Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost?
Introductory Lesson:€35
Subsequent lesson: €65, if you get your lesson (partly) reimbursed by for example your employer or health insurance
€55, if none of the above
Introductory Package of three individual introductory lessons €150
If you are someone who can barely afford this, please don’t be shy to contact me and we can work something out.
Also: If you are self-employed (‘ZZP-er’), please know that you can expense these lessons from your taxes, falling under ‘professional expenses’ or ‘additional education’. Payment at end of lesson by cash, bank transfer or ‘Tikkie’. 24 hour notice is needed to cancel a lesson without being charged.
Are these individual or group lessons?
One-to-One lessons. Everyone has different habits and needs. This is the best way to learn the Alexander Technique. .
WHAT HAPPENS IN A LESSON?
We all have unconscious movement habits.
I will teach you how to identify your bad habits that contribute to your recurring difficulties—whether it’s a bad back, neck and shoulder pain, restricted breathing, perpetual exhaustions or limitations in performing a task or sport.
I will be working with you while performing a daily life activity such as sitting down, standing, walking ,bending, working at your computer, or other specialized activities that you request we can work on. In this way I will be analyzing your whole movement pattern- not just your symptoms- I will alert you to habits of compression in your characteristic way of moving and guide you-with words and a gentle, encouraging touch-to move in a freer, more integrated way. You will learn to let go of excess tension, giving you more energy for all your activities.
Another part of the lesson will be ‘table work’.
I will ask you to lie down on a comfortable couch. With a gentle touch and my hands will be gathering information again. At the same time, they will be conveying information to you. This combined with my verbal instructions, will gently encourage your body to a release of restrictive muscular tension.
How Long Are Lessons - And How Many Will I Need?
The first lesson I will need some more time than for a usual lesson- About one hour , to get to know you and find out more about your motivation and expectations.
All next lessons will take 45 minutes.
In order to find out if The Alexander Technique fits you, two or three lessons should do. If you do like it and do continue taking lessons, a short series of around 10 lessons should be sufficient. Others have more complicated issues that need some more time.
Then there are some people who just want to get more into the depth of The Alexander Technique and will return taking lessons for a longer period of time.
In the very beginning it would be best to come for lessons fairly frequently, perhaps twice a week, if possible. This is because the new approach to movement, and to thinking about movement, which you are learning, is a bit unfamiliar at first and may need a little extra help to become established. Later on in the process, pupils often find they can continue to progress quite well with lessons spaced a week or more apart.
What do I wear?
Ordinary street clothing, as long as it is not restricting your movement. Students are encouraged to wear trousers. You will be asked to take your shoes off.
Will my medical insurance cover Alexander Technique sessions?
Unfortunately, in the Netherlands MOST insurers will not reimburse you. The Alexander Technique still resides in the ‘alternative’ corner..
However, there has been research that shows the effects of the Alexander Technique. Click here for an overview of all peer-reviewed published scientific research: https://www.amsatonline.org/aws/AMSAT/pt/sp/research
Most research is about
* pain (back/neck/chronic pain)
* Parkinson's disease
* arthrosis
* posture, muscle tone, ergonomics
* balance, coordination and movement
* injuries and achievements in the music world
The following is a summary of a major scientific study into the effect of the Alexander Technique on low chronic back pain, published in The British Medical Journal in 2008. The Dutch Journal of Medicine has adopted it:
579 back patients participated in the study, divided into three groups: one group received 6 Alexander Technique lessons, one group received 24 Alexander Technique lessons, one group received massage, and the control group received standard treatments from the general practitioner. In addition, half of the patients were instructed to walk for half an hour a day.
The two best results, measured one year after the start of classes:
* 24 less Alexander Technique had by far the best result: patients only had pain for 3 days a month compared to 21 days a month in the control group and the massage group: an improvement of no less than 85%. Functioning also improved by 42% (measured with the Rolland Morris Disability Score), while no improvement was shown in the control and massage group.
* The second best result was 6 lessons of the Alexander Technique combined with half an hour of brisk walking every day. This effect is about 70% of that of just 24 lessons of the Alexander Technique.
The Alexander Technique also had the best score in the cost-effectiveness analysis.
This scientific study is of very high quality, includes a large number of patients, and is published by a highly regarded scientific journal.
For the full article and an introductory video, see:
Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GbwzqT9piU
Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXmimtk381U
Often, doctors can offer little advice as their training revolves around the treating of symptoms rather than uncovering, and also rectifying, the causes of such problems. The Alexander Technique, however, does just this; it shows you the underlying cause, enabling you to eliminate the tension responsible for so many of the ailments that we mistakenly put down to the aging process.
Is it for me?
Normally people come to the Alexander technique for Health, Posture or Performance reasons.
Everyone can benefit: Young, old, there is no age limit. Also there’s no certain fitness level needed, it’s for anyone:
-office workers
-both abled and disabled people
-parents of young children
-people recovering from an injury
-people with all kinds of professions, for example these who are most prone to injuries caused by their work:
-stock/freight/material movers
-nursing aids
-paramedics
-truckers
-construction workers
-performers
-athletes
-oral hygienists
-surgeons
…and the list goes on…