Our Work

Our work is the research and voice of our remarkable community. To share your work with ASO, collaborate here. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

A Technique for Musicians
Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online

A Technique for Musicians

This month we release a paper written specifically for ASO by Malcolm Williamson (MSTAT). Malcolm played the viola professionally for over twenty years and draws on his extensive knowledge of the writings of F.M. Alexander and others to share his insights from working with students at the Royal Northern College of Music and professional musicians.

“By ‘sticking to principle’, as we say, we gradually and surely develop new ways of being true to ourselves, responding each time in ways that (re-)affirm the integrity of you as a person.”

Read More
Psychological and other ‘non-physical’ changes following Alexander Technique lessons
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Psychological and other ‘non-physical’ changes following Alexander Technique lessons

Many AT teachers will tell you that learning and applying the AT is helpful for stress, anxiety, and wellbeing, however until now the research evidence for these types of outcomes has never been put together and highlighted. In this 19th edition, Debbie Kinsey (PhD, ClinPsyD) and Lesley Glover (PhD, MSTAT) help summarise their recently published realist review on psychological and other ‘non-physical’ changes following Alexander Technique lessons.

Read More
Finale - Working With Musicians: Application of The Alexander Technique to Music Making Part III
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Finale - Working With Musicians: Application of The Alexander Technique to Music Making Part III

This 18th newsletter is the finale of a series on the Alexander Technique and music making. It includes the final two video interviews between Dr Gabriella Minnes Brandes (CANSTAT, STAT, AMSAT, ATI) and Lorna McGhee, principal flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, adjunct music professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and Alexander Technique student.

Read More
Working With Musicians - Application of The Alexander Technique to Music Making Part II
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Working With Musicians - Application of The Alexander Technique to Music Making Part II

This 17th newsletter continues a fascinating series on the Alexander Technique and music making. It includes the first two video interviews of a four part series between Dr Gabriella Minnes Brandes (CANSTAT, STAT, AMSAT, ATI) and Lorna McGhee, a professional musician, adjunct music professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and Alexander Technique student.

Read More
Working With Musicians - The Application of The Alexander Technique to Music Making Part I
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Working With Musicians - The Application of The Alexander Technique to Music Making Part I

This 16th edition of the Alexander Studies Online (ASO) newsletter is the first of a series of blogs that focuses on the Alexander Technique and music making. This month begins with an introductory video, and a paper by Dr Gabriella Minnes Brandes (CANSTAT, STAT, AMSAT, ATI) that includes three video interviews between Gabriella and Jennifer Condie, a musician and Alexander Technique pupil of Gabriella’s.

Read More
How Women Use The Alexander Technique In The First Year After Birth Part III
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

How Women Use The Alexander Technique In The First Year After Birth Part III

In the third and final interview of this three part series, Nicola Hanefeld, PhD, overseas MSTAT, talks with Lesley Glover, PhD, MSTAT, about conclusions from her PhD studies at the University of Hull which Lesley supervised. The subject of the studies was womens’ experiences of using the AT in the postpartum. This is the 14th edition of the ASO newsletter

Read More
How Women Use The Alexander Technique In The First Year After Birth Part II
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

How Women Use The Alexander Technique In The First Year After Birth Part II

In this 13th edition of the ASO newsletter Nicola Hanefeld, PhD, overseas MSTAT, talks with Lesley Glover, PhD, MSTAT, about the second study of her PhD at the University of Hull in which women without previous experience of the Alexander Technique were given access to a postpartum online self-care package. This mixed-methods study produced some surprising data; the online approach was forced by the pandemic.

Read More
How Women Use The Alexander Technique In The First Year After Birth
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

How Women Use The Alexander Technique In The First Year After Birth

In this 12th edition of the Alexander Studies Online (ASO) newsletter the Researcher Interview Series returns to explore new research into how women use the Alexander Technique in the potentially challenging postpartum phase of life. This month we release the first of three interviews that focus on the research of Nicola Hanefeld, PhD, overseas MSTAT, which took place at the University of Hull, UK, from 2017-2021.

