Cathy Dowden Alexander Technique

Now I'm at East Brunswick Village's Wellness Centre as well as at Coburg. That means expanded hours and easy access for your Alexander Technique sessions. Co-located with other health professionals, cafes, cinema, parking, gelati, groceries, restaurants.

Special offer: Half-price private sessions in September. www.cathydowden.com.au

The Alexander Technique teaches how to be grounded and lighten up at the same time, then how to apply these skills to stop recurring tension patterns, improve posture & balance and relieve pain.

My new website is hereby launched!! www.cathydowden.com.au
Complete with bookings, contact me and subscribe functions that all work (atm, anyway)
Try them all out and let me know what you think - on the Contact page of course.
So excited, relieved, self congratulatory. It's been a long time coming.

Cathy Dowden Alexander Technique Alexander Technique is education for body & mind Book here When, whether, and with whom to try the Alexander Technique is a personal decision that you make when you're ready.Here are some ways to find out how Alexander Technique might suit you, your needs and wishes and whether Cathy Dowden is a goo...

Recommended for dentists who want to sustain their career

Does it matter how dentists stand around the dental chair during treatment?

I see dentists bending and twisting their spine during extractions, holding an impression tray or treating special needs patients.

The intervertebral joints below C1 are not designed for prolonged bending. Using them as if they were pivot or hinge joints leads to cumulative trauma and increases the risk of chronic pain, impacting career longevity.

Optimal standing work-postures:

The correct joints for bending are the hip, knee and ankle joints.

A modified lunge, as shown in the photo, facilitates forward pivoting of the torso at the hip joints without bending and twisting the spine, with approximately 50% of body weight in front and behind the centre of gravity.

This way dentists can stand and bend over patients without the superficial movement muscles of the back (not designed for prolonged contraction) having to contract to manage the weight of the arms (an arm weighs at least 4 kgs) out in front.

This lunge is useful on both sides of the chair, having the left foot behind when standing on the left side, as well as behind the patient.

In Optimum Dental Posture Workshops you will learn:
- optimal seated and standing work-postures
- how to use the power of your hips to generate force for extractions, reducing the risk of arm and shoulder injury

Upcoming workshops:

2-day Ergonomics & Wellness in Dentistry Workshop

Brisbane
Thursday 31 October & Friday 1 November 2024

Melbourne
Thursday 21 & Friday 22 November 2024

For more information & registration
http://optimumdentalposture.com/training-programs/

'In-house Team Training Workshop’ available for Victorian practices
Book a half or full day workshop for your whole team in your own practice
http://optimumdentalposture.com/contact/

Cathy's Alexander news - June - https://mailchi.mp/babe2fe5b01f/cathys-alexander-news-june..And a beautiful ranunculus flower I grew for you to help me admire.

Learn Alexander Technique with me - body & mind resources for ease, balance & calm, managing stress, pain, tension.

Active Rest - how to rest and recover. Great advice here for everyone.
Cathy Dowden Alexander Technique will be assisting at this workshop for dentists in pain and to prevent pain, by Optimum Dental Posture

Optimum Dental Posture — Active Rest The Active Rest decompresses the spine. Intervertebral discs become compressed due to faulty posture and movement patterns, as well as gravity acting vertically downward on the spine all day. A person's height difference between night and morning is on average 1.6 cm.

Alexander Technique helps recovery after covid. Your body's success in fighting off even mild covid leaves mobilised inflammation throughout your body, especially your torso. This keeps you vulnerable for weeks to stronger than usual reactions to mild triggers like a chill, your period, getting stressed, low mood, a wakeful night.

6 weeks after a mild covid bout I still have tightening chest & ribs (and vague nausea) as the day goes on. That affects my breathing, my free movement, my voice, that annoying cough.

In clients I see it fire up pain in their usual troublesome spots especially neck, shoulder, upper torso. That nausea can set off bouts of vertigo dizziness.

It will gradually dissipate. Don't push it. Anti-inflammatories may help.

Get some Alexander Technique tips tailored for you from a teacher. Learning how to rest and reset your body, allow your chest/ribs to open (not pushing it with stretches or weights at this stage) will all help. Message me for an appointment or teacher near you.

The Alexander studio has been back inside in the warm for some time now.
In-person or online individual consultations. Discount $ available.

Come and see how much the vines have grown over the rain tanks. Flower buds opening soon.
Outdoor gazebo opens again late Spring.

New spots opened up Sat 9th and Sun 10th and next few fine days.
Contact me to book a time.
Outdoor space will be closing after the final sunny days of autumn.

