Alexander Technique with Marcus James

I teach the Alexander Technique near Addlestone and Woking in Surrey, and have been a qualified Alexander teacher for over twenty years. The Technique offers a practical way to experience relaxed good posture, increased presence and self-awareness, and to learn to move with greater grace, balance and ease. Learning the Technique is a transformational process which feels wonderful and can change your life!

Posture and poise

Learn to get out of the way of your natural stabilisation and balance systems so that they can support you effortlessly, in movement and at rest.
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Anxiety, stress and overwhelm

Learn how anxiety arises in the body and brain, and how to calm your nervous system leaving you less anxious, tense, and reactive, and more able to deal with whatever life throws at you.
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Musicians and performers

The Alexander Technique can be particularly beneficial for performers such as musicians, dancers and sportspeople, helping you to become more skilled at activities you love or depend on for a living while taking care of your body now and in the future.
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“Marcus is very professional, and his approach is both knowledgeable and sensitive. I feel that I have benefitted hugely from his lessons in Alexander Technique and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.” — Lynda Perrins

About Me

I’m a qualified and experienced Alexander Technique teacher, and I’ve been exploring and thinking deeply about this work for almost 30 years. I qualified as an Alexander Teacher over 20 years ago. I’m also a musician, psychotherapist and writer.
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My forthcoming book on the Alexander Technique

Articles for Alexander Technique teachers

Anxiety, Stress and Overwhelm

The Alexander Technique offers an effective and accessible mind/body approach to dealing with anxiety and stress. It can help you understand how external events and your own thoughts and feelings can trigger stress responses in your body, and shows you practical ways to quieten your nervous system down so that you feel more centred, calm and relaxed.

“Marcus has been a skilled and wise guide for me during a period of high stress and change, and I highly recommend him. I’ve learned to calm down, find balance, and find my voice.” – Helen Chomfsky

How does it work?

It’s normal to feel stressed about challenging events, but sometimes we can get caught in circular patterns of over-stimulation which can be difficult to find our way out of on our own.

In the lessons, the teacher uses gentle manual guidance and simple verbal instructions to help you become aware of how you respond to stress triggers both in the outside world and in yourself. They use hands-on contact to encourage your nervous system to quieten down, and help you to become aware of things you may be doing which keeps you in the cycle of stress, allowing you to begin making choices that lead to peace rather than worry and overload!

Grounding and Breathing

Breathing and a sense of connection with the ground are key to our ability to cope with stress. The Alexander Technique can help you to become more grounded so you can release into the support of the Earth beneath your feet and let go of the unnecessary muscular tension and holding that’s part of the pattern of chronic stress. At the same time you learn how stress can interfere with your body’s natural breathing patterns, and how to allow these patterns to gently reestablish themselves.

Stress and Trauma

Sometimes past trauma stored in the body is a contributing factor to present-day stress. Where this is the case I am trained to facilitate trauma release and integration and can offer a safe, open and non-judgmental space in which feelings from the past can come up and be resolved if necessary.

Learning The Technique

The Alexander Technique is usually learned in one-to-one lessons. The teacher uses verbal instructions and hands-on guidance to encourage you towards more balanced and relaxed posture and movement and to coach you towards becoming aware of subtle unconscious habits that cause excess muscular tension. As you learn how to stop doing these things your body’s innate support and balance systems are freed to do their job.

The teacher doesn’t instruct you on how to ‘hold yourself’ or how to achieve ‘good posture’. Instead, your body naturally comes into a state of easy balance and alignment. This process takes the strain off nerves, muscles, and joints, and frees up wasted effort, leading to a reduction in stress, an increase in energy, and a heightened sense of presence and vitality. In the process may also alleviate chronic discomfort and pain that has been caused by unnecessary muscular tension.

“20 years ago I injured my back, which left me with a background level of chronic daily pain. I started having Alexander Technique lessons with Marcus and since then the pain has gradually lessened. I have learnt a great deal about postural health with Marcus and look forward to improving still further as I continue my AT lessons.” — Lorna Howarth

Posture and Poise

The Alexander Technique is an intelligent, transformative approach to taking care of yourself and your body. Through a series of one-to-one lessons you learn how to stop interfering with your body’s natural systems for movement, stabilisation and balance, allowing them to do their job so you can remain relaxedly free and upright without effort or strain. There’s no need to struggle to maintain a set posture or position or to feel you need to be trying to hold yourself correctly or pulling yourself into shape all the time. People often grow several centimetres in the course of the lessons as they come naturally back to their full height!

The Technique’s effectiveness has been affirmed through scientific studies and almost a hundred years of practical experience. There are no repetitive exercises or special equipment needed, and it’s never too late to change old habits and make a worthwhile difference.

For Musicians and Performers

The Alexander Technique has been helping performers such as musicians, dancers and sportspeople to take care of their health, practice more effectively, and improve their technique for almost a hundred years. It offers a proven psychophysical approach to help you play with more freedom and ease and to look after your body throughout your career.

Through a series of 1-2-1 lessons you become aware of ways you introduce unnecessary tension into your practice and are gently coached towards doing less to get better results.

Confidence and Stage Fright

As well as helping you to perform with less stress and strain, the Alexander Technique can help you to feel more secure and in control, making for more relaxed and confident performance.

As your body starts to give you a tangible feeling of support, freedom and security this tends to be reflected in how you experience yourself emotionally, resulting in greater confidence and the possibility of opening up and expressing yourself more fully and clearly.

Is it for You?

The Technique is not a quick fix, and though having lessons also often has therapeutic benefits it is not a 'treatment'. It’s something you experience, learn and apply for yourself. You can take what you have learned away with you and it can help you to take care of yourself for the rest of your life.

It’s likely to be a good fit for you if:

You are ready to take responsibility for your own well-being and destiny and to make positive changes in the way you do things in order to grow and change.
You like to learn new things and are willing to grow and enjoy the journey.
You are willing to commit a little time each day to working with what we are learning in the lessons.

How long does it take to learn?

The Alexander Technique involves changing longstanding habits. Like anything worthwhile getting the benefits requires some commitment. It’s necessary to come for weekly lessons to begin with. For most people, 10-12 lessons is a reasonable minimum number. Given the effect on how you feel from day to day and the long-term effects on health and well-being, the benefit tends to be considerably out of proportion to the cost!

You can find some more general information about the Alexander Technique here.

Find Out More or Book a Lesson

I have been a qualified Alexander Technique teacher for over 20 years since completing a three-year, 1600-hour STAT (Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique) approved course in 2001.

My book about the Alexander Technique ‘Ease and Skill’ is being published in Autumn 2024.

You can find out more about me here.

Contact Me

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Psychotherapy and Alexander Technique in Surrey, close to Woking,
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Marcus James

Psychotherapy & Alexander Technique in Addlestone