Hello,

Seoul National University Student Life & Culture Center is pleased to announce the May–June Alexander Technique Program (Online). We invite your interest and participation in the following sessions.

This program will be conducted online via ZOOM.

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Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaChUqsuuSnXfYq4mqQsGRdbkBvzOJesPvQ1_ilf7tlYKh5w/viewform?usp=dialog

Important: The May–June Alexander Technique program is not a recurring one-time session. Instead, it is a six-session continuous program. Please register only if you can attend all sessions.

Alexander Technique – Proper Posture for a Relaxed Mind and Body

The Alexander Technique focuses on conscious self-use, helping individuals refine their movements in everyday actions such as sitting, standing, and breathing. It teaches how to use the body efficiently to minimize unnecessary energy expenditure and improve overall health.

Additionally, the practice encourages a pause from overwhelming thoughts and emotions, fostering relaxation and reducing stress for both physical and mental well-being.

Schedule: May 13 – June 17, Tuesdays, 21:00–22:00 (Total: 6 sessions)
Instructor: Hyun-mook Choi (President, Korea Alexander Technique Association)
Target Audience: All Seoul National University members, including faculty, staff, instructors, graduate students, and undergraduate students
Venue: Online via ZOOM
Registration: Google Form (linked in the original announcement) or QR code
Application Deadline: Monday, May 12, by 14:00
Confirmation Notice: Monday, May 12, by 18:00 (individual notifications)
Cost: Free
Inquiries: kiw7355@snu.ac.kr

Program Structure:

 1. Conscious Body Awareness Training

1. Awakening sensory perception
2. Developing spatial awareness
3. Chair-based posture correction – Learn the most efficient sitting posture, release shoulder tension without lying down, and find ways to relieve everyday stress. Standing posture refinement – Identify and control unnecessary movements to improve posture.
4. Mirror-assisted self-assessment – Recognize habitual postural tendencies in standing, walking, and monkey posture. This practice allows greater flexibility in the ankle, knee, hip, and shoulder joints.

2. Breathing Techniques for Body Alignment

1. Whispered-ah breathing in semi-supine position (lying down with knees bent).
2. Hands-on techniques focusing on the neck, head, and spine to improve grounding and natural body alignment.
3. Relaxation breathing exercises integrated into lying, sitting, monkey posture, and standing positions.

Q&A – Program Operations

1. How is the Alexander Technique (Online) class conducted?

: The Alexander Technique is an experiential workshop. Participants follow guided instructions from the instructor for 50 minutes, bringing awareness to their bodies and gradually relieving tension. Regular participation helps release accumulated stress and cultivate a relaxed, tension-free lifestyle.
For the best experience, please prepare a quiet environment with space to lie down comfortably.

2. What is the course format?

: The Alexander Technique program runs as a 4–6 session intensive course over one to two months. Since each weekly session builds on the previous one, the curriculum differs slightly each week.
Participants should only register if they can attend all sessions every Tuesday throughout the program.

3. Is there a fee?

: Participation is completely free. The program is fully funded by the Student Life & Culture Center.

Q&A – Alexander Technique Education

1. What is the primary purpose of the Alexander Technique?

: The Alexander Technique is used to overcome chronic musculoskeletal pain, promote overall well-being, and enhance stress management skills. It is widely applied in healthcare, as well as in music, theater, and sports fields. Prestigious institutions such as Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Music, and Yale School of Drama integrate it into their curricula (Eldred et al., 2015; Little et al., 2008; MacPherson, 2015; Preece et al., 2016; Glover et al., 2018; Gross, 2019).

2. What are the benefits of the Alexander Technique?

: Research indicates that the Alexander Technique reduces pain in patients with musculoskeletal disorders and enhances performance in specialized fields such as sports and the arts.
In addition, various studies explore its mechanisms and theoretical foundations.

Key benefits include:

• Improved posture and tension regulation (Loram et al., 2016; Gurfinkel et al., 2006; Cacciatore et al., 2011)
• Enhanced motor control (Cacciatore et al., 2011; Gurfinkel, 2009; Ivanenko & Gurfinkel, 2018)
• Reduction of chronic tension in musicians (Austin & Ausubel, 1992; Cacciatore et al., 2011, 2014; Cohen et al., 2020; Hamel et al., 2016; O’Neill et al., 2015)
• Postural awareness and emotional regulation (Gilpin et al., 2015; Moseley & Flor, 2012; Dum et al., 2016)
• Alleviation of chronic pain (neck, back, knee), Parkinson’s disease mobility issues, and repetitive strain injuries (Little et al., 2008; MacPherson, 2015; Preece et al., 2016)
• Improved breathing (Klein et al., 2014)
• Stress reduction and management of negative emotions (Glover et al., 2018; Gross et al., 2019; Klein et al., 2014; Valentine et al., 1995; Zhukov, 2019)

3. What will participants learn? Is this a meditation course?

: The Alexander Technique is focused on posture correction through various movement exercises. Poor posture leads to unconscious muscular tension, resulting in physical discomfort and increased psychological stress.

Through daily movements such as sitting, standing, and breathing, participants learn to recognize their movement patterns, eliminate unnecessary tension, and adopt healthier movement strategies.
The program emphasizes being present and attentive to one's body, helping to reduce overall stress levels over time.

