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Copyright of Mediterranean Nursing & Midwifery is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Studies show that upper-crossed syndrome causes a decrease in health and quality of life (QoL) in affected people due to various physiological and psychological complications. Considering the high prevalence of upper crossed syndrome, this study investigates the effectiveness of the Alexander technique on physical and mental dimensions of QoL in young men with upper crossed syndrome. Methods: We assigned 24 male participants (aged between 19-25 years) into two groups (experimental and control) using a convenience sampling method. We used the short form of health survey-36 to evaluate the physical and mental aspects of their health. After measuring the desired variables of all participants in the pre-test stage, the participants of the experimental condition completed 12 training sessions of the Alexander technique over six weeks. We used analysis of covariance and correlated t-test to analyze the results. Results: There was a significant difference between the physical dimension of QoL in the experimental condition after applying the Alexander technique intervention compared to the control condition (P

Purpose: Studies show that upper-crossed syndrome causes a decrease in health and quality of life (QoL) in affected people due to various physiological and psychological complications. Considering the high prevalence of upper crossed syndrome, this study investigates the effectiveness of the Alexander technique on physical and mental dimensions of QoL in... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Alexander Technique (AT) is a somatic method often employed by musicians, including pianists, which teaches its students to become consciously aware of their own postural behavior while carrying out various tasks. Little research has been conducted as to whether, and if so, how the AT affects the posture of pianists while they are playing the piano, and quantitative measurements of their postural angles have not yet been taken. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an intervention consisting of 10 AT lessons on pianists' postural angles while playing, and to find out if the effects were still evident 4 weeks later. The following postural angles were measured before and after the intervention: craniovertebral angle, head tilt, head–neck–trunk angle, trunk angle, thoracic angle, thoracolumbar angle, and lumbar angle. There were significant effects of the intervention such that the craniovertebral and head–neck–trunk angles were found to have increased, and trunk, thoracic, and thoracolumbar angles were found to have decreased both immediately post-intervention and 4 weeks later. The AT appears to be a viable method of altering postural behavior while playing the piano, as seen in an overall pattern of spinal extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show how Alexander Technique (AT) can serve as a tool in embodied learning processes. The use of AT was explored with a group of 21 students, seven teachers, and three AT teachers who were practicing and performing musical theatre repertoire. Principles of action research methodology informed the projects. The research found that AT offered increased awareness of connections between thoughts, body and environment. Knowledge in embodied learning processes empowered the students in terms of better observation and rehearsal routines. We argue that these results might have implications for the field of embodied teaching and learning. Furthermore, the results may offer an invitation towards increased focus on embodiment in learning experiences within other fields as well.

Somatic practice gives agency back to the body, allowing it to reconfigure itself, thus integrating the mind into an empowered body. Yet, I question whether the reliance on individualism, humanism, scientific study, authentic movement, and liberatory processes reinforces and normalizes racially biased behaviours, attitudes and theorization. An autoethnography of sorts, this article puts in conversation my embodied and theoretical experiences with my own internalization of whiteness. Somatics, in essence, gives me the space to explore how I make sense of those feelings of discomfort and ease, uncertainty and confusion. Does my embodied experience somehow reflect my unconscious day-to-day enactments of white vulnerability? Do I expand into, seeking and sensing stability? Or rather, do I actively and unconsciously withdraw from discomfort? Do somatics reaffirm or dismantle my whiteness? I ask within the intrapersonal, immediate and ephemeral experience, is my white American fragility revealed through somatic practice? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somatic education in professional instrumental teaching is an emerging field in Spanish conservatoire culture. Although we find that the Alexander Technique was included in some European institutions since the middle of the XXth Century, this was not the case in the Spanish context. By means of a qualitative study, through document analysis and fifteen in-depth interviews with somatic teachers, the statutory frameworks of professional Piano studies and teaching plans related to somatic education in Spanish conservatoires, the principles that support them and the current practices that are undertaken in professional piano studies were analyzed. We found that there are eclectic approaches and practices in correlation with the background of the teachers in charge of the courses. Four main orientations can be described: somatic education per se; ergonomics and postural technique; body communication, training and technique; and mental and concentration control techniques. Further research to explore the interrelationships between somatic approaches and instrumental teaching would greatly benefit the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Studies show that individuals with upper crossed syndrome have poor balance compared to healthy people for various reasons, including displacement of their center of gravity toward forward. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Alexander technique on the static and dynamic balance of young men with the upper crossed syndrome.Methods In this quasi-experimental study, 24 subjects were purposefully selected and assigned to the experimental and control groups. The static and dynamic balance of the subjects were assessed by the Sharpened Romberg and timed up and go tests. The experimental group underwent 12 sessions of Alexander technique training during 6 weeks in individual and group sessions. The duration of individual sessions was 40, and that of group sessions was 60 minutes. The control group did not receive any training. During the training sessions, the subjects were taught the Alexander technique via manual guidance, as well as tactile, verbal, visual, and proprioception feedback. After collecting data, the data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and paired sample t test. Results The study’s final results showed a significant difference (P

