a book, and it is also not easy to convey it accurately in words in the first place. How can you fully convey the taste of Chocolate to someone who has never eaten it? The Alexander Technique experience is such a sensory experience. What kind of experiences would you describe as the lightness and calmness that comes from all parts of the body working together as one? Some people describe this feeling as 'like walking on air' or 'like having all your joints oiled'. One of the people who came to my teacher for lessons described this feeling as 'champagne feeling'. A light, bubbly, heavenly feeling without actually drinking champagne (of course!).

This feeling may only last for a while after the end of the first lesson. However, with subsequent lessons and continuing lessons, this wonderful feeling will last longer and longer.

What will you find in lessons?

One of my teachers defined learning in the Alexander Technique as 'Re-education of the psycho-physical mechanism'.

The term 're-education' was used by F. M. Alexander himself. So why 're-'educate'?
Because we have all received and acquired a great variety of education over the course of our lives. Some of them we are well aware that we have learnt them, others we have acquired unknowingly at some point in our lives. Many of them will be useful, but some of them may have been the cause of your current problems.

Learning the Alexander Technique is not about being able to do something new, nor is it about doing something to change what is causing the problem. Instead of direct approach, the Alexander Technique uses this indirect approach of 'not doing'. The main point is to become aware of what you have already acquired so far that is causing you problems, and to let go of it or stop doing it. I call this 'learn to unlearn'.

Typical lesson styles

Table work

This lesson is done lying down on a massage table or on the floor.

The main purpose is to calm yourself, observe what you are doing and learn about 'inhibition', which is at the heart of the Alexander Technique.

This method is also useful as a daily work on your own and is also known as 'Active Rest'.

Chair work

This lesson uses a chair, one of the most essential pieces of furniture in everyday life.

By becoming aware of one's own habits in various daily activities such as sitting, standing, leaning, squatting, etc., the principles of the Alexander Technique are learnt in a more dynamic way.

How you use yourself at a desk, such as writing or using a computer, is also a form of chairwork.

Activities

The Alexander Technique can be applied to a wide range of everyday activities such as hoovering, ironing, driving, sports, playing musical instruments, singing, dancing, speech, etc.

By teaching lessons while actually performing the movements and activities, we can help you to identify improve your problem.

"The whole fundamental principle of the Technique is to get people to stop doing things."

Walter Carrington: "Personally speaking" p.101

Contact

Yukihiro Takada

Yukihiro Takada Alexander Technique Research Centre

Ashikaga, Tochigi

info@ytatrc.com

"You don't know until you try"

"You can be helped"