EN
Translate:
EN
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Sue Merry MSTAT
Introduction
How lucky I am. If I had been born with a perfect back, had an idyllic childhood, been successful in everything I did and always had a clear sight of where I was going and what I wanted, I would have learned very little of any value. It has always been the difficulties that I encounter and the mistakes that I make that have opened up new layers of consciousness and knowledge for me.
Knowledge these days is only acceptable if it is backed up by extensive research and testing, clinical trials, peer reviews etc. etc. I am offering you very little to none of this. I am offering you the result of over twenty years’ worth of common sense and experience. I have worked closely with many small children during this time and they have taught me a great deal.
I want to explore with you some of the experiences I have had – and continue to have - that have led me to ask questions about some of the principles, approaches, facts and procedures that we consider to be true and valid. Let us consider the possibility together that sometimes the rules are wrong.
Sometimes we see things as we have been told to see them rather than seeing what is clearly happening before our eyes. Although these questions have mostly arisen from my work with children, many of the issues I want us to consider are also totally relevant to us as adults.
Such questions include:
- How do we learn?
- What is the relationship between learning and the innate need to feel safe?
- How do we develop patterns of behaviour?
- How have we evolved to function?
- How are we affected by different environments?
- How can we change?
- How can we find peace?
The Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique teaches us how to be present, how to focus, how to be easy in our bodies and minds, how to find good posture and how to balance movement and stillness. Alexander in Education helps children to learn more happily and effectively. It helps classroom teachers to more effectively manage themselves in the classroom and beyond. This helps to reduce, manage and even eliminate stressful situations.
The Technique is taught by verbal instruction and by gentle indications from the hands of the Alexander teacher. Touch of the pupil by the teacher is the clearest way to convey the principles of the Technique and is essential to the teaching. Alexander teachers are trained to use their hands in a thoughtful and safe way and are regulated by a professional body and a clear code of conduct.
Alexander in Primary Education has been developed over many years of work with children and classroom teachers and is exemplified by the system used at Educare Small School. It is effective because it is completely in accord with how we should naturally function in daily life and with how we learn.
If you are functioning well it is axiomatic that you can then perform well at whatever you are doing
Learning how to allow the self to stay in balance and how to re-find that balance when it is lost is the most amazing and unusual skill to possess. It should be taught to every child in every school. It is far more important than any other skill because if you have this ability in place it makes learning everything else much easier.
If you are functioning well it is axiomatic that you can then perform well at whatever you are doing. You may not become a genius or champion runner for example, but you will be much more likely to feel good about yourself and your achievements while accepting happily that you can’t be the best at everything.
Educare Small School
We need to provide the optimum conditions for our children to feel safe, to find balance and to feel nurtured. If we understand how the self comes into balance when the head, neck, back relationship is flowing correctly we can create conditions conducive to this flow. In this balanced state the child is free from stress and able to function efficiently.
- A happy learner is a good learner.
- A moving learner is an effective learner.
At Educare we teach children a unique, child-centred way to apply the principles of the AlexanderTechnique to the school day. They are also encouraged to use the skills that we teach them in all other areas of their lives.
Educare Movement Circle
‘When I think about the Alexander Technique I think about quiet time, movement circle and lazy -8’s and about relaxed learning’.
Ellie Aged 10 years
An ideal alternative to school assembly
‘Thinking and learning are not all in our head. On the contrary, the body plays an integral part in all our intellectual processes from our earliest moments right through to old age. It is our body’s senses that feed the brain environmental information with which to form an understanding of the world and from which to draw when creating new possibilities. And it is our movements that express knowledge and facilitate greater cognitive function as they increase in complexity. This is the conclusion which neuroscientific research supports in ever richer detail.’
Carla Hannaford, Ph.D
Each day at Educare begins with Movement Circle. Everyone practices a unique, structured mixture of movements drawn from many sources.Then we are ready to play and learn.
Educare Quiet Time
An opportunity for relaxation and focus.
‘I probably like best about Educare, the space and the freedom. You get a lot of space for yourself. When I say freedom, well you can say what you want to the teachers and you can put your impact in there. I think you have freedom to do stuff more than I think is done in other schools. We do Quiet Time here. That gives you a lot of space for yourself. That is something that is really nice and powerful.’
Hannah Oxford aged 10
After lunch each day everyone lies down. We listen to beautiful music and practice Hook-ups, Alexander Technique and meditation. When I am on site I can do some Alexander hands-on work and the older children can help me.
