In her drama school training Natalie Dormer studied the Alexander Technique: 'When you work the unnatural hours that actors work, and when you fly as much as we do, you have to pay attention to your body—or else you’re a disaster ready to happen' All celebrity performers know the value of body language; of viewing their own body as a musician would view an instrument, which is why so many train in the Alexander technique. Training in the technique allows you to infinitel

In many sports you are required to make rapid mental calculations to estimate where the ball is going to land as it spins its way towards you. If you can meet it at just the right moment you can send it off to a new place and increase your chances of winning. All of this happens at speed and it takes enormous skill to keep your eye on the ball at the moment of impact. Also, in a game like football or hockey, you need to determine where all your team members and opponents are

In 17th century Scotland, the birthplace of modern golf, players wore clothing to battle the harsh Scottish weather, hence tartan. Where has all the tartan gone? I remember when my aunt used to play golf, many years ago now, when wearing tartan was definitely the thing to do. I'm quite certain that it had very little to do with performance or that the wool was necessary for warmth - it was just a matter of tradition. Modern fabric is way more versatile and even more comfort

Which of these two golf postures is best? Hopefully it is obvious that the one on the right, where the man has a straight back as opposed to a curved one, is much better. His head, neck and back are nicely aligned which gives him a mechanical advantage over the other chap. Actually there are many more subtle considerations which aren't so easy to see. Ideally, the relationship between the head, neck and back should be poised, not fixed; there should be no narrowing across t

I saw an amusing cartoon of a golfer essentially digging himself deeper and deeper into a pit in his determination to hit the ball. We can relate to his sense of frustration as we all have those days when trying harder just doesn't seem to get us where we would like to be. As an Alexander technique teacher I have a particular view on the whole concept of 'trying harder'. To me it makes better sense to 'try differently', especially as the other expression suggests increased t

I found this image while browsing on the internet and just thought, wow, what a beautiful horse! We can train camels and elephants; dogs and dolphins - my friend has even trained his cat! But surely there is no animal as versatile as a horse? For at least 5000 years we've used them for transport, pulling, carrying, ploughing, fighting, for sport and for entertainment. I can't imagine a horse with hair like this being rode into battle, or ploughing a field. But in a romanti

About 20 years ago I took myself off to a riding stables to learn to ride. It wasn't my first experience of being on horseback - that was as a student, pony trekking with friends. My pony got impatient at the start of the ride, jumped a stream, causing me to lose my reins and stirrups, and proceeded to head off across the moor into the heavy mist. Recognising the severity of my plight, I gripped the animal's mane with my fists and its body with mine, in order to stay on rath

An image of a horse jumping out of it's skin at the beach was recently posted on Dressage Academy's Facebook page and I'm afraid I found it hilarious. There's something very amusing about seeing someone having a fright - in this case that someone being a 800kg horse. A fright involves what's known as the 'startle pattern'. In human beings the startle pattern begins in the neck and passes through the entire body in less than half a second. The neck retracts violently; the ba

As we all know, horses can be rather large. Forcing them to cooperate with us would be difficult but coercing them, fortunately, has brought dividends over many thousands of years. Whether you view a horse as a cognitive animal or an animal of flight, it's unique behaviour lends itself to human endeavour. So why do we still see people yanking at their reins, lashing with the whip or urging with their hips? I've spent a lot of time with 'horsey' friends and have witnessed rai

I've just been talking to a dear friend about the Alexander technique and the question of scientific evidence came up. This subject gets me going because I too struggle with things when they're based on magic or make-believe. I have an open mind; I'm an enthusiastic Harry Potter fan but when it comes to things that are supposed to help me they definitely have to be logical, provable and effective. If you look at the Alexander technique from a mechanical point of view then it