First Weekend Masterclass

A big thank you to the six people who came to my first AT residential masterclass at my home in Hampshire. I’ve run many residential events before, especially the magical summer schools at Mas Collades in Catalonia some years ago, but there was a different kind of intimacy and connection being with a small group in my own home. There were three teachers, one teacher-trainee and two pupils, so a good mix of levels of experience.

We had lots of hands-on, themed practical work and discussions. One of the biggest challenges in learning and teaching the Alexander Technique is how to make the link with one’s own life. Living together for a few days can help to bring this aspect into focus.

Below are some comments, which I am publishing with the consent of the authors.

I’m so looking forward to the next one in September.

This weekend was real “psycho-physical” education, with words and kinaesthetic experiences combining and not separated.

John’s many years of exploring and teaching, as well as his continual use of inhibition in himself showed in the pace and timing of the weekend. We covered and explored so much, without it ever seeming rushed. Even in the group setting, he was able to look after everyone with what they needed at a particular moment.

Whether I was working with someone else under guidance, or receiving hands on or watching others being guided, I was equally engaged and sensed that others were too.

John’s house and garden are a wonderful venue for Alexander explorations. If you lie on the table in the conservatory you may see red kites flying overhead, not to mention butterflies coming in from the garden. Preparing meals together worked really well, with no sense of pressure due to John’s careful choice of very easy lunches and simple but delicious evening meal recipes. We also had a wonderful music session one evening, with John working on us individually while we played or sang, ending with us improvising together in a musical conversation which we could enjoy whatever our level of musical knowledge or skill.

One of the things I love about John’s teaching is the integral use of movement combined with inhibition and direction, so helpful when your student’s nervous system (or your own) starts to get overloaded or the tendency to try to get it right takes over. This quality of “movement in stillness and stillness in movement” is the essence of “good use” but sometimes hard to access.  I found that particularly some of the counter rotational movements we worked with made it easier to take this quality into classic helpful procedures such “hands on the back of a chair”. This movement work also helps in not blocking the flow of direction from your back when putting hands on someone else.

I came away with having had some wonderful experiences, but also practical ideas which are already helping me in my own life and teaching.

Alison Roper-Lowe
AT teacher 

A rich and rewarding immersive weekend with John and five other lovely people.

A great workshop full of clear meaningful communication. Ample hands on from John and with each other.

The emphasis over the weekend was organising yourself in a non doing way.

We certainly experienced this, in many different aspects. Learning and exploring how we can help ourselves communicate easily and clearly in our daily life, and teaching. In that non doing way.

By listening to what John was saying and communication through hands, a deeper understanding grew of how to organise, give consent, and communicate in that “non doing” way. 

Gentle, yet powerful. 

Maureen Somers
AT teacher

The immersive weekend masterclass with John Hunter was an enjoyable, experiential and valuable learning experience for me.  It refreshed my knowledge, looked at things from slightly different angles and refined my thought and whole-body hands-on use. 

As always, it is inspiring to be with a group of like-minded people, and especially living together for a few days.  Being in a tranquil area with no need to be engaged with the outside world created a safe container for an expanded learning and meant explorations could go on by way of working together and conversation outside of the sessions.

Lisa Harris
AT teacher

I was lucky to attend John’s Alexander Technique intensive. 

During the three days I felt full of energy and hope for the future.

There were many moments of connection where I had a sense of myself being present and lighter, connected to my external environment through my senses and to other people.

There was laughter as we cooked, played and made music together.

We listened to John’s stories of his encounters with the AT teachers.

There was magic in the air.

I left rejuvenated, peaceful and grateful for the possibilities of being that once again have been unveiled to me. 

Dr Eleni Tsiompanou,
AT pupil and medical doctor

I am still under the impressions of the very intense time spent together at the Immersive Weekend Masterclass in Bramley. Something subtle was touched in me in about understanding the Technique, how it actually works, this idea with hands on… which for me is a permanent mystery yet to be discovered and a continuous proof of the fantastic intuition of FM Alexander, how he brought such a “knowledge” at the level of daily life …

When I worked on Matt with your help and support I could feel how he was able to move , to follow an impulse, how this transmission from brain to brain is possible..I had a “touch” of the idea of the “not doing”, it was a kind of magic…

Working on breathing, especially when I was on the table , the sensation of a deeper relaxation in the body after the awakening of the diaphragm….brought a new approach to the idea of not interfering with the breathing…

I found it amazing how each of the people involved made the best, with honesty, with openness…

The moment of music improvisation…..I remember when I was student, I used to walk when it was raining to hear different sounds of the rain, on the tile of the houses, water flowing from the downpipes on the street,,,after a while , a music was there….it was part of my secret life inside…

I used to listen to jazz quite a lot until I found the choir, but I was never surrounded in such a way by the instruments…and experiencing such a vibration…hearing so close…

I am still amazed by what happened that evening…

I thank you again for opening the door of Alexander’s world..

Elisabeta Blejan
AT pupil & chorist