An Alexander Technique Approach to Focal Dystonia

$15.00

This ebook incorporates changes in beliefs and the Alexander Technique principles of good posture and great technique to help the performer with focal dystonia get out of trouble. It is the intention of this ebook to help the performer with focal dystonia find a personal technique and posture on the instrument that allows you to find the most mechanically advantageous way to play and to heal your focal dystonia. This ebook is filled with concepts that will help you explore what you’ve been doing technically, posturally, and attitudinally on your instrument that has caused focal dystonia, so that your instrument is easier to play and kinder to the body. The topics are: What the Alexander Technique Offers Performers with Focal Dystonia; Posture: Sitting and Standing; Torso, Shoulders, and Breathing; Head, Neck, and Instrument; Pure Observation; Direction (how to be fully upright); Inhibition and Focal Dystonia (letting go of bad habits); Accuracy; Arms Move the Hands; Slow and Fast Playing, Fragments and Focal Dystonia; When You’re not Doing Something, Don’t Continue to Do It; The Reasons Why Performer Resist Releasing Poor Physical Habits; and As a Gift.
Ethan Kind is a former concert guitarist who used the Alexander Technique to heal carpal tunnel pain in his left wrist and never had physical problems on the guitar again. He has also been an athlete all of his life. Please contact Mr. Kind if you have any questions about this ebook, suggestions that would make this ebook clearer and more expansive, or suggestions for other ebooks that you would like to see him write about. Mr. Kind can be reached at www.ethankind.com and .

This book is 61 pages

Description

About Ethan Kind

“When you change old habitual movement patterns with the Alexander Technique, whether in playing a musical instrument, running, weightlifting, walking, or typing at a computer, you create an ease of body use that moves you consistently into the zone.” – Ethan Kind

Ethan Kind writes and is published extensively on all of the above activities. He teaches musicians, athletes, and computer operators how to stop hurting themselves, by showing them how to use their bodies with ease and coordination. He brings a unique perspective to his work, having been a musician and athlete all of his life.

Ethan brings a rich and varied background to his role of inspiring musicians. After receiving both B.M. and M.M. Degrees from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Ethan worked as a performer and an instructor in classical guitar. While a guitar student at the Royal College of Music in London, he developed sever carpal tunnel and sought out an Alexander Technique teacher to alleviate the pain. At that time he found very quickly how he had been sacrificing his body to do what he loved–striving for the perfect performance.

After training for three years at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (New York, NY), Ethan received Professional Certification credentials. Since that time he has shared his knowledge on “making music a gift” as a private instructor and also as a faculty member of such institutions as Guilford College, the North Carolina School of the Arts, Salem College, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Wake Forest University. He has also instructed numerous participants in his popular workshops.

Ethan has published articles in this country and abroad on the Alexander Technique and wellness issues in many journals, including Music Teacher, American Music Teacher, American String Teacher, New Mexico Light, Massage Therapy Journal, and Yoga and Life. Visit his website at www.ethankind.com.