Current Science and Alexander Technique International Webinar

With Dr. Tim Cacciatore M.STAT, PhD. and Dr. Patrick Johnson M.STAT, M.NeVLAT, PhD.

An 8 week intensive international webinar about current science and the Alexander Technique. You will leave with a framework of up-to-date concepts for thinking about and communicating your work.

“Delightfully engaging”
“Easily understandable ”
“I wish it was mandatory training for all new teachers.”
“Filled with aha moments ”
“I can’t think of a better investment of your time and money. ”
“Surpassing any other public offerings on the topic”

(see full testimonials from participants below)

Details

20 in depth video lectures averaging 25 minutes per lecture about AT science.
7 x 1.5 hour interactive webinars with Q&A, breakout groups, and more, Thursdays, in September [dates to be announced] (see times and time/zones below)
Reading with questions, homework assignments that help you relate your AT experiences to the science.
Sharing experiences of teaching and practice with other teachers
For Alexander teachers, teachers in training, and enthusiastic students
390 Euro/person (discounts for trainees and groups) see payment options below
Limited to 30 screens maximum. In the past it has sold out quickly so sign up soon.
Sign up!

Last year’s webinar sold out quickly, so don’t wait too long to sign up.

Overview

What is going on when you practice Alexander Technique (AT)? We have all sorts of experiences, observations, and sensations. Can these phenomena be described and explained objectively?

Since F. M. Alexander first referenced the work of Rudolf Magnus in the 1920s, AT has borrowed ideas from science to explain AT experiences. Scientific concepts permeate the AT culture—books, websites, lectures, conversations—with many references to concepts such as reflexes, gravity, startle, effort, tensegrity and spatial awareness to name a few.

In general, however, most of the science we use is either out of date or very roughly applied. Furthermore, it is only in the last decade or two that we have seen high quality modern science applied directly to AT and AT mechanisms

Content

The goal of these webinars is to confront our current relationship with science and to get our scientific explanations and concepts up-to-date. We combine lecture, group activities, and discussion to identify and debunk misconceptions and to build new, current models that support what we do and how we communicate. We emphasize rigor, jargon-free communication, and reference to current experiments. We also give reading assignments with questions and personalized feedback to check your knowledge.

Specific topics will include postural control, sensory appreciation, body schema, stress, biomechanics of procedures, emotions, inhibition, and direction. Activities will include body illusions, experiencing body schema in action, inhibition tests, and break out discussion groups. We will also be debunking outdated concepts such as tonic neck reflexes, righting reflexes, ingrained startle pattern, tensegrity, and natural movement.

For whom?

This webinar is for Alexander teachers, teachers in training, and students who want to understand Alexander Technique from a scientific perspective. No background in science is needed. For participants who have taken workshops with us before, this webinar will serve as both a reinforcement of concepts and an intensification of the material—we will go more in depth and provide more chance for reading, questions, and personal reflection.

We have been giving workshops for four years now, live and via webinars, in Ireland, Spain, England, Germany, Israel, The Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and the USA for both AT teachers and teachers in training. Our initial goal was to communicate rigorous science of Alexander Technique in ways that are accessible and fun. The workshops have since grown in both content and scope. They are now part of a broader dialogue about how to think objectively, scientifically, and professionally about what we do. We are excited about the enthusiasm and content they have generated.

About us

Dr. Johnson is a PhD. physicist and a practicing STAT/NeVLAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique with over 15 years of research experience and 10 years of AT teaching experience. Dr. Cacciatore is a PhD. Neuroscientist and STAT certified teacher, author of many peer reviewed scientific articles on Alexander Technique, with 20 years of research experience.

Structure of the webinar

The webinar is divided into short online video lectures, readings, and live online discussion sessions. Each week you will be assigned several 20 minute video lectures with Tim or Patrick to watch. On Thursday of each week we will host an hour and a half of live Q&A, activities, and discussion. In this way you have the chance to access the material via a variety of media. If your schedule does not allow you to make the live Q&A sessions, you can still join for just the videos. For those who can’t make the Thursday Q&A time slot, accommodations for additional time slots can be discussed.

Date and Times

The course runs from Feb. 2nd to March 23rd 2023 with live Q&A and discussion sessions on Thursdays to discuss each week’s material. Depending on demand, we will open up a second discussion session (Session 2) for those who cannot make our main session (for example people living in Australia and Japan). Please let us know if you are interested in joining Session 2.

Session 1: North/South America and Europe:

Time Zone	Live Q&A/Discussion
IDT (Tel Aviv)	8pm-9:30pm
CEST (Amsterdam)	7pm-8 :30 pm
BST (London)	6pm-7 :30 pm
ART (Buenos Aires)	2pm-3:30 pm
BRT (Sao Paolo)	2pm-3:30 pm
EDT (NYC)	1pm-2 :30 pm
CDT (Chicago)	12pm-1:30pm
MDT (Denver)	11am-12 :30 noon
PDT (LA)	10am-11 :30 am

Session 2: Australia, Europe, Asia

Time Zone	Live Q&A/Discussion
BST (London)	9am-10:30 am
CEST (Amsterdam)	10am-11:30 am
JST (Tokyo)	5pm-6:30 pm
AEDT (Melbourne/Sydney)	7pm-8:30 pm

If you can’t make the live Q&A/Discussion time

All content, including the video lectures, reading, quizzes etc. are always available.
We will try to schedule extra Q&A sessions to accommodate everyone.
Contact us if this is your situation.