While verbal guidance from the instructor is essential in the beginning, the ultimate goal is to train participants to independently re-coordinate their muscles and nervous system for long-term well-being.

<References>

- Austin, J. H., & Ausubel, P. (1992). Enhanced respiratory muscular function in normal adults after lessons in proprioceptive musculoskeletal education without exercises. Chest, 102(2), 486-490.

- Cacciatore, T. W., Gurfinkel, V. S., Horak, F. B., Cordo, P. J., & Ames, K. E. (2011). Increased dynamic regulation of postural tone through Alexander Technique training. Human Movement Science, 30(1), 74-89.

- Cacciatore, T. W., Gurfinkel, V. S., Horak, F. B., & Day, B. L. (2011). Prolonged weight-shift and altered spinal coordination during sit-to-stand in practitioners of the Alexander Technique. Gait & Posture, 34(4), 496-501.

- Cacciatore, T. W., Mian, O. S., Peters, A., & Day, B. L. (2014). Neuromechanical interference of posture on movement: evidence from Alexander technique teachers rising from a chair. Journal of Neurophysiology, 112(3), 719-729.

- Cohen, R. G., Baer, J. L., Ravichandra, R., Kral, D., McGowan, C., & Cacciatore, T. W. (2020). Lighten up! Postural instructions affect static and dynamic balance in healthy older adults. Innovation in Aging, 4(2), igz056.

- Dum, R. P., Levinthal, D. J., & Strick, P. L. (2016). Motor, cognitive, and affective areas of the cerebral cortex ifluence the adrenal medulla. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(35), 9922-9927.

- Eldred, J., Hopton, A., Donnison, E., Woodman, J., & MacPherson, H. (2015). Teachers of the Alexander technique in the UK and the people who take their lessons: A national cross-sectional survey. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 23(3), 451-461.

- Gilpin, H. R., Moseley, G. L., Stanton, T. R., & Newport, R. (2015). Evidence for distorted mental representation of the hand in osteoarthritis. Rheumatology, 54(4), 678-682.

- Glover, L., Wolverson, E., & Woods, C. (2022). ’I am teaching them and they are teaching me’: Experiences of teaching Alexander Technique to people with dementia. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 56, 102200.

- Gross, M., Cohen, R., Ravichandra, R., Basye, M., & Norcia, M. (2019). Poised for Parkinson’s: Alexander technique course improves balance, mobility and posture for people with PD. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 100(12), e193.

- Gurfinkel, V., Cacciatore, T. W., Cordo, P., Horak, F., Nutt, J., & Skoss, R. (2006). Postural muscle tone in the body axis of healthy humans. Journal of Neurophysiology, 96(5), 2678-2687.

- Hamel, K. A., Ross, C., Schultz, B., O’Neill, M., & Anderson, D. I. (2016). Older adult Alexander technique practitioners walk differently than healthy age-matched controls. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 20(4), 751-760.

- Ivanenko, Y., & Gurfinkel, V. S. (2018). Human postural control. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 171.

- Klein, S.D., Bayard, C., & Wolf, U. (2014). The Alexander technique and musicians: A systematic review of controlled trials. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 14(1), 414.

- Little, P., Lewith, G., Webley, F., Evans, M., Beattie, A., Middleton, K., Barnett, J., Ballard, K., Oxford, F., Smith, P., Yardley, L., Hollinghurst, S., & Sharp, D. (2008). Randomised controlled trial of Alexander technique lessons, exercise, and massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain. BMJ, 337, a884.

- Loram, I., Bate, B., Harding, P., Cunningham, R., & Loram, A. (2016). Proactive selective inhibition targeted at the neck muscles: This proximal constraint facilitates learning and regulates global control. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 25(4), 357-369.

- MacPherson, H., Tilbrook, H., Richmond, S., Woodman, J., Ballard, K., Atkin, K., Bland, M., Eldred, J., Essex, H., Hewitt, C., Hopton, A., Keding, A., Lansdown, H., Parrott, S., Torgerson, D., Wenham, A., & Watt, I. (2015). Alexander technique lessons or acupuncture sessions for persons with chronic neck pain: A randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163(9), 653-662.

- Moseley, G. L., & Flor, H. (2012). Targeting cortical representations in the treatment of chronic pain: A review. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 26(6), 646.

- O’Neill, M. M., Anderson, D. I., Allen, D. D., Ross, C., & Hamel, K. A. (2015). Effects of Alexander technique training experience on gait behavior in older adults. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 19(3), 473-481.

- Preece, S. J., Jones, R. K., Brown, C. A., Cacciatore, T. W., & Jones, A. K. (2016). Reductions in co-contraction following neuromuscular re-education in people with knee osteoarthritis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 17(1), 372.

- Valentine, E. R., Fitzgerald, D. F. P., Gorton, T. L., Hudson, J. A., & Symonds, E. R. C. (1995). The effect of lessons in the Alexander technique on music performance in high and low stress situations. Psychology of Music, 23(2), 129-141.

- Zhukov, K. (2019). Current approaches for management of music performance anxiety. An introductory overview. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 34(1), 53-60.