Two Best-Selling Authors Write About Their Lessons

"My wife had been raving about Alan Bowers for years - she's a singer - and I went to him to get some help with my chronic lower back pain. I'd tried everything, from massage (a short-term fix) to hypnosis (didn't work). Alan had me stand for a moment, took one look at me and said, "What the !*$% are you doing?!" Apparently, not much that was right. Working in his subtle, mysterious way, simply guiding me to stand, sit and lie down in his beloved "semi-supine" position, he accomplished an immense amount without seeming to do much. I became more aware of how I moved. My pain lessened immediately, and within a few weeks Alan had succeeded where many lesser practitioners had failed: I felt fine. I'm still not sure how we did it, but I know one thing: We did it. Thanks, Alan!"

Martin Kihn - Bad Dog: A Love Story

"Going to see Alan Bowers to learn the Alexander technique is my favorite hour of the week. I leave there an inch taller and walking on air. I have old, creaky bi-lateral hip replacements and arthritis, and I have looked long and hard for some kind of exercise or therapy that would allow me to get stronger while easing pain rather than causing more pain. Pilates, acupuncture, yoga, physical therapy, massage--none of them do what Alan Bowers does. And it just gets better with each lesson. Now if only he could teach me to sing..."

Cathleen Schine - The Weissmans of Westport

All the healing work that I did with yoga, physical therapy, and the Alexander Technique is just settling in now. I'm grateful for what I felt were very revealing, beautifully crafted lessons where we were able to move into a rhythm that trained me to understand something that I cannot put into words.

Anne Farbman, Yoga Instructor

My lessons (and outside study/practice of the technique!) have really given me the ability to live my life and manage the pain that I have not been able to eliminate entirely. As an avid golfer and overall highly active person I was very unhappy with the restricted lifestyle I was leading prior to learning and practicing the technique with Mr. Bowers. I can thankfully say that my restrictions are now few thanks to the technique and because of what Mr. Bowers has taught me. Confident that I can now sustain my active lifestyle, I plan on continuing my practice and study of the technique.

R.C.

While serving as an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Mr. Bowers work was a game changer for a significant number of our students. His teaching style possessed a gracefulness and ease that immediately allowed focused and intense learning. I was particularly impressed by his organic understanding of the myriad of issues faced by musicians of all types.  Mr. Bowers diagnosed, addressed and subsequently began to eliminate less efficient habits for more effective coordination. Since his visit to UNLV, I've had several faculty and students continue to express their positive comments. We'll certainly invite him to return in the future!

Tod Fitzpatrick, D.M.A, Cert. in Vocology
Associate Professor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

 

 

 

 

This summer I had the fortunate opportunity to learn the Alexander Technique with a gifted teacher, Alan Bowers at his studio in New York City. Every Wednesday evening for ten weeks I entered Alan's world of boundless energy, warmth, humor and great intelligence. Though our sessions were only 45 minutes Alan taught me a few simple steps of the Alexander Technique that would be life transforming. Alan seemed to know more about me than I knew about myself. With the touch of his hands he transmitted at once, his support and the desire to know more- without expecting results. He listened. And when he spoke it was through a vast background of personal experiences and stories. His words connected to my own experience and we worked together - sharing and learning from each other. Through his guidance I learned to release chronic tension in my neck, shoulders and hips that I had carried around for years. I had tried Yoga, massage and acupuncture, but none of these worked as well as the Alexander Technique. It is difficult to put into words what Alan does. It's more like an "undoing", not knowing or his catching you by surprise and then you go" AH HA! I GET IT". It's a thought or an idea - not a muscular action or physical adjustment on your part that gets you to a new place. Alan inspires the change to happen naturally within your body effortlessly. There is a letting go - and your neck is free, or you experience a small opening in your back filling up with air for the first time - or your leg floats away from your hip. You are walking in a new way... moving through space ... taller and balanced. I couldn't wait for my next lesson. Over the course of the summer I broke through a few habitual behaviors and most importantly, I knew that my practice was deepening. Although my formal lessons with Alan have ended, I continue to pay attention to the ordinary daily experiences - walking, sitting, speaking, interacting with my family, friends and co-workers. In other words, the Alexander Technique endures.

Charlotte McRobbie

It is my significant loss that contact will be less frequent. You are a gifted teacher. You continually offered me joy, humor and an unfaltering ear. I grew up singing. I love doing it. It is an act that expresses a great part of my being. I'm certain that I always will seek to express myself through it in some capacity. But I never would have been able to do so as fully and on the occasional good day, as wonderfully as I feel I do now, were it not for your guidance. In short it was in your studio that I discovered my true voice. It was in your studio that I continually glimpsed the potential of what my voice could be. Because of your training I have had the opportunity to play roles such as the Phantom or Henrik (singing an endless sustained b natural). These were roles that I thrived in and grew from by diving into their challenges even when overwhelmingly intimidated by their demands, a dive that was always made easier by the certain knowledge that I could trust you and your teaching.

G. H.