Read More
Looking both ways: A new teacher’s perspective on uncertainty
Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online

Looking both ways: A new teacher’s perspective on uncertainty

For the 10th edition of the ASO blog we are posting an article by Polly Waterfield MSTAT, written in 2006 and originally published in the journal Conscious Control. Composed in the space between completing her Alexander Technique teacher training and being on the cusp of starting out in her teaching practice, the article articulates a personal exploration of her lived experience as she moves into the world of a graduated teacher.

Read More
ATLAS commentary Parts III and IV
Study Overview and Insights Alexander Studies Online Study Overview and Insights Alexander Studies Online

ATLAS commentary Parts III and IV

This blog makes up the final two interviews of the series in which Julia Woodman BSc, PhD, MSTAT talks about the ATLAS trail with Charlotte Woods EdD, MSTAT. They delve into the background to this important trial and review the findings, including looking at the experiences of the participants in the trial. They also discuss how ATLAS sits alongside the ATEAM trial to form the foundation of the evidence base for the effectiveness of Alexander lessons.

Read More
ATLAS commentary Parts I and II
Study Overview and Insights Alexander Studies Online Study Overview and Insights Alexander Studies Online

ATLAS commentary Parts I and II

In the first two videos of a series of four interviews, Julia Woodman BSc, PhD, MSTAT talks about the ATLAS neck pain trial with Charlotte Woods EdD, MSTAT. They delve into the background to this important trial and review the findings, including looking at the experiences of the participants in the trial. They also discuss how ATLAS sits alongside the ATEAM trial to form the foundation of the evidence base for the effectiveness of Alexander lessons.

Read More
Potential Mechanisms of the Alexander Technique: Toward a Comprehensive Neurophysiological Model
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Potential Mechanisms of the Alexander Technique: Toward a Comprehensive Neurophysiological Model

In this edition of the ASO blog series we hear from Tim Cacciatore PhD MSTAT and Rajal Cohen PhD M.AmSAT, two of the three authors of a recent paper published in the Kinesiology Review Journal. The paper, “Potential Mechanisms of the Alexander Technique: Toward a Comprehensive Neurophysiological Model” is an intriguing first step to help answer the question of why the Alexander Technique seems to have such wide-ranging benefits.

Read More
Learning from People Living with Parkinson’s Disease:  Ten tips from the field
Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online

Learning from People Living with Parkinson’s Disease: Ten tips from the field

In this 4th edition of the ASO newsletter, we have another piece written specifically for the ASO Community, this time by Glenna Batson ScD, PT, MA, mAmSAT, ISATT. In the post below, Glenna shares her experiences of working with people living with Parkinson’s disease, taking us through her initial trepidation and how she found her way. She offers tips for teachers working with people living with Parkinson’s that arose from applying her knowledge and experience from her own research background and from working with people with various neurological challenges.

Read More
Disciplined inquiry and the Alexander Technique teacher: What is it, why do it?
Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online Personal Reflection Alexander Studies Online

Disciplined inquiry and the Alexander Technique teacher: What is it, why do it?

In this 3rd edition of the ASO newsletter we are excited to release a paper written specifically for the ASO community. Written by Dr Gabriella Minnes Brandes (CANSTAT, STAT, AMSAT, ATI) and Dr Charlotte Woods (MSTAT), the below post helps to demystify the term disciplined inquiry and sheds light into ways in which our community can further share and grow together.

Read More
Pt. II of Supporting People with Dementia: a Role for Alexander Technique Teachers?
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Pt. II of Supporting People with Dementia: a Role for Alexander Technique Teachers?

Part II of the ASO researcher interview series includes all five videos released during the period of December 2020 to early January 2021. These videos explore the process and results of a survey of Alexander Technique teachers about teaching people with dementia, provide an update on the ASO dementia theme, and finish with a live Q&A that took place on January 19th, 2021.

Read More
Pt. I of Supporting People with Dementia: a Role for Alexander Technique Teachers?
Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online Meet The Researcher Alexander Studies Online

Pt. I of Supporting People with Dementia: a Role for Alexander Technique Teachers?

Part I of the ASO Researcher Interview Series contains all videos released from December 2020 - January 2021. This first section begins with an introductory video to the theme of the Alexander Technique and its role in supporting people with dementia, then continues with six videos that explore a pilot study completed on the Alexander Technique in a residential care setting for people with dementia.

Read More