The Alexander Technique

Studios in North Hollywood and Pasadena, California

Since 1983

Frances Marsden's first experience with the Alexander Technique was when she was an acting student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. She was so profoundly affected by her first lessons that she decided to make teaching the Alexander Technique her life's work. She returned to London and was certified there as a teacher of the Alexander Technique in 1981 after completing a three-year, full-time program of instruction under the tutelage of Walter Carrington, a master teacher directly certified by F. M. Alexander. She moved to southern California in 1983.

Frances teaches privately and is also a member of the faculty and Board of Directors of the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. She also teaches at Occidental College and California State University at Los Angeles. She is Chair of the Training Approval Committee of the American Society for The Alexander Technique.

Frances holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Liverpool University and a Diploma of Education from Leicester University.

What Is The Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a practical educational method to achieve physical well-being and improved health. It is an effective method for reducing the pain of an aching back caused by stress, recovering the free mobility of childhood, walking more upright, more effectively and confidently performing a skill such as playing a musical instrument, performing more effectively on stage or in the courtroom. F. Matthias Alexander, an Australian Shakespearian orator, systematically studied the causes of his own oratorical difficulties early in the last century, and he learned how to overcome them through a new understanding of the use of his body. These principles were thoroughly developed during his lifetime by him and others who recognized the power and usefulness of what he had discovered. Professional understanding continues to be developed and taught today by teachers of the Alexander Technique in their practices and through teacher training schools, seminars, professional journals, books and other literature. Today in the United States there are more than six hundred certified Alexander teachers who have completed the rigorous three-year, full-time course of training required for certification by the American Society for The Alexander Technique.

The Alexander Technique is now part of the curriculum at such well-known schools of the performing arts as the Julliard School of Music, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and UCLA, among a large number of other schools and academic departments throughout the world. 

What Is Taught In Alexander Lessons?

The gentle hands of a skilled, certified Alexander teacher guide the student to rediscover balance and ease of movement without force or required exercises. The Alexander Technique helps students to identify those habitual patterns, repeated unconsciously in daily life, which may lead to muscular tension, compression, pain, fatigue and stress. With a new awareness of how to use the body, a new pattern is established which encourages ease in breathing and speaking, flexibility of movement, a renewed sense of vitality and a more natural upright posture.

The Alexander Technique is derived from scientific principles to optimize human functioning. It is not derived from a philosophy or belief system or other system of values. It is unlike chiropractic, physical therapy or yoga, where  exercises are prescribed or required. Here, the skilled hands of the Alexander Teacher gently guide the body to return to its natural state of balance and good use, forming new habits of natural carriage and function that carry over into the student's life outside the studio. This gives him or her new poise and confidence while reducing or eliminating pain which is the result of poor body usage.

The Alexander Technique is usually taught in private half-hour to forty-five minute lessons. The teacher leads the student in simple activities, such as sitting, standing, bending and walking. Through self- observation and direct experience, the student learns how his coordination works, how tension is created and how to release it. This enables him to change long-standing habits and to function more efficiently. In time, a new awareness will carry over into the student's life, giving him the means to tackle more complex activities with skill and poise. 

The muscular habits that a student brings to a lesson can be resistant to change even with the Alexander Teacher's hands-on guidance. Part of an Alexander lesson therefore usually takes place on a table, where the teacher can help the student change some of these habits without the interference of movement.

Students always remain fully clothed during Alexander lessons.

Lasting change can take place during the course of a series of Alexander lessons. The energy used to maintain stressful and counterproductive habits can be freed to be used more effectively. Pain and tension can be eased. Stamina can increase. Your mental outlook can improve.

Alexander students include people from all walks of life who seek relief from chronic pain due to poor posture or congenital conditions, and those whose occupations or lifestyles may involve long periods of standing, bending or sitting. If you are uncomfortable or in pain due to stress, if you are a performing artist or athlete, or if you are simply concerned about your health or improving your sense of well-being, you may benefit from the Alexander Technique.

What Do Frances Marsden's Students Say About The Alexander Technique?

 M. C., Carlsbad:

"An energized, ready to go relaxation....It has prevented me from becoming crippled." 

S. A., Toluca Lake:

 "My back pain has completely gone."

A. H., Los Angeles:

 "My vocal quality has improved."

S. P., Studio City:

 "I can cope better with life, because I am not focusing on pain."

C. T., West Hills:

"It helps me to be calm and get control of tension."

L. P., Reseda:

"I move with grace and ease."

L. N., Northridge:

"I stand taller."

What Do Notable People In History Say About The Alexander Technique?

Scientist Nikolaas Tinbergen, discussing the Alexander Technique in his Nobel Prize Address:

"Many types of underperformance and even ailments, both mental and physical, can be alleviated....by teaching the body musculature to function differently." 

Aldous Huxley:

"Alexander's fundamental discovery was this: There exists in men, as in all vertebrates, a primary control conditioning the proper use of the total organism."

John Dewey:

"Mr. Alexander has demonstrated a new scientific principle with respect to the control of human behavior as important as any principle which has ever been discovered in the domain of external nature."

How You May Contact Frances Marsden

You may telephone Frances for further information and appointments at the number below:

 818.760.6454

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