Alexander Technique Lessons Toronto and Kuwait

I started learning the piano as an adult in 1997. Upon the repeated advice of a music teacher, I looked for ways to release the tension in my shoulders even though at the time I didn't feel the tension (F.M. Alexander called this phenomenon of not realizing what we're actually doing "faulty sensory appreciation" or "debauched kinesthesia").

Reading books on piano technique led me to discover Alexander Technique, which was mentioned as a way to learn about one's body and posture.

During the first AT lesson, I didn't feel any significant changes but went back for more lessons, because I had read that one might need at least ten lessons to be able to get the benefit of the technique.

Soon after the second lesson, I began to notice daily habits of tension such as gripping too hard on objects. The realization that I was holding too much tension in my body and not really feeling it was scary, but at least I was beginning to sense what I was doing.

With time, I was able to release the tension in my shoulders and my whole body. Changes unfolded slowly but accumulated to a heightened kinesthetic sense that transformed the way I moved throughout the day and the way I practiced the piano.

Wholeheartedly, I attribute my musical progress to Alexander Technique. Starting from scratch (not even knowing how to read music), I was able  to pass Grade Nine Piano with First Class Honours (the Royal Conservatory of Music). I couldn't have done it with stiffened shoulders and joints; the pain would not have allowed me to continue playing.

I became a strong believer in Alexander Technique, and I wanted to train as a teacher mainly to pass the technique to my family in Kuwait. Here in Canada, people can find teachers of the technique but there is no one yet who teaches it in Kuwait. 

In 2003, I began training in Toronto at the Alexander Alliance School, which is now named the Susan Sinclair Alexander Technique and Pilates Centre, and in 2007, I became certified as an Alexander Technique teacher by Alexander Technique International (ATI).

The year after my graduation, I completed a post-graduate program with John Nicholls in New York. Then I repeated the same program in 2009-2010.

Because I was also involved in the doctorate program at OISE/UT, I had not had the chance to visit Kuwait for the past four years. This summer (2010), my brother Fayeq passed away (he was suddenly diagnosed with cancer and died within a few short months). I went back to Kuwait a little too late but in spite of the sad circumstances, I had the opportunity to introduce Alexander Technique to my family as well as other people in Kuwait. It was such a thrill to witness the changes in movement and coordination of loved ones in front of my eyes and under my hands. The experience made me much more appreciative of the work and its significance.

I do hope that I can reach more people with my Alexander Technique teaching, here in Canada as well as in Kuwait and the Middle East! My personal conviction is that Alexander Technique can help people reach their full potential in their journey to self-discovery, and my personal hope is that I'll be one of the contributors along the way.

I have attended many Alexander Technique workshops whenever I had the opportunity to do so.

The first workshop that I attended was for five days in Salem, Portland, with Barbara Conable. It was on Body Mapping for musicians, titled What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body (Conable has a book with the same title). Alexander Technique was implemented in the workshop, which enhanced my learning. I'm very grateful to Barbara Conable who was the first teacher to help me apply AT directly to playing the piano.

Among the workshops that I recently attended were a one-day workshop, titled Introduction to"The Art of Breathing," with Jessica Wolf, and a two-day workshop for teachers of Alexander Technique, titled Initiating Movement, with Barbara Kent offered by ACAT.

For students who are new to the technique or who have had some lessons, I recommend going to workshops at Sweet Briar or Malibu. It's wonderful to work with different teachers because each teacher adds something new from his or her own expertise.

I conducted two introductory workshops in Kuwait. The first one was for actors (co-conducted with Faisal) and the second was for women who were mostly interested in fitness and exercising. Both groups received the work well.

It was challenging in a pleasant way to translate Alexander Technique terms into Arabic, but I believe that Faisal and I did a good job. Luckily, people in Kuwait do understand English, so we were able to use both, the original terms and our translation.