Adrian Farrell

I first came to the Alexander Technique in 2002 because of chronic neck and shoulder pain gained from long hours sitting at a computer workstation. At the time I was working as an IT consultant for Investment Banks and Stock Brokers and I found the high demands of the job made taking care of myself as I worked at my computer very difficult.

It was a chance conversation with a ballet dancer at a party that led to being asked if I had heard of the Alexander Technique. Obviously I hadn't, it tends not to be so well known outside of the world of performing arts, and so I looked it up on-line the following day. Having spent years seeing various osteopaths what immediately appealed to me was that I could learn to take responsibility for myself, instead of being passively treated for symptomatic pain without truly addressing the cause, beyond the usual "common sense" advice. We've all been given lists of what we should or shouldn't do, but it never really seems to change the way we actually behave, I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

Within a few months of weekly Alexander lessons, my neck and shoulder issues were largely resolved and I continued to have lessons for many years even after finding relief from my physical problems, because I found the technique so fascinating and useful. Not only did my balance, coordination and posture continue to improve, but I found myself much calmer, and able to handle stressful, demanding situations much better and with more clarity. It also greatly improved the performance of my main hobbies, playing guitar and running.

This naturally led me to wanting to study it in more depth and so I trained to be a teacher at the Alexander Teacher Training School in Central London. My passion now is to introduce the Alexander Technique to a wider audience, especially those who struggle with the demands of computer based office work.