Alexander Technique
What Is Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is an educational process that teaches awareness of postural and movement habits that cause stress as well as a method for changing these habits. The benefits of the Alexander Technique include: injury prevention, improved coordination, and stress reduction. It is a method for enhancing health and well-being with proven therapeutic results.
The Alexander Technique can benefit individuals of all ages and lifestyles. As an Alexander Technique teacher, Chloe Nagle Cetinkaya has worked with dancers, musicians, singers, and actors to improve stage presence, coordination, creative expression, and breathing. Whether clients are performing artists, roller derby enthusiasts, yogis, or writers, Chloe works with individuals and groups to address their specific goals and concerns. She is committed to supporting clients in doing the activities that they enjoy, injury free, healthfully, for life.
Credentials
Chloe Nagle Cetinkaya became an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique under the direction of Rose Bronec in 2021. She has studied with notable teachers including Joan and Alex Murray, Luc Vanier, Elizabeth Johnson, and Rebecca Nettl-Fiol. She was first introduced to the Alexander Technique while studying dance as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Alexander Technique improved her coordination and balance, helping her to dance with more personal expression and musicality as well as less muscular tension and performance anxiety. When she trained to become a teacher, she also experienced mental health benefits from the Alexander Technique such as stress relief and improved self-awareness. Having personally experienced the benefits of the Alexander Technique both on and off stage, Chloe is committed to teaching the Alexander Technique and advocating for its efficacy.
Chloe’s accomplishments include: assisting Alexander Technique for Dancers courses at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, assisting Brian McCullough’s Alexander Technique for Musicians course at the University of Minnesota School of Music, and teaching Alexander Technique workshops for dancers at Zenon Dance School as well as for singers and actors at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts. She currently serves as a member of the AmSAT Diversity Committee. In 2024, she presented a workshop titled, “Accessible Language: Exploring the Words We Use and Embody” at AmSAT’s annual conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Resources
Recent studies have shown that the Alexander Technique is effective for addressing back and neck pain with positive, long-lasting results. Whether you want to improve your performance in a physical activity or art form, prevent injury, improve posture, or relieve stress and strain, the Alexander Technique is a proven way to achieve the changes that you want.
To learn more about the effects of the Alexander Technique on neck pain, please read: “Alexander Technique Lessons or Acupuncture Sessions for Persons with Chronic Neck Pain”
Read more information about the American Society for the Alexander Technique.
Patricia Wolf, 2022
“I looked into Alexander Technique because I was suffering from chronic pain after several concussions and a shoulder tear that I received while playing roller derby. The lessons not only helped with these issues but also with neck and shoulder pain that I have had for at least 20 years…I really enjoyed working with Chloe. She brought a fresh perspective to each lesson and even helped me work through physical therapy and yoga positions to do them in a more restful and useful manner. I still think of many of the suggestions we discussed during my daily yoga practice and while I was pregnant with my recent child. Because of this I didn't seem to get the back pain that is so common with pregnancy. I recommend trying the technique. You'd be surprised what a difference it might make!”
Rates: $60/lesson
Cash, check, Venmo are accepted
Payment is due before or at the time of your lesson.
24 hour prior notice of cancellation required. You are expected to pay in full if you don’t cancel within 24 hours of your scheduled session time.
If wearing sandals, please bring socks to wear during your session
Photos by Tom Smouse, 2023
About Lessons
Individual lessons are private and last approximately 50 minutes. During lessons, clients develop a mindful awareness of their postural and movement habits through the activities of sitting, standing, and/or walking. Through verbal communication and non-verbal guidance using touch, new anatomical understanding is gained. The client learns to approach movement in ways that promote ease of motion, movement efficiency, stress relief, and safety. Lessons are taught in a non-judgmental environment that encourages curiosity, openness, and observation.
During the lesson, a client may lie face-up on a massage-like table. The instructor uses touch, verbal guidance, and gentle movements at the joints to offer the client an overall sense of widening and lengthening through their back as well as decompression of the joints. Different from massage, “table-work” doesn’t involve deep tissue manipulation and clients always remain fully clothed. Also, different from chiropractic, there is no forced realignment of bones or joints. The benefits of table-work may include tension and stress relief, relaxation, and deeper breathing. The client then learns how to practice a “lie-down” on their own, so that they can continue to practice this valuable wellness technique at home, independently.
From the first lesson onward, you will develop body-awareness and learn practical applications to movement that you can take with you into everyday life. Please, reach out today for a free 15 minute consultation to see if the Alexander Technique is right for you!
Chloe is currently offering Alexander Technique lessons online and in-person. Please connect for more information.
Touch is always optional when working with Chloe. Please communicate before or during your lesson if you prefer not to learn through touch for the best learning outcome.
About Workshops
Workshops are taught to small groups of 4-16 and last 1-2 hours. The principles of the Alexander Technique are playfully introduced through guided activities and games. Guided activities range from introspective self-exploration, partnering activities that allow for observation and feedback, as well as whole group activities involving improvisation. Activities are followed with time for discussion, questions, and personal reflection. Past workshops have focused on: Alexander Technique applied to Contemporary Dance Technique; Stage Presence and Breathing for Singers and Actors; and Alexander Technique applied to Yoga Asanas. Whether your group would like to feel more confident on stage, deepen anatomical awareness, sharpen your kinesthetic senses, breathe more easily while performing, explore injury prevention, or enhance your creative practice, workshops are available and can be designed to meet your needs.
Have a group larger than 16 or smaller than 4? Looking for a workshop longer than 2 hours or shorter than 1? Accommodations may be available.