Do you wonder what type of person decides to train to be an Alexander Technique Teacher and what the criteria are for joining one of the STAT regulated courses? Every teacher has to start their experience of the Technique through being a pupil, learning about their own use and mis-use, perhaps in short Introductory Courses but definitely in 1:1 lessons. It is a learning experience, not a form of treatment, right from the start and it is up to each of us to decide just how far we wish to take the learning.
Pupils that are new to the Alexander Technique, often start lessons because they either have a problem such as back pain or they want to learn to use their bodies more efficiently so that they prevent problems from developing. Unfortunately, some pupils just want a quick fix, learn the Technique at a very superficial level and rush away from lessons as soon as they think their problem is sorted - their problems probably return again, later. Some people look after their car better than the way they look after themselves! They polish the car constantly and service it regularly - but they expect their own body to continue working well for them even though they give it very little care and attention.At the other end of the spectrum, many pupils take the A / T work on board at a deep level and make it a part of their life, so that it influences their whole way of being in the world. These pupils tend to continue having lessons on and off throughout their life, because they find the Technique so valuable for their wellbeing.

Some of these pupils become fascinated by the Technique and enjoy it so much, that they want to take it much further and decide to train as Alexander Teachers. As one pupil of mine put it when he joined LCATT, an Alexander Technique teacher training course, where I am a visiting teacher: It is rewarding work and many teachers run their teaching practise alongside thir other profession, which can give a good and varied work pattern. There are teachers who are also office workers, doctors, professional musicians and athletes. Some of these A / T teachers will develop a particular focus to their A / T teaching which relates to their other profession.Sometimes this develops into a blending of techniques to form an off-shoot to the Alexander Technique, such as a linking of A / T work with the Bates Technique, which focuses on the use of the eyes. It perhaps also needs to be said that having two jobs has a practical side to it, as few people become rich, just from their Alexander teaching!

Many teachers work in a variety of venues, which adds interest to the work. Over the years I have taught in an Alexander Centre, community colleges, a hospital, offices, my own home, a music college, music summer schools and alongside a yoga course in Crete. Other teachers could add other venues to the list. Many teachers continue teaching well past their 'retirement' age, because they just don't want to stop doing something they find so satisfying and, significantly, because they are fit enough to be able to do so. I remember Margaret Goldie (1905-1997), one of Alexander's first pupils and first-generation teachers, when she had her 90th birthday whilst still teaching in Bloomsbury. She told me 'I hope I am still of some use' - and indeed she was, she was still a sought after and highly respected senior teacher.