This is an opportunity to practise doing nothing . A great practice for when you start to notice soreness or stress, or you are in need of a reset on a busy day; a way to quieten down without shutting down. You will need a firm surface like a yoga mat or blankets on the floor and a couple of books to put under your head. Aim for the books to be at the back of the head and not the neck. However, make sure you adjust to whatever feels comfortable and available to you on th

9/3/2026 This Saturday @pianodrome Bruntsfield. For all instrumentalists and vocalists, amateurs or professionals, looking to find more ease, freedom, and agency over their practice & performance. 🎶 📖 Link in bio #pianodrome #alexandertechnique #alexandertechniquemusicians #edinburghevents #edinburghmusic

2/3/2026 What happens in an Alexander Technique lesson #5 or 6 #alexandertechnique #edinburghmindfulness l #mindfulmovement #alexandertechniquemusicians

29/12/2025 Practising the Alexander Technique means choosing what we want to bring in our daily movement, performance, life, and leaving out whatever is not serving us anymore. 👩‍🍳 (Disclaimer: The metaphor is not without fault, some walnut shells required significantly more force than I would ever use in an Alexander session 😮‍💨) . #alexandertechnique #edinburghmindfulness #mindfulmovement #edinburghmusicschool #edinburghmovement

9/12/2025 Currently brewing some workshop ideas for the new year and looking back to my student days.🎶 That tendency to pull away from my support during performances, I have now also observed in so many students. I like to joke that, even though I was eager to share my music, I also wanted to levitate and fly away from the stress of it all! 🪁 Always thankful for that workshop and opening possibilities for things I thought I just wasn't born to be able do.

18/8/2025 Walking, dancing, balancing, sitting, cooking, gardening, texting, typing, stressing, exercising, whatever we do, we are always in movement. Through the main principles of the Alexander Technique, we develop practical tools to bring ease, freedom, and enjoyment into any activity. A practical course accompanied with material for daily practice and reflection. What difference can 31 Days of Mindful Movement make? Sign up and let's find out together. All ages and abili

10/8/2025 This summer has marked an important transition. Saying goodbye to a lot of beloved students has not been easy! It has been a privilege to work along the amazing teachers and students at Edinburgh School of Music. As hard as this decision was, I know it brings me a step closer to bringing my vision to life. Bringing freedom, ease, and joy into music teaching/performing through the Alexander Technique. After closing this circle, I joined my favourite team at Neos Marm

10/6/2025 What a privilege to get to watch everyone enjoying themselves and their performance! Concerts are meant to be celebrations; of the effort, care, and love that goes into the practice, the composers, and the powerful means of expression that is music. Still arguing this is the closest thing we have to magic, still bringing that mentality into the concerts, mine and my students'. 🎶 #alexandertechniquemusicschool #pianolessonsedinburgh #pianorecitaledinburgh #pianoe

It takes trust to persevere with small daily changes, especially if the difference we experience does not feel profound or life-changing (or sometimes even when it does). This is why we don't tend to change unless we really have to. These small decisions, however, gradually become who we are. Even getting better posture & coordination, if forced, does not constitute a real change. We are simply imposing something on top of our same old selves. For any lasting change I would h

A big part of practising the Alexander Technique is expanding our attention. Instead of focusing hard on one thing, keep a few helpful thoughts at the back of our mind. It can be similar to observing the sky and watching the movement of the clouds, birds, planes. Even when the focus is on one thing, we can still see all the rest pretty effortlessly. Any of the thoughts shared this month are meant to have the same gentle quality of observation. Not putting too much significanc

There is no need to move in any way to make any of this happen. This is just a way to inform the rest of you what you'd rather not do (squeeze your main coordination), and what you'd like to do instead (stay easy, spacious, lengthy). We are unconsciously thinking about movement all the time. If we don't change our thinking, our movement will be directed by our past experiences rather than how we are in this present moment. This can be a long exploration, but I'll keep it simp

You can practice this thought for a couple of minutes before starting the activity (if you have the patience), or take pauses while doing it. Ideally choose something with no time pressure. An important thing Alexander noticed while observing himself, was that there were small tensions linked even with the thought of making a movement. It's interesting to notice at which point we actually start the movement. Do we sense tension in the parts involved in the movement or in comp

Availability for movement is a great indicator that we are not either completely switched off or tense. We can look for that in any joints or body parts. You can look for that slight sway or tiny readjustments in the hip/knee/ankle joints. That means they are supporting you so you don't collapse on the floor, but without locking and blocking all movement. 📖 Personal notes: We all have joints we "like" to lock out of habit. For me, it's the knees. The muscles around the knees

We tend to gravitate towards the direction we focus on. Notice if anything changes when you gently stay aware of which way is up ⬆️↗️⬅️ 📖 Personal notes: This is a thought I come back to every now and then, but also leave aside sometimes. At the moment I'm finding it really helpful, but at times it triggers my tendency to "fix" my posture and physically try to extend towards the up direction. As long as it stays just a thought that arises from curiosity/interest, it can be v

Could you slow down your activity? Is there anything you can move to be more comfortable? What adjustment would bring the activity more into your comfort zone? Once you think about ergonomic changes, you can notice if there's anything in the quality of your movement that can change. Does anything change with the thought of looking after yourself as a primary intention? Think about prioritising your comfort-spaciousness-freedom-gentle focus and notice if your movement and bala

What colours have you got in your field of vision? How aware are you of your peripheral vision? Keep your eyes lively and interested and notice its effect. What if you focus really hard on an object until you start to lose peripheral vision? And then soften your gaze to take in your surroundings. How did that affect your neck muscles? 📖 Personal notes: I like to use this thought to check if I'm putting a lot of effort into focusing. If my eyes have "emptied" of life and inte

We are starting to notice more the effect of our thoughts in our bodies, but not often consider the opposite. If you use a thought that helps you release tension, do you notice any effect on your state of mind? As always, this is an exploration/play, so it's absolutely fine if the answer is "no". If we start observing really closely and meticulously, it might cause more tension than benefit. You can keep this thought in mind for the next time you release a lot of muscle tensi

This is another reminder of depth, but slightly different. Focusing on distance or space, rather than what's happening within that space, can have a different effect on our minds/bodies. It's also interesting to notice the effect of thinking about different sides. 📖 Personal note: I particularly like thinking of the space between the right and left side, as a reminder of my width. It's an easy one to forget, because width is not a dimension we are encouraged to expand into.

A bit of body mapping: place your hands in front of your ears and try gently chewing. You can approximately find the joint of the jaw there. Now, place them behind your ears and do the tiniest nod. If you can feel the rotation, that's where your spine finishes and your head starts (a lot higher than most people imagine). Does this change at all how you move? What if you stay aware of your face muscles during your activity? 📖 Personal notes: As a person with a permanent polit

Even in our most seemingly still moments, there is a gentle rebalancing all through our bodies. The more aware of it we become, the less likely we are to go against it. 📖 I usually find it easier to forget about this when there is no movement in the environment around me. I also find it more likely to brace when I'm deeply absorbed into my thoughts. Even being deeply absorbed, though, becomes a lot more pleasant with a reminder to allow the gentle movements of my body to hap