Below is an edited text of an email I wrote to a new teacher in January 2001 who had asked for advice on running his first Alexander Technique Introductory Group.

It sounds like you should have attended some of my introductory workshops when you were training!

With 12 people I would have name labels. I always start by finding out who is there & if they have any particular interests, problems & expectations. I also like to find out what sort of work they do - if they are spending a lot of the day in a single activity, and also if they do any sport or exercise. I make a note of these & try to cover everybody's issues during the period of the course. Then I do 15 minute introduction to the technique, via Alexander's story,

Prior to using my hands I always ask all individuals in the group for permission to do so, as some may not be expecting this to be part of the course. I then demonstrate the directions by going round, working with my hands & asking participants to observe. I always ask people to turn their head from left to right, because most people are restricted in this movement & a little hands on work guiding them in this movement will produce a very appreciable difference in many people. It is a way of introducing the idea of flexibility rather than fixing in the use of the directions and it's a sort of a party trick, often creating amazement that such a small input can create such a big change. Over the course I want to introduce people to the concepts and experience of use, as opposed to posture, directions, inhibition, end-gaining & faulty sensory perception. I use practical procedures or explorations as a way of explaining these concepts.

I work with people moving from slumping to upright, so that people can get a good idea of their habits of sitting up straight. I work with moving forward from the hips in the chair & with getting out of the chair. I like to have a mirror handy, and keep a look out for people's faulty sensory perception. I believe that it is essential that if people leave with nothing else, they are clear if their sensory appreciation is not accurate. I look at peoples' sense of what is standing upright and take that on into walking. And I also give people an experience of the semi-supine position - it makes as better break for them than a tea break (although you may need a tea break for yourself.) It also is something they can take away with them. Be quite sure that everyone is comfortable. In a group of 12 there is likely to be at least one person who gets a sore back, or neck. You will need to have chairs, blankets, bolsters and couple of face washers to put on books if anyone finds the books hard on their occiput - they may get a headache otherwise. Also it is useful to have a couple of towels to use as modesty cloths in case people are inappropriately dressed.

I also want to look at the application of the technique to peoples' daily activities. If people sing, do yoga, work at a computer etc. I want to take at least a brief look at what they are doing. (I always have a computer keyboard and mouse on hand.) In all these activities you need to be working both with an individual person and the group. Make sure that what you are saying can be heard by the whole group, and keep an eye out for people getting bored or tired & change the focus of the group at that point or take a break. Also if you know that there are people there with bad backs & necks don’t keep them sitting for too long and ask the group now & again how people are going.

You will find in the beginning that people are fairly quiet, but as soon as you start doing the hands on work the questions will just keep coming and you can pretty much work off the questions. Make sure that you don't get bogged down in overly theoretical discussions, and keep aware of coming back to principles. It doesn’t hurt to say you don't know something when you don’t or to cut off a particular line of discussion which is becoming irrelevant.

You need to have an idea of what you are aiming to achieve. Don't try to give them too much. Keep coming back to the simple principles of the work. Make sure that everyone gets at least a little experience of being guided by your hands. Don’t underestimate the power of just a little information. I worked with one woman with her handwriting in a group situation (no more than 5 minutes) & she came back to me several months later & told me that she had been able to write from then on without backache.

My aim in such a situation is to give people more information of what their pattern of use & misuse is and where their sensory appreciation is faulty. The clarification of exactly what the problem is, even without a resolution of the problem, is an essential step towards solving that problem. I also want to give them the possibility of inhibiting the worst of their tightening & collapse in their everyday activities. And I want to have given the participants enough of a taste of this work for them to want to go further with it - to book them in for private lessons or further groups. If you don’t already have participants' addresses let them know that you are compiling a mailing list for your next visit and get details from anyone who wishes to be on it. However, you will need to check with the centre that you are not stepping on their toes by doing this.

Email of 29/1/01

Hello David

I’m writing to thank you for email and quick response the other day David. The introduction to the AT technique workshop today was a success. I actually managed to talk non-stop for 3 hrs in a clear and resonant voice. I had my hands full as there were 15 people who came to the workshop and I was only expecting half that number. It was quite challenging at times as there were two Pilates instructors there and two yoga teachers, so the questions were coming thick and fast. I did make plenty of mistakes and I’m sure it could have gone a lot smoother in places for example I couldn’t remember some names and I forgot to get people to tell something about themselves.

It was a challenge to get around and give quality hands on to everyone in the group. You were definitely right about me needing a break and the semi-supine section did take care of that very well. Thank you once again for your generous help David and I’m looking forward to coming into the new premises when I return. I’ll be here for another 2 weeks or so. Please pass on a big hello to everyone at school and thanks again David.

A number of participants followed up Peter's workshop by having a course of private lessons with him.