Pricing/Group Discounts

The webinar costs 350 euros per person. Teachers in training get a 10% discount.

If you would like to organize a group, we have group discounts. We are encouraging people to watch together as groups because it improves the experience, allowing you to do group games and discussions during the webinar. Groups that can’t meet together may also be eligible for discounts. Contact us for details.

Here are our group rates:

Number of People in Group	Price in Euros	With trainee discount (10%)
1	€350	€315
2-4	€320	€288
5-7	€280	€252
8-10	€250	€225
11+	€230	€207

(Current conversion: 1 Euro=1.07 US Dollar)

Covid-19 hardship

Everyone is dealing with huge challenges due to the recent crisis. Preparing and presenting a webinar is a huge amount of work but we try to price it as low as we can. However, if you feel that you very much would like to attend this webinar but simply cannot due to loss of income due to the crisis, please contact us to explain your situation.

To Sign up, you can pay online with credit card or Paypal. If you have a group of if you want to pay by bank transfer just email us using the link below to set up a payment plan. Buy online with PayPal or credit card using this button:

Testimonials (webinars and live workshops):

My teaching has absolutely gained strength and clarity now that I have a plausible explanation of how it works from a scientific perspective. I’ve been searching for this sort of clarity since becoming a teacher 20 years ago. Now that I have an arsenal of information that feels respectable and logical, I feel much freer to tap into my creativity and draw from my experiences of teaching in applying the work. On top of all that, I feel much more confident that the AT really works, probably for anyone who’s willing to give it a genuine try!
Emily Faulkner, AT teacher, NYC USA

There are so many reasons for my gratitude for your scientific work and your brilliant support for the AT Community. If you can educate more of our community we can share our work with more confidence and clarity. This course creates an opportunity to connect with others in the medical sciences , opening the door to understanding the many clinical applications for the AT. Debby Caplan and I dreamed of this possibility in 1985 … Now it is a reality.
Judith Stern, AT teacher, NY, USA

Thank you for the course. My suggestion is that it be required in all Alexander Technique teacher training courses.
Ellen Bierhorst, PhD, Alexander technique teacher, USA

I have a deep gratitude for this course. It is clearly the result of focused and ongoing research and thinking on the part of Tim Cacciatore and Patrick Johnson. (and their other research colleagues). They have obviously taken great care in finding language and a presentational form that makes it possible for all of us, Alexander Technique teachers (scientifically oriented or not), to grasp these very important ways of looking at psychomotor education. They are warm and welcoming. They are helping build our professional bridge to the scientific community and they are helping us clear up unwitting assumptions and definitions. We will all be better teachers as a result of this huge effort. And they have begun the opening of our work to the scientific community and the world at large.
Sarah Barker, AT teacher, South Carolina

Wow, we covered so much. It is a wonderful course. I always knew AT worked but now feel even more confident as it is backed by such thoroughly researched science. I particularly enjoyed the section on Body Schema. We do we end and other people and things begin, fascinating!
Eileen Munir, AT teacher

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed this [webinar]! I found it challenging in a great way. It clarified much of my thinking around postural tone, stiffness, matching, inhibition, stress and more and I was able to immediately use those ideas with my students.
Eve Bernfeld, AT teacher, Portland Oregon

A very stimulating, educational, and well structured program. The recorded video presentations are particularly valuable as Patrick and Timothy have thoroughly absorbed the research papers relevant to the AT and are able to give us the essential information in a clear and lively format. Highly recommended to learn the up to date scientific picture.
John Nicholls, Senior AT teacher, England

Much gratitude to Patrick and Tim for offering such a stellar class. So well done. As a bonus – I could feel my posture shifting for the better just by our online discussions affecting my thinking and use.
Dr. Julie Pauls, AT Teacher, Physical Therapist Texas USA

I love the physiological intricacies of the body but I’m not scientifically-minded (more artistic) however you both led us with clarity & ease through the material over the 7 weeks. It has given me an amazing reference of understanding to work with. The sharing & discussions with everyone has broadened my thinking & will keep me open to more in the future. This is the side of science that I love…the enquiring mind that scientists continually work with, the questions seeking answers & the humility to say ‘we don’t know’. This is worth learning as an approach! The one thing that is absolutely clear for me after doing the AT Science course is that the program ought to be included in training courses so that we are all on the same page when it comes to certain fundamental concepts. This will serve both the unity & spread of our work.
Tessa Viotti, AT teacher, Italy

Thanks again for the course. I wish it was mandatory training for all new teachers.
Candace Cox, AT teacher, Castleton, Ontario

It’s always helpful to see that “things” are not as simple as they can appear. Thanks for a wonderful webinar and very very helpful insights into the reality of what we are doing!
Bob Britton, AT teacher and teacher trainer, CA USA

