They say think before you speak. Sue Barclay says think before you move.

Maria Morrison met up with Sue, who teaches Alexander Technique throughout the year at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, to find out more about this method that aims to change long-standing habits that cause unnecessary tension in the body.

The Alexander Technique short course at RCS, which runs from 3 February until 24 March, is for adults and designed to help people think before movement, and therefore move with ease, flexibility, and comfort.

The Alexander Technique was introduced in the 1890s by Frederick Matthias Alexander, born in Tasmania in 1869. Sue has been teaching Alexander’s work since 2016 after training for four years with Don Weed, who was the founder of the Interactive Teaching Method.

This course is not just for performers – whilst extremely relevant – it is for everyone. It’s an explorative, experimental and enlightening course that will force you to look at yourself and respond to your needs, discomfort, and pains.

In Sue’s course, she will observe how you move and interact with you verbally and through gentle touch. She’ll encourage you to understand your individual natural movement system and help you to help yourself.

“Self-study and self-responsibility are at the heart of Alexander’s work,” says Sue.

“Participants are learning simple principles and tools which they experiment with and practice themselves as they go about their lives.

“Group workshops are a good way of learning Alexander’s work as we can learn so much by watching each other, and it’s a fun way to learn. Ultimately, you will have new experiences of going about simple activities with increased freedom and ease.

“It is about understanding your current habits, and thoughts and how this impacts your movements. Thinking about how we go about our individual activities in ways we may never have considered before, it will relate the technique to your own life, thoughts and movement.

“People of all ages and from different walks of life can benefit from learning Alexander’s work and no previous knowledge or experience is required.”

Listening to Sue talk about why she became a teacher, the purpose of the technique and the influences and forces that affect an individual’s ‘natural movement system’, not only empowered me to know that I could help ease my own physical aches but left me fascinated to find out how I am really built to move. T

Sue explains: “It is a privilege to teach these courses and work with people in this way. Nothing is more exciting than exploring this work with other people.

“Throughout the course, participants become more present, poised and at ease with themselves right in front of my eyes, and to me this is such a beautiful thing.”

After leaving school, Sue trained as a visual artist (BA degree in drawing and painting from Edinburgh College of Art and postgraduate studies at Byam Shaw School of Art in London) and went on to work as a professional artist exhibiting and selling her work. She has always been interested in movement and self-development and have practiced yoga for many years.

Sue asks me whether I had thought about how I was sitting throughout our conversation – my scooped back and aching neck was screaming back at me ‘No!’.

Sue continues: “Often my clients tell me that they have spent a lot of money on trying to ‘cure’ a pain or think they weren’t able to be that flexible, without necessarily being aware of the possibility that the ways they are thinking and moving in their everyday activities of life may well be contributing to these issues.

“In fact, there has been a trial by the BMJ (British Medical Journal) which concludes that lessons in the Alexander Technique from registered teachers have long-term benefits for patients with chronic back pain.”

Sue explains how physical pains that we may experience can be caused by misinterpreting others’ advice on movement, imitation learnt from elders and peers, and often fashion trends on movement can even have an impact.

Sue elaborates further to explain that recently she has noticed young people copying the postures of today’s fashion models and that is fine if these movement ‘distortions and impositions on our natural movement behaviour are consciously adopted to look ‘cool’, but when they are unconscious and are causing pain and discomfort, this can be a problem.”

Find out more about the course and book on the Short Courses webpage.