Low back pain helped significantly by Alexander Technique.

Exciting new study in the prestigious British Medical Journal, no less.

Pain score by participants fell from 10 to 4, a change of -6.

"Outdoors Alexander is back" under this beautiful tree in the garden gazebo. Read my eNews - https://mailchi.mp/1a2ce7a6c68f/cathys-alexander-enews-nov2021

Subscribe for special offers & updates.

Online Alexander Technique consultations available now. Call 0401 495 836 to book free 20min zoom enquiry.

Like in-person sessions they are tailored to your questions, needs and curiosities.
A great way to apply Alexander IRL to you, in your kitchen, cleaning your bathroom, your workstation, weeding your garden, hanging your washing.

I will talk you through lie-downs, different approaches to actions, demonstrate on myself and maybe on my plastic skeleton 😉.
Clients report clearer, deeper self-understanding from online sessions.

But if only the hands-on touch will do, in-person sessions resume soon. Bookings being taken for mid August onwards.

Unique thinkers Einstein and Alexander were contemporaries. I wonder if they ever met?
Both passionately espoused the wholeness of body-mind-spirit.

“We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music.” Albert Einstein

Workshop for musicians on July 4, applying Alexander Technique.

What's On: Alexander for CALM Sunday June 20th, for Musicians July 4th - https://mailchi.mp/1ed5b30beebd/cathys-alexander-enews-junejuly

I'm caring for myself better this time around. The next Self-care Class is on Calm (20 June). What an appropriate topic.

Last year, I daydreamed about mapping the boundaries of my 5km radius in lockdown. This week, its been time to action the plan.

Each day I ride a "petal", lie down in Active Rest, work & study online, be in the garden.
Wanting to see the finished "flower" map has helped me keep at it. All helps with calming.

Riding my 5km radius in lockdown Check out my ride on Strava.

Take care Victoria. We've got this.
Self-care is key, remember?

Whether you're training for an Aussie Camino or want to be more steady on your feet, this workshop applying Alexander Technique to walking and balance on May 23 will offer help.

Info & booking: https://www.trybooking.com/BOTSW

Musicians who missed the 2 May workshop have another chance on July 4.

Alexander workshop for Musos 2nd May, Walkers 23rd May - read about what's coming up in this eNews: https://mailchi.mp/0da9d7a5d743/cathys-alexander-enews-may
Photo of sunny autumn garden in Coburg.

Self-Care Classes are workshops in Coburg applying Alexander Technique to:

Musical instruments – minding the body while holding/playing any byo instrument
Sunday MAY 2, 10am-12pm

Walking & Balance
Sunday MAY 23, 10am-12pm

Protecting your Back in sitting & bending
Sunday JUNE 6, 10am-12pm

Calm - 5 ways towards calming body & mind
Sunday JUNE 20, 10am-12pm

Enquiries? answers to FAQs - Send message

Self-Care Classes - applying Alexander Technique Practical one-off workshops. All have Part 1 “Alexander Technique, how it can help you, body and mind”. Part 2 is different for each class “Applying Alexander to a specific activity or issue”. Suitable for any age over 15, any level of fitness, weight, flexibility, pain, whether you know lot...

Alexander sessions are all back indoors in this warm light-filled space. Or on zoom.

Self-Care Class on 28 March - Alexander Technique + BackCare in Sitting - *| https://mailchi.mp/f07e7a73a574/cathys-alexander-technique-enews-march|*
Here's my Newsletter for this and other March-May news

Alexander Technique + BackCare in Sitting workshop 28 March

Calming was topic for Self-care Class #1 in this delightful courtyard garden at Newlands Neighbourhood House last Sunday. Class participants ended up soaking in the calm while lying on the grass. PM me if you want a Calm Class but missed out.

Self-Care Class #2 "Protecting your back in sitting & bending" is on Sunday 28th March. Details coming soon. https://www.trybooking.com/BOTSW

Alexander Technique + Calm workshop 7 March - https://mailchi.mp/acec9f601efd/cathys-alexander-technique-enews-jan-13356250

CD Alexander Technique - Jan 2021 news - https://mailchi.mp/d5b67269cf9c/cathys-alexander-technique-enews-jan-2021

Inside:
Alexander Technique and mindfulness have been pivotal to my resilience, this past year. AT gives profoundly helpful skills and insights for the many tough situations we can find ourselves in.

Read about how you can share in these Alexander supports for wellbeing:

Private session in the Coburg gazebo or online from your place.
Self-care class. Mindful body workshops, each with a special topic (lifting, pain, calm).
And more