Many Thanks Tim to you and Patrick for this excellent series of webinars- I’ve learnt a huge amount and feel I and my pupils will benefit enormously from this clarification on the science of AT.
Angelea Bradshaw, AT teacher, England

Their 7-week course was very enlightening and has changed the way I talk about the AT to my pupils and the public at large. The course materials are easily laid out, with plenty of time to work at things at your own pace to prepare yourself to get the best out of the live sessions.
Andrea Walsh, AT teacher, U.K.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking part and very much appreciate the work that you, Patrick and others are engaged in for the benefit of the AT. The webinar was very rich in new information and opened up more scientifically reliable possibilities of how to think about what might go on in teaching/learning the AT. I found it interesting and it often confirmed my experience and hunches I have about how the AT works. It will continue to inform my work on myself and my teaching. In particular I like your model about body schema and how the AT might work.
Dorothea Magonet, Senior AT teacher, England

The AT Science webinars are very stimulating, enjoyable and focused. The language used created for me a connection between what my hands can do and how I can communicate the process more objectively to myself and to others. The discussions were lively, interesting and very well managed. It has been an uplifting experience to explore and examine the Alexander Technique with the logic of scientific research.
Gerda Druks-Kok, Senior AT teacher, England

Thank you to Tim and Patrick for such a well organized and informative series! You have given me useful new learning and a great deal of clarification that I will carry forward into both my AT and other academic courses here at a Pomona. With deep appreciation and well-wishes to you both.
Meg Jolly, AT teacher, California USA

This webinar has been fantastic! You both have been very generous to share all of this information and your time with us. This has certainly helped with my communication to my medical doctor students and my way of understanding how the Directions and thinking really might work instead of just guessing from my own experience. I think this work with science will bring a lot of Alexander people together and we will feel less isolated with some common understanding and ground. I feel like you are doing a big favor to the Alexander community and helping to keep the tradition alive by preventing us from using outdated concepts and not shying away from addressing the benefits that people pay us for i.e posture.
Suzanne Powell, AT teacher, Albuquerque New Mexico

The AT Science Webinar led me to better understand the physiological processes involved in applying the Alexander Technique and to reconsider its theoretical assumptions. Tim and Patrick wisely take you through a path of critical review of what are considered the scientific aspects of the Alexander Technique and invite you to rethink the meaning of its fundamental concepts. The space dedicated to reflection and discussion allows you to connect current scientific knowledge with the subjective experience of the Technique and with the pedagogical aspects of its teaching and learning. This course makes an important contribution to the cultural growth, both individual and collective, of our profession. I highly recommend it to any teacher who cares about their work.
Paolo Frigoli, Director of the Alexander Technique Academy. Coccaglio Italy

I flew out from Minnesota to NYC to take Patrick and Tim’s live workshop last May and it was so worth it. They are excellent presenters and make the information engaging and easily understandable. Science evolves and we need to stay up to date. If you are an Alexander Teacher or trainee I can’t think of a better investment of your time and money than their workshop.
Lauren Hill, AT teacher, Minnesota USA

Patrick Johnson’s and Tim Cacciatore’s live workshop is a much needed update on the science of the Alexander Technique; up to date research on the Technique, and on relevant research. In the process the workshop provides a re-evaluation of outdated scientific information which is still dominating Alexander Technique literature.
Jean Fischer, AT teacher and teacher trainer, founder of Mouritz Press, Graz Austria

I found each segment to be filled with aha moments that helped me put in a wider context and piece together the many parts of the puzzle that is the Alexander Technique. For me personally, this webinar went a long way in solving that problem. I think our profession would be better communicators and better off if we all had the opportunity to take Tim’s and Patrick’s webinar on the Alexander Technique and Science. Highly recommended!
Russell Scheinberg, AT teacher in training, Portland Oregon

Need to clean up your Alexander jargon? Consider yourself a myth buster? Take this workshop, it’s delightfully engaging while sharpening your verbal and conceptual teaching skills.
Kathryn Miranda, AT teacher, Syracuse NY

I have attended several of Patrick and Tim’s workshops about contemporary science and the Alexander Technique at the Constructive Teaching Centre in London and found them extremely interesting. The workshops were not only informative and thought-provoking, but also fun and engaging as we did several simple experiments together and were encouraged to ask questions throughout. I highly recommend Patrick and Tim’s work to all trainees and teachers.
Regina Stratil, AT teacher, Graz Austria

Their enthusiasm and generosity in sharing their knowledge is a benefit to the Alexander community, and we warmly recommend their presentation to any Alexander teacher interested in what current research has to offer us.
Stuart Gutman & Emi Argemí, Directors of Tècnica Alexander Terrassa Teach Training (Barcelona)

Dr. Cacciatore is the single living scientist who has contributed the most to a scientific understanding of the neurological underpinnings of the Alexander Technique. Dr. Johnson is a respected and highly cited physicist. Between them, they offer a depth and breadth of expertise surpassing any other public offerings on the topic.
Rajal Cohen, Ph.D., M.AmSAT, Associate Professor and Director of Mind in Movement Lab at the University of Idaho, USA