In this interactive 90-minute workshop, I explore how integrating health coaching skills has deepened my work as an Alexander Technique teacher. Many students experience meaningful change during lessons yet struggle to carry that insight into daily life. Coaching tools did not replace Alexander principles—they strengthened them. By refining how I listen, question, and respond, my role shifted from expert instructor to collaborative partner, while remaining grounded in awareness, inhibition, and direction.
Participants will be introduced to four coaching competencies that complement Alexander work: 1) Deep listening — Hearing not only physical habits, but also values, fears, motivations, and readiness for change.
2) Powerful questioning — Inviting curiosity, self-awareness, and alignment with what matters most to the student.
3) Reflective language and affirmations — Building self-efficacy and easing perfectionism without turning lessons into praise or therapy.
4) Stages of change awareness — Meeting students where they are rather than assuming readiness for action.
Through brief teaching segments, live demonstration, discussion, and guided partner practice, participants will explore how to integrate these skills into both private lessons and group classes. We will experiment with practical language shifts, question frameworks that evoke insight, and simple structures for designing small, realistic “micro-experiments” between sessions to support integration.
This coaching-informed approach preserves the essence of the Alexander Technique. It clarifies intention, strengthens trust, and supports student agency. Rather than pushing for change, we learn to create conditions in which change is more likely to emerge.
Suitable for trainees and experienced teachers, this session offers concrete tools, practical phrases, and a clear framework for integrating coaching skills without diluting core principles. Participants will leave with greater confidence in facilitating lasting learning and supporting students beyond the teaching table.
The workshop is designed to accommodate diverse learning styles. Participation options include seated or standing engagement, observation-only roles during partner work, and verbal or written reflection formats. Partner exercises emphasize consent, psychological safety, and opt-out flexibility. By modeling adaptability and responsiveness, this workshop embodies meeting the moment—supporting inclusion, agency, and sustainable performance for diverse learners and teachers alike.
Aik Hooi Lee is a pianist, certified Alexander Technique teacher, and health and wellness coach who integrates artistry with holistic mind–body practices to support creativity, resilience, and sustainable performance. Trained at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT... Read More →
Medical studies have shown that the Alexander Technique is beneficial for those living with Parkinson's. Some of the benefits include improved physical alignment and balance, freer movement and breathing, improved mood, and more efficient use of the self in daily functioning.
Join Bill Connington to learn how the Alexander Technique can be of real practical help in daily living for People Living With Parkinson's. Bill will help you understand more about this condition, and how Alexander teachers can give vital help to those living with it.
Through mindful awareness, learning simple self-cues, and strengthening the mind-body connection, People Living With Parkinson's can proactively influence the use of themselves, and develop a constructive self management of their own lives.
Bill has been evolving this work over seventeen years. He will present new ideas and discoveries in this important application in the Alexander work.
Bill has learned over and over that the most important benefit that the Alexander Technique can bring to PLWP is hope.
Bill Connington is a Lecturer in Acting at the graduate acting school of Yale University. He also teaches classes for People Living With Parkinson's for Yale Hospital. Bill is the former Chairman of the Board of the American Center for the Alexander Technique, and the author of three... Read More →
