Praise for Andrew

“Andrew is a highly skilled teacher, and makes learning the Alexander Technique exciting and enjoyable. He is energetic, informative, a good motivator, and helpful in personalizing the Technique for each of his students. Because he makes it a priority to help each student understand the principles of the technique and how they relate to each person’s unique situation, I felt comfortable and confident about my progress. Working with Andrew was extremely beneficial and I would recommend his teaching to anyone interested in the Alexander Technique.”

—Sarah Bowlin, Violinist

“I had been plagued by severe and nearly constant shoulder pain for about four years when I was referred to Andrew by my violin teacher. After about 8 Alexander sessions, I noticed a significant improvement in my pain. I think that the key ingredient was a much greater awareness of how I was (mis) using my shoulder, which led to some small changes in positioning the violin. Andrew was also extremely helpful in shopping for a new combination of shoulder and chin rests, which has also made a big difference. Now I'm able to play pain-free, as long as I remember my Alexander lessons!”

—John Crayton, Psychologist

“Andrew has given me a sense of command over an area that I thought I couldn’t control. Before studying the Alexander Technique with him, my back ached and my knees hurt when I stood up or used stairs. After just one lesson, I could stand without hurting my knees, and not only did my back not hurt, but I felt fantastic! To learn how not to be in constant discomfort after one lesson was amazing. Ongoing lessons are strengthening my back, and Andrew is helping me explore how I move. I enjoy the Alexander Technique because it’s not about the right way to move but about self-awareness. The thing that excites me most is that I am learning to move without pain!”

—Carey McCann, Policy Analyst

“Andrew is a wonderfully enthusiastic teacher of the Alexander technique. His knowledge of the material along with years of experience as a string player make him the ideal instructor for musicians struggling with the aches and pains that go with playing an instrument.”

—Jan Matthews, Violinist

“Andrew is a talented, astute, and knowledgeable teacher of the Alexander Technique. I worked with Andrew as an assistant in my Alexander Technique for Dancers course at the University of Illinois, in organizing the annual conference of the American Society for the Alexander Technique, and as a student during his training. He brings intelligence, thoughtfulness, and a sense of humor and playfulness to his work. The students in the Dance Department greatly enjoyed and benefited from working with Andrew!”

—Rebecca Nettl-Fiol, Professor of Dance, Certified Alexander Teacher, University of Illinois Department of Dance

“I started studying the Alexander Technique with Andrew after suffering with tendonitis in my right wrist and elbow for months. I play the violin as my hobby and spend many hours a day on the computer. Typing, violin, and everyday activities had become very difficult and painful, and conventional therapies had not helped. After only a few sessions I noticed a reduction in pain and an increased sense of balance and coordination, despite the fact that we never focused our work on the joints affected. I was able to stop taking anti-inflammatory and pain medications. I think Andrew has a unique sense of the principles that relate the mind to the body, and he approaches his work with good humor, enthusiasm and a scientific curiosity for figuring out what works best for each of his students. As I continue to take lessons, I'm amazed at how little things, like standing up on the bus, sitting through an endless meeting, and riding a bicycle are so much easier, efficient, and effortless when I set into motion the technique Andrew teaches me.”

—Linda Suriyakham, developmental cognitive neuroscientist

Praise for the Alexander Technique

“Lessons in the Alexander Technique taught me how to sit in a state of lumbrosacral poise, and my chronic low back pain gradually became cured. The Technique is true education. Compared to surgery for low back pain or chronic obstructive lung disease, a course of instruction is inexpensive.”

—John H. M. Austin, MD
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

“The Alexander Technique helps to integrate the individual dancer plus all the systems that he or she has been exposed to… It is important to tell a student that there is a different way of moving free of grit force, interruptions, [and] habitual patterns of tension.”

—Trisha Brown, choreographer

“I relearned how to play the instrument through studying the Technique. There were things I had always been convinced that I was unable to do… As I learned to integrate the physical freedom and muscular flexibility from the Alexander Technique with information I already had about how to play the violin, a potential in me started coming out—like talent that had been held back.”

—Jorja Fleezanis, Concertmaster,
Minnesota Orchestra

“The many obvious benefits that the technique afforded us as actors included minimized tension, centeredness, vocal relaxation and responsiveness, mind/body connection, and about an inch and a half of additional height. In addition, I have found in the ensuing years great benefits in my day-to-day living. By balancing and neutralizing tensions, I’ve learned to relieve as well as to avoid the aches and pain caused by the thousands of natural shocks that flesh is heir to.”

—Kevin Kline, actor