Alexander Technique teacher, Amanda Blair MacDonald joins Tami Bulmash to discuss how the Alexander Technique can improve all aspects of life. In this latest episode of the Body Wisdom podcast, Amanda shares how her studies in Brain Compatible movement practices and her experience as Movement Pattern Analyst have further informed her approach to helping individuals thrive in their personal and professional lives. 

Amanda grew up loving music and dance. Along with her musical theatre training, she studied yoga, Pilates, floor barre and various styles of dance, and finally found the Alexander Technique. One of her early teachers helped her understand that The Alexander Technique teaches awareness about the underpinnings of all movement, and therefore allows for a deepening in all other practices. Amanda’s skills improved and her desire to share what she knew through teaching blossomed, and she entered an Alexander teacher training course. Amanda provides professional development for teachers, corporate workshops, online group classes, and private lessons. Later this summer she’ll be launching the first in a series of online courses and a podcast series. You can see Amanda’s TEDx talk entitled, “How We Move is How We Think” on her website at www.AmandaBlairMacDonald.com

Amanda's website: https://www.amandablairmacdonald.com

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/

Sumi Komo has created an original way of working with individuals and groups that can bring conscious awareness and awakened presence into life. Her dedicated study of the Alexander technique and Zen Buddhism compliments her experience as a professional dancer, athlete and yogi.

In this podcast, Sumi shares the story of her journey through dance and the Alexander Technique.

Sumi holds an MFA in Dance, Psychology and Sports Medicine. She has devoted her career to teaching and training dancers, actors, musicians, singers, yogis, martial artists and athletes. She works with all kinds of performer issues such as pain, posture, overuse, inappropriate use, and performance anxiety.

Sumi's website: https://sumikomo.net/

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/

 Whether you are preparing for an audition or a presentation, performing in front of others can be stressful. Lena Hart joins Tami Bulmash on the Body Wisdom podcast to discuss ways to master your performance on stage, on the phone, or in a meeting. She explains the fight or flight response and how it can actually serve as an asset while presenting. 

Lena is the resident Alexander Technique teacher at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco and has a private practice in San Francisco and Walnut Creek, CA. She is an Experienced Postural & Ergonomics Specialist and helps clients become aware of the harmful, habitual physical choices they make as a person. She specializes in helping performers, techies, persons struggling with the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease and retirees improve their abilities and decrease pain. Current and previous students include those who work at Google, PETA, AAU, University of Tennessee, and Whitten Laser Eye. 

Lena’s website: https://alexandertechniquesfbayarea.com/ 

Link to Lena’s article about performance: https://medium.com/body-wisdom/mastering-your-performance-2bfd9d783db2 

Tami’s website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/ 

When Dr. Turner left the operating room to do research full-time he was sitting far more than he was used to. He realized he needed to create a better sitting solution to push back against the terrible chairs that Big Chair and ergonomists have been selling for decades. Working with a team of other doctors, designers and body work experts they created an entirely new way to sit that worked with the body rather than against it. They believe that the body’s perfect internal ergonomics, its skeleton, is a far better route to perfect posture than “ergonomic” chairs that try to shore up the body with external supports which serve only to distort one’s natural posture, leading to a host of problems. 

Dr. Turner Osler is a surgeon, research epidemiologist, inventor, and CEO of QOR360 (core 360). You can learn more about his active chairs and social mission at https://qor360.com/

Dr. Osler's article: https://turneroslermd.medium.com/could-simply-changing-your-chair-add-years-to-your-life-2621f326b27c

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/

Alessandro Fattorini joins Tami Bulmash in the Body Wisdom podcast to explore the fun with words -- especially with regards to the Alexander Technique. A closer look at how we use words reveals their multiple meanings and how that impacts thinking and behavior.
Alessandro performs in theatres and concerts. He has written articles for magazines and hosted radio programs. He qualified as a Somatic Movement Educator and Infant Development Movement Educator from the School of Body-Mind Centering. Alessandro practices Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and plays the double base. Today, his passion is introducing the Alexander Technique to a wider audience.

Alessandro's video, "A Talk Over Words Within Words, Sounds and Principles" from the Developing Self series:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhoYnki1Kdc&list=PL_KT_RY3V062YuSUZ3C7dHj_dC8xauwGO&index=12&t=250s&fbclid=IwAR3o8HlAGd2BGXMPqQ6xjcO76Pxy5rm9eaBnZgw_IetF2hBsmbAZ0rmoFi8

Alessandro's website: https://www.metodoalexander.com/

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/

Sometimes physical stress is expressed in the form of chronic pain and tension but there are emotional and mental stresses that take a toll on the body as well. Add a pandemic to the mix and stress has been at an all time high for many.
In this episode Alexander Technique teachers, Imogen Ragone and Tami Bulmash discuss Imogen's article "12 Ways to Relieve Stress in 2021." 
Imogen completed her Alexander Technique training at the Alexander Technique Centre of Virginia. She has spent the past 15 years as a certified Alexander Technique teacher and has been a student for over 17 years. She developed her own unique approach called BodyIntelligence, integrating mindset, posture and self-care, to give her clients practical strategies to relieve and prevent stress and tension so they can achieve their goals and feel great. Her work is dedicated to dealing with stress effectively as stress manifests itself in a variety of different ways.

Imogen's website: https://imogenragone.com/

Imogen's article: https://medium.com/body-wisdom/12-easy-ways-to-relieve-stress-in-2021-10dc2ae80e92

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/

Technology is hijacking our lives, but there are strategies for coping. In Dr. Erik Peper's latest book, Tech Stress, he closely examines the stress associated with technology while providing a comprehensive list of tools to combat its impact on the mind and body.

Erik Peper, Ph.D., BCB, is an international authority on biofeedback and self-regulation. He is Professor of Holistic Health Studies at San Francisco State University where he was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Holistic Health Studies, the first holistic health program at a public university in the United States. He is President of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe and past President of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. He received the 2004 California Governor’s Safety Award for his work on Healthy Computing and in 2013 was received the Biofeedback  Distinguished Scientist Award in recognition of outstanding career & scientific contributions from the Association for Applied Psychophysiology(AAPB). He is an author of numerous scientific articles and books. Most recently, he  co-authored the book, TechStress: How Technology is Hijacking Our Lives, Strategies for Coping, and Pragmatic Ergonomics. He publishes the blog, the peper perspective-ideas on illness, health and well-being (www.peperperspective.com). His research interests focus on self-healing strategies to optimize health, the effects of posture and respiration, and learning self-mastery with biofeedback. 

Tech Stress can be purchased here https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Ergonomics-Prevent-Fatigue-Burnout/dp/158394768X

Dr. Erik Peper's website: https://biofeedbackhealth.org/

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/

Alexander Technique teachers, Clare Maxwell and Tami Bulmash, discuss Zoom Burnout and ways to improve the online experience. Clare explains her article, "Zoom burnout is teaching us that learning is not possible without embodiment” and shares her 6 touchstones for flexibility. Clare also talks about her new form of awareness in movement called Mobilignment™.

Clare Maxwell is a dancer, movement educator, and choreographer and Alexander Technique teacher based in NYC.

Clare's website: https://www.claremaxwell.com/

Link to Clare's article: https://link.medium.com/161HPHWtFcb 

Tami's website: https://www.bodyandposture.com/