Copyright of Bulletin of Educational Research is the property of National Taiwan Normal University, Department of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Low back pain has negative effects on different aspects of the live. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of Alexander technique on quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain. Materials and Methods: This study is a single-blinded clinical trial that was performed on 80 patients with chronic low back pain in Shahid Beheshti hospital in Kashan in 2020. Patients were simple randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. In the experimental group, Alexander technique training was performed for 12 weeks, three sessions per week. The control group did not receive any intervention. The two groups completed the quality of life questionnaire before, immediately and one month after the intervention. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Chi-square and independent and paired t-test in SPSS v=22 software. Results: The mean score of total quality of life and some of its dimensions (general health, physical health, social activity, physical pain, activity limitation) immediately after the sessions and one month after the intervention were significant in the experimental group (P0.05). The results of repeated measures ANOVA showed that the mean total score of quality of life of patients in the experimental group increased significantly over time (P

This article looks at how the practice of dance improvisation and somatic movement modalities inform and transform our experience of being in our bodies (via embodied knowledge, kinaesthetic awareness). In both individual and collective practice, these modalities offer alternative means for engaging with ourselves and others that allows us to transcend individual and social constraints within certain conditions. I discuss these practices as an ongoing process or state of freedom in the performative space, in daily "non-performative" life, in the many spaces in-between, and the conditions necessary to thrive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how somatic practices examine how physical movement influences cognition and how the mind and cognition impact movement. Topics include holistic movement and dance classes can improve the awareness of alignment and teach everyday activities; and Somatics is a general term for a number of physical awareness practices that train participants to notice the range of physical sensations.

Instructions to exert effort to correct one's posture are ubiquitous, but previous work indicates that effort-based postural instructions can impair balance control in older adults with and without neurodegenerative disease. Although less-studied, young adults are at high risk of injurious falls. How do different postural instructions influence static balance in young adults? Single-session, counterbalanced, within-subjects design. Twenty young adults briefly practiced three different ways of thinking about their posture, then attempted to employ each way of thinking while standing on springy foam for 30 s with eyes open. Relax instructions were used as a baseline between experimental conditions. Effort-based instructions emulated popular concepts of posture correction using muscular exertion. Light instructions aimed at encouraging length and width while reducing excess tension. Postural sway was assessed with an inertial sensor at the low back. Effort-based postural instructions increased path length and jerk of postural sway during quiet stance, relative to Light and Relaxed instructions. These results are consistent with previous work in older adults indicating that thinking of upright posture as inherently effortful impairs balance. Therefore, the common practice of instructing young adults to use effortful posture may impair their balance performance. • Brief postural instructions were given to young adults in a within-subjects design. • Postural sway was assessed with an inertial sensor worn at the low back. • Effort-based instructions increased sway, suggesting worse balance control. • Postural instructions based on Alexander technique did not increase sway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was performed to determine the effect of the Alexander Technique on the intensity of pain in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP). This study is a clinical trial that was performed on 80 patients with chronic LBP in Kashan, Iran. Participants were randomly assigned in control and intervention groups. To assess the participants' LBP, a visual analog scale of pain (VAS-Pain) was completed by both groups. In the intervention group, in addition to routine care for LBP patients, the