2021 - 2 x Weekly Online classes
Alexander Technique classes on Zoom - Wed. & Fri. @ 4-5pm
($1.03 shipping)
Life in the time of Covid-19!
How to get through it?
Since we don't have control over the fact that it's happening, we can follow the best healthy practices suggested by officials in our respective countries.
And further than that, we can control how we each respond within ourselves; that is where we can take control.
Yes, fear may arise and worry about legitimate concerns and you organize yourself to take care of what you can. What I'm talking about is, the allowance of feeding the fear and letting your mind run away with frightful scenarios and getting anxiety ridden over what hasn't happened yet.
So, I am offering classes to take you through a relaxing, mindful experience, to balance your nervous system and give you time to let the tensions go.
The duration of the class will be 1 hour on Zoom.
I hope you'll join me at this important turning point in the world community, to adjust to the changes that are happening, and learn skills to best support yourself. Finding ease, reducing tension and allowing yourself to move through what you need to do to take of yourself, through the Alexander principles will improve how you get through this.
Tension does not support the immune system. Over exhaustion of the fight/flight/freeze nervous system depletes one's reserves to fight the virus if you contract it.
Being calm and positive is your best defense,
along with the CDC and WHO recommended hygiene practices.
After you register, I will send you the link to join the conference. If you need a sliding scale, contact me.
SEE YOU ONLINE!!
Zoom class: for those with systemic post-Covid issues
Post-Covid, Recovery class : Mondays @4pm
Recovery Can Be Made Easier: Oneway Past Covid
I've been teaching Alexander Technique classes on Zoom three times a week since mid-March. The remote interaction is unique, fascinating, and a perfect representation of our times—how we’re all finding ways to connect, communicate and help each other. That’s why I want to go further.
I want to transform Monday's class into a special offering for people who are recovering from Covid 19. I’ve come to know people who have been hit with the virus, and are making progress their own way. It can be slow and difficult. So let’s be there for each other.
I know that it can be a long road to full recovery. When we’re trying to unlearn bad habits, it involves resizing many fundamental practices. We can save energy by reconfiguring our motor output and increasing the sensory input. In other words, the more we undo what we thought we had to do to 'make something happen,' the more it allows that thing to happen.
It's a full experience, this doing less thing. And since people recovering from Covid have less energy, it’s the best way forward. Instead of becoming frustrated—which is entirely understandable—we can accomplish tasks with less effort, because we’re putting less pressure on ourselves. The outer stimulus of Covid, and the inner stimulus of how we feel about it, can be renegotiated, resized and recognized, all on the inside.
Things to know before joining the ONline Zoom classes
Get your mat and head support ready....
If you are joining my Alexander Technique class for the first time and you’re a beginner student, there are a few things you need to know to prepare you to understand what I’m saying to allow for a pleasing experience. Be patient with yourself, if this is all new. There are terms I will use here, to prepare you for the class. I will keep things as simple as possible, as this is simple, really. An attitude of curiosity and openness will also allow your
nervous system to more easily accept the experiential changes that will occur. You’re going to feel lighter and more at ease by the end of the class, I promise! Welcome!!
There are three principles: Awareness, Inhibition and Direction. One cannot allow a habit to be changed unless one is aware of it in the first place. Once one is aware of the habit, one can refrain from allowing that practiced message go through the nervous system again, by inhibiting the habit; saying ‘no’ to the habit and allowing a pause, time for one to rethink one’s intention and action. Next is direction. FM Alexander found that speaking directly to the nervous system, commanding it to speak to different parts of the body, allowed the person, to get out of the way, and let it happen within the body. That is known as non-doing. This was FM’s script—Saying aloud or within yourself: “ I allow my neck to be free, to allow my head to go forward and up, to allow my spine to lengthen, and my back to widen, my legs to release away from my torso and my shoulders to widen.” Saying this, is giving the body it’s directions. Before, during and after movement. One is not doing with one’s motor system, lengthening one’s neck or back, but is thinking it. By thinking, the body is allowed to communicate within itself, and the old habit is undone, with repetition of inhibition and practice of direction. This is key!
