Author Richard Brennan Interviewed

Read my interview here.

From Alexander.ie:

In 1976 Richard developed painful back problems and sciatica while working long hours as a driving instructor. After several years of pain, and having tried various orthodox and complementary treatments, he eventually found relief by having Alexander Technique lessons in 1984. He found the Technique so effective that he soon decided to undertake the three year full time teacher training course in Totnes, Devon, UK, approved by STAT, the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique. He qualified in 1989 and joined STAT.

His work as an Alexander Technique Teacher

Richard established his first practice in Totnes, Devon, and began lecturing and teaching around the UK and Europe. He began writing his first book about the Technique in 1991, and since then has written six more books, and is currently working on his eighth.

Richard moved to Galway, Ireland, in 1997. He runs a busy private practice there. He founded the first Alexander Teacher Training College in Ireland in 1998. He is co-founder and past president ofIrish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT), established in June, 2004. In 2007 the training course became approved by the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique. It is also approved by the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT).

Richard travels around Europe and USA, giving talks and courses on the Technique. He has taught the Technique at many educational centres, including Galway University, Limerick University, Middlesex University, London, and Dartington College of Arts. He was a guest presenter at theAmSAT annual conference in San Francisco 2009.

Books and Articles

Richard is the author of four books on the Alexander Technique which are translated into eight languages, and a further two books on the topic of stress. His new book on posture, Change Your Posture, Change Your Life, is due for publication in January 2012. He has written many articles on the Technique and has published a CD, available in MP3 and cassette form.

Richard has featured in several newspapers and magazines including The Irish Times, The Sunday Tribune, The Irish Examiner, Cosmopolitan, Hello and Home and Country. He has appeared on BBC 1 & RTE 1 and has been featured on BBC Radios 4 & 5 and on local radio around Ireland and the UK.

Approach

Richard has a practical approach to helping people find their own solutions to problems such as pain, stress, and obstacles to performance. His greatest personal satisfaction comes when he can help others to get out of pain, especially when all other attempts have failed, just as he himself was helped after years of struggle in the 1980s by his Alexander Technique teacher, Daniel Reilly.

Richard aims to make the Alexander Technique accessible to a wide audience. He has been a pioneer in helping to make the technique accessible to many thousands of people.

      

Books, cassette, CD and MP3s by Richard Brennan, wedge-shaped posture cushions & chairs are available to buy in our Online Shop.

Alexander Technique In The News

Links from my friend Adolfo Santamaria:

• Simple, no-drug way to ease back pain - 6ABC.com
• Improving Your, Um, You Know, Public Speaking - Wall Street Journal
• The Alexander Technique: An Alternative Therapy for Chronic Back Pain - Johns Hopkins Health Alert
• Victoria Beckham fights poor posture with Alexander Technique - Marie Claire
• A Balm For Back Pain? - N.P.R. (National Public Radio)
• A Dramatic Cure for Back Pain - Oprah.com
• Randomized controlled trial of Alexander technique lessons, exercise, and massage (A.T.E.A.M.) for chronic and recurrent back pain - British Medical Journal

What To Do When Your Life Falls Apart

* Free the neck. Think up. Let go of unnecessary tension.
* Lie down with the head supported comfortably with a book or two. Keep your knees up so your lower back can unclench. Think about the length and width of your torso. Think about your head gently releasing away from your torso. Think about your legs gently releasing away from your torso.
* The meaning of life is not a question that you ask life. It is a question that life asks you. What is life asking of you right now? As you let go of unnecessary muscular compression, you'll think more clearly. You'll see what you need to do.
* Now go do it with a free neck!

How Do I Book An Alexander Technique Lesson With Luke Ford?

It's easy! Luke Ford 264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Fax: 310-388-0814 Phone: 323-528-5814

I find three types of people typically come in for Alexander lessons. Those in chronic pain who want to become aware of their habits that are adding to their distress. Those in performance (actors, musicians, lawyers, etc) who want to do things at a higher level. And those who are interested in personal growth.

Who Is Luke Ford And Why Is He Teaching Alexander Technique?

Raised a Seventh-Day Adventist at Avondale College in Australia, Luke Ford moved to California in 1977.

He graduated from Placer High School in 1984, reported the news at KAHI/KHYLradio for three years, attended Sierra College and UCLA, was largely bedridden by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for six years, and converted to Judaism in 1993. From 1997-2007, Luke made his living from blogging.

Living a block from Beverly Hills, he now pays the bills teaching the Alexander Technique (moving the way the body likes to move). Lessons cost $100 each.
264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Fax: 310-388-0814 Phone: 323-528-5814

Luke is the author of five books, including:

» The Producers: Profiles in Frustration
» Yesterday’s News Tomorrow: Inside American Jewish Journalism

Read Luke’s autobiography here. Pictures. Fiction. Contact info. Facebook. Press. Twitter.

Where Do You Go For Information On Alexander Technique?

I like reading AlexanderTechnique.com and its sister sites such as AlexanderAudio.com. There's my main Alexander site -- Alexander90210.com. Also check out DirectionJournal.com.