Many Alexander Teachers world-wide have now taken the Developing Self Education Training Course. They can teach some of the procedures that are in place at Educare Small School including Educare Movement Circle and Educare Quiet Time.
Use the link below to find a teacher in your area or contact us and we will try to put you in touch with someone.
‘I find it really fun and calming and it’s nice to have a new experience, like slowing down, being soft and learning about not pressing with my finger tips (as quiet time helper)’.
Sophia aged 9 years
Testimonials
".. the combination of Sue and Alison's experience compliments each other perfectly .."
"Having not come across Alexander Technique before I wasn't really sure what to expect from the session. However the combination of Sue and Alison's experience compliments each other perfectly and I was able to take a lot away from the session.
Whilst Alison worked the horse in, Sue spent some time working on my posture and breathing out of the saddle. We then put this into practice on the horse and it was easy to feel the difference- whereas previous attempts to correct my errant lower leg position had felt forced or hard work it now felt a lot more natural and secure. And where I had been tense and forgetting to breathe at the start of the session, this was now vastly improved too.
I can definitely recommend the sessions, thank you ladies!"
Emma Chapman and Tequilla
"Less effort, more subtlety and such a positive effect on both rider and horse."
"I have had quite a few sessions with the combined expertise of Sue and Alison over the last few years. They work in harmony with me and my horse and with each other so the effect is very powerful.
Although the adjustments and techniques seem very subtle and gentle the transformation in my riding and the response of my horse are very substantial and immediate. I still can't quite understand how this can be but it works every time.
I might start a session feeling tense and stressed and always end up feeling so calm and centred. The same happens with my horse who clearly enjoys his hands-on session with Sue. With successive lessons this builds and builds and becomes part of your natural riding style.
Less effort, more subtlety and such a positive effect on both rider and horse."
I can't recommend them highly enough."
Anita Jackson and Tequila
"Less is definitely more......it all felt so easy."
"Thank you so both much, it was a great session and a real eye opener. Less is definitely more. I did some more on Sunday & it all felt so easy. Having said that, I know how easily our bodies fall back into bad habits so I would like to have another reminder, when you are next available...........
......I rode again last night and noticed less resistance in transitions/half halts. I assume because I am not in his way and applying less pressure. He was able to move more easily downhill and he volunteered to use himself correctly as well. I feel I have more horse in front of me so much less effort required :) and a more relaxed horse!!"
Zoe Frampton and Beau
About EquiPosture
Stillness in Activity
EquiPosture is a different way of thinking about your riding. It teaches you how to release yourself from unnecessary tensions and habits. You learn how to remove the blocks that prevent you and your horse from really making the progress that you know is possible.
EquiPosture focuses on helping you to become more poised, released and centred, with the ease and balance of a natural rider.
This state of stillness in activity is achieved when you remove all the blocks that are preventing it - then change can spontaneously happen all by itself.
Thinking in Activity
The Alexander Technique is at the core of EquiPosture teaching. It is possible to learn how to take constructive, conscious control of yourself. You can create clear pathways between the helpful thoughts that you send to your body and the areas that you want to respond to these instructions. You are choosing to rewire your brain!
Sue brings Alexander Technique hands-on work to the context of riding a horse. You will be guided into the correct position and gently encouraged by Sue’s hands to release all unnecessary tensions, as well as finding yourself naturally gravitating into your own correct alignment and balance in the saddle. At the same time you will be learning how to work on yourself so that you can eventually find this new, improved way of being without any hands-on work at all.
Alison Craig BHSI (Reg’d) UKCC3 (Dressage)
Riding into Stillness
Alison Craig has been using the principles of the Alexander Technique in her own life for over twenty years. She has seen her riding transform during this time. She has personal experience of applying Alexander work to every aspect of horsemanship.
If you are going to learn how to apply Alexander Technique to your riding we believe that it is essential that you are working with a riding instructor who perfectly understands what you are doing and what you are trying to achieve and knows how to teach you accordingly. Alison teaches light-contact riding and this is 100% compatible with Alexander work.
When Sue’s Alexander Technique expertise is combined with Alison’s deep knowledge and experience of teaching riders and horses at all levels, riders find that this new body awareness can be applied straight away to their horse and their riding, with apparently minimal effort.
Many riders have felt their riding improve hugely after just a few sessions with Sue and with Alison. Horses benefit too, either simply from the fact that their rider becomes more poised, released and centred after simulator sessions, or from horse and rider sessions with Sue and Alison together in an arena.