The body consists of three parts that creates a healthy dynamic opposition: head, torso and legs. The head goes forward and UP. The Torso, follows the up in lengthening and widening. The legs release away from the torso, meaning the femur balls in the hip socket are thought to release away from the socket, to give more space in the joint and joint fluid. So, in ‘lie down’ in a ‘constructive rest’ position with the knees to the ceiling and the back and head on the floor mat, the Up is the head moving beyond the head, the down is towards the feet going away from the soles of the feet, the forward is the face to the ceiling, back is towards the floor and wide is out the ears and across the torso.
More will be given in the class about all this, as different aspects will be highlighted each class. I often begin the class with a ‘lie down’, to allow gravity to undo habits and relieve one of standing effort as you notice your response habits. Then, we may do some ‘chair work’ which is an Alexander form of allowing the habits to release in the movement in and out of the chair or some other activity. We will not be ‘end gaining’, but will be process oriented -- thinking, not just accomplishing the task, but HOW one approaches it, responds and follows through with Awareness, Inhibition and Direction.
Ok, I hope this is enough to pique your curiosity and not overwhelm you. Just let these terms pass through you, don’t try to hold on to them, they will be repeated often in the course of the 60 minute class. Just listen and allow! Feel free to ask me questions before the class via the 'contact me' page, as well as in the course of the class.
See you on ZOOM!
~ Cate/ The Listening Body
Classes and Workshops 2019
Bone-Art Class Series - Fall 2019
About the workshop: It is about seeing, by drawing the bones ie: femur, clavicle, foot, pelvis etc., you connect what you see and translate that into drawing and thereby embodying the bone and it's relationship with the whole of you. In the act of looking, what do you see and how can you draw it, staying with yourself, using the Alexander Technique principles of Awareness, Inhibition and Direction.
I will be putting 'thinking hands'-on to support each person while drawing, to interrupt eye and neck straining habits, and individual turns of chair work to begin.
I am combining my experiential, anatomy, art and Alexander Technique practices together to create a unique communal experience! I hope you'll join us in the spirit of playfulness and an openness to learning new things about yourself!
All drawing supplies are included and provided.
These fall classes are held in my studio in the East Village, which holds 4 students comfortably and saves you on paying for another studio's rental fee!
NO where else can you get Alexander Technique hands-on, art and anatomy for an hour and a half!! :)
What will this do for me?
It is meant to give you an experiential means to deeply embody your own bones and your seeing, whether you have had an Alexander Technique experience or not or are interested in anatomy, art or mindfulness for your personal process. If you have tension in your body and stress, this can bring relief and a skill to take away.
When asked after the 2019 Bone-Art series one student reported:
What did you enjoy most in the classes? The giving nature of Cate and the quality of other students.
What surprised you that you discovered? I was surprised at how difficult it was to keep aware of posture when drawing.
How have the experiences in the class made you aware of your use and movement patterns? I am more aware of efficiency of movement.
~Nancy Z. NYC
What if don't know how to draw?
As one of my student's noted after the workshop: "I signed up for Cate's six workshops even though I have no skills in drawing. It was very gratifying to be able to draw the bones; much easier than I expected. The workshop combined various activities that kept me engaged with Cate's seamless transition between the activities. Cate's hands-on work came in perfect timing throughout the session. Because of the work, I felt more connected to my femurs, knowing exactly where they were - a new kinesthetic experience!" - M. Al-Kazemi, 2017
Spine and Spirit Workshop 2018
Spine and Spirit Workshop
This workshop was specially designed for a yoga studio that focuses on back pain and addressing scoliosis.
I combine techniques that I personally used to unwind my scoliosis, the Alexander Technique and introduced a philosophy of how the spine and spirit interface.
Yoga Studio or Mindfulness class
I can craft a class or workshop to suit your community or organization's needs.
Embodiment
I offer unique classes you won't find anywhere else!