I teach Alexander Technique out of Beverly Hills.

It is great having a skill I can teach around the world. I don't need any tools. I don't need anything but my teaching abilities and the internet to get the word out. I love working for myself. I love meeting new people who are interested in personal growth.

Alexander Technique helps us to become aware of how we respond to stimuli and it shows us how to let go of those responses that don't serve us. For instance, many people seem stuck in the fight-or-flight reflex (head thrust forward, shoulders rising up, neck and torso compressed). While that reflex might serve us in certain emergencies such as a charging tiger, it does not help us in 99% of life. Instead, it makes movement, thought and emotion more awkward.

A person who moves awkwardly is more likely to think and to feel in a distorted way and to relate awkwardly to himself and to others. By contrast, somebody who's poised will likely interact with others smoothly. Just ask yourself -- would I rather hang out with people filled with weird tension patterns or with those who appear at ease?
Luke Ford lives by Beverly Hills and teaches around Los Angeles. Lessons cost $100 each and last 45 minutes.
264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Fax: 310-388-0814 Phone: 323-528-5814
My latest blogging on Alexander Technique:

* A typical lesson with Luke Pictures
* My journey
* Finding tranquility
* What do you notice?
* Healthcare
* Medication
* TMJ Relief
* Running and exercise
* Alexander historian Jeroen Staring
* Back pain
* British Medical Journal Study
* My sore stomach
* Learning To Be Gentle With Yourself
* Psycho-therapy
* Letting go of resentment
* Taking responsibility
* Alexander Vs. Feldenkreis
* Sports performance
* Physical therapy

Recommended Writings On Alexander Technique:

* The one Alexander Technique exercise -- active rest. Part two. 
* Alexander Technique and the emotions. Alexander Technique directions.* Alexander Technique and the actor. Part Two. 
* Alexander Technique and the singer.
* Direction Journal

Here are my interviews with Alexander Technique teachers:

Malcolm Balk Paul Cook Sharon Jakubecy Michael Frederick Bruce Kodish Robert Rickover Adolfo Santamaria Larry White

What The Heck Is the Alexander Technique?

Hi there, my name is Luke Ford. I'm originally from Australia but I've lived in West Los Angeles since 1994. I went to UCLA and studied Economics. I'm the author of five books. Check them out on Amazon.com.

I now teach Alexander Technique out of Beverly Hills.

Alexander Technique helps us to become aware of how we respond to stimuli and it shows us how to let go of those responses that don't serve us. For instance, many people seem stuck in the fight-or-flight reflex (head thrust forward, shoulders rising up, neck and torso compressed). While that reflex might serve us in certain emergencies such as a charging tiger, it does not help us in 99% of life. Instead, it makes movement, thought and emotion more awkward.

A person who moves awkwardly is more likely to think and to feel in a distorted way and to relate awkwardly to himself and to others. By contrast, somebody who's poised will likely interact with others smoothly. Just ask yourself -- would I rather hang out with people filled with weird tension patterns or with those who appear at ease?
Luke Ford lives by Beverly Hills and teaches around Los Angeles. Lessons cost $100 each and last 45 minutes.
264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Fax: 310-388-0814 Phone: 323-528-5814

My latest blogging on Alexander Technique:

Would You Like To Feel Great?

Would you like to feel great? Would you like to let go of unnecessary tension and move with poise and grace? My name is Luke Ford. I've trained for the past three years to teach people a better way to use themselves. Just as the way you drive your car affects the way it functions, so too the way you drive yourself affects the way you function.

Alexander Technique is a way of noticing how you respond to stimuli and learning how to let go of those responses that don't serve you. For instance, most people respond to the stress of daily life by making themselves smaller. They feel like if they just diminish themselves, other people will hurt them less. But that doesn't work. We can crunch ourselves down and other people are no more gentle with us. By contrast, when we learn to expand into activity by letting go of our interfering tension patterns, we think and feel more clearly and move more gracefully and other people are relieved to be around someone who's tranquil and poised.

Luke Ford 264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Fax: 310-388-0814 Phone: 323-528-5814

My new Alexander website.

With my buddy Geoff:

With my friend Nick:

I kick it with Joey Kurtzman.

New Alexander Technique Teacher In Beverly Hills!

Hi, my name is Luke Ford. I'm originally from Australia but I've lived in California since 1977.

I am an Alexander Technique teacher. What is Alexander Technique? It is a way to notice how you respond to stimuli and how to let go of those responses that don't serve you.

What the heck does that mean? Well, have you heard of the fight-or-flight reflex? If you watch carefully when somebody gets frightened, they go through a predictable pattern. The head sticks out and rotates back on to the spine, compressing and tightening the neck. The shoulders rise up. The torso shortens and narrows.

This reflex is a good one for fighting, but it is a lousy reflex to get stuck in. Many people are stuck in a version of fight-or-flight during all of their waking hours. I can show you how to let go of these responses to stimuli that don't serve you.

Luke Ford 264 S. La Cienega Blvd. #1417 BH, CA 90211 E-mail: lukeisback@gmail.com Fax: 310-388-0814 Phone: 323-528-5814