The main symptom of tinnitus is hearing a noise, such as ringing or buzzing, that is not caused by an outside source. It's not always clear what causes tinnitus. It's often linked with hearing loss, or other conditions like Ménière's disease, anxiety or depression. Personally, I found that my tinnitus is caused by drinking milk. I've always known that milk gives me catarrh, so when I had persistent tinnitus two years ago, and had already tried the medical route, I decided to

Recently I got rather carried away with my hiking. Enjoying the culture and countryside of Rhodes, I walked over 5 miles per day for 7 days in a row. I'd been pain-free for so many years, I'd almost forgotten that I used to have problems with my feet. Once back in Devon I organised a walk on Dartmoor for friends and family. The walk was lovely, but everyone seemed to have issues that day - they were either tired, grumpy or distracted. It felt strained and I was struggling a b

Swimming with the Alexander technique is a wonderful thing! I'm thinking of font crawl in particular, as it lends itself so well to keeping the neck free, head forwards and away, and back lengthening and widening. When you let the water support your body, and let your head rest forwards, it's so clear - a lovely opportunity to direct, inhibit, breathe rhythmically as you glide along. It takes practice of course - proper swimming lessons at some point will mean you have the st

The first thing people notice about us is our posture and our body language. It's immediately clear whether a person is confident or not from how they are using their muscles. Confident people will seem upright, open and energetic - unconfident people will seem withdrawn and closed down. I taught a 12 year old girl who had a mysterious and debilitating pain in her back. Doctors and physiotherapists had not been able to identify or treat the problem, so she began having lesson

Dowager's hump or hyperkyphosis is an excessive curvature of the spine. Usually, this occurs in the thoracic or chest curve of the spinal column. Often it is also simply called kyphosis, which is a forward curvature of the spine. There are various devices on the market which claim to eliminate this problem. You lie down, resting your head and neck on the device and it provides a bit of a stretch to your spine. It may well feel comfortable and nice - but you could achieve this

'Good use', as defined by FM Alexander, refers to a neuromuscular state of efficiency. The muscles operate to support balance and movement in an optimal way - the way they are designed to function. People with 'poor use' have resilient postural habits which create tension, wear and tear and discomfort in the body. The muscles support balance and movement in a distorted, mechanically disadvantageous way, involving excessive tone in most areas and collapse in others. People wit

Fourteen months ago someone crashed into my car causing me a moderate whiplash injury. They class it as 'moderate' when a person is in significant pain but able to continue with their lives. It was weird. For the first week I thought I'd got away with it. Then the pain began - and months and months of it, from head to foot. Headache, backache, numbness, prickling arms, sciatica etc. I did a lot of Alexander Technique work to cope with the situation. Fourteen months on and my

Has it ever occurred to you how adaptable top actors need to be? Physically and emotionally; different venues, different menus; different co-workers, different costumes - and that's even before they turn themselves into another person for our entertainment. It's a kinda magic! Being adaptable in this way requires an enormous amount of self-knowledge and that's where the Alexander Technique comes in. Learning to be consciously aware of your balance and movement on a minute lev

I recently triggered tennis elbow in both my arms - an old injury from my 20s which happened when I wasn't 'listening' to my body... So I was alone on a long car journey, which I had sensibly divided into manageable portions, with breaks etc But unfortunately my phone, which I was relying on for directions from Google Maps, died on me, and my car, for some reason, failed to charge it's battery. Navigating through heavy motorway traffic North-East of London, I made a series of

Yesssss! I'm happy to say that I am now teaching in Torbay and what a lovely part of the world it is :) Alexander Technique lessons for everyone: athletes, musicians, actors, public speakers, horse riders - all ages, all abilities, all walks of life... Anyone can learn to make the most of what they've got. Whether it's a TOP-UP or a TASTER, book your lesson now.