Awareness in Motion

Being a teenager, I had horrible posture. My slouching, coupled with those nasty plastic chairs at high school, lead to some major lower back pain. It hurt to stand, it hurt to sit, it hurt to do damn near anything.
My cousin, an amateur singer, recommended that I try the Alexander Technique. So I did.
In my first lesson, Anna looked for which parts of my body I was not using correctly. The answer: everything!
17 years of misuse and abuse had done some major damage to my body. My body parts «gripped» together — they would habitually tighten up to compensate for my poor posture.
Over the next three months, Anna instructed me how to properly use my body. Most important is the Primary Control — the relationship
between your head, neck, and back.
Each lesson is an hour long. Part of it takes place in the chair. You practice sitting up, leaning, sitting down, etc. Part of it takes place on a cushioned table. You practice letting go and not gripping. And part of it takes place on the floor. You practice various movements like crouching, squatting, and walking.
After 4 weeks with Anna, my posture had noticeably improved. After 8 weeks with Anna, my back pain had significantly diminished. 12 weeks in and my back pain is gone!
My advice: go to Anna if you have back or neck pain. Give her a couple of weeks to work her magic and you’ll be (probably) pain free.
This will be my one and only Unilocal review. Enjoy it. =)

Anna Demongeot teaches the Alexander Technique. The Alexander technique is favored by musicians and dancers, but I believe anyone that has a concern about their posture or lingering stresses on the body might benefit from this non-​invasive methodology.
Anna in particular is WONDERFUL. I gratefully drive an hour to her office in Santa Cruz. You can feel the tension evaporating as Anna works with you, listens to you, and realigns your body back into balance the way it was meant to be. After a session, I feel «cooled off», lighter and more stable.
No drugs are involved, and there is no pressure. Anna gives you directions to keep in mind as you go through the motions of your daily life: «awareness in motion». A happy consequence of the technique for me has been a greater awareness of taking care of myself in other areas. I have absolutely no reservations in my recommendation, and I usually take years to find a health practitioner I am comfortable with.
Context:
I turned to the Alexander technique because I have a stressful job (who doesn’t?), and discomfort after a day of sitting at the computer at work had turned into daily pain. I went from sitting to standing at my desk, but still wanted to make sure I was undoing any damage that had occurred. My research pointed me to the Alexander Technique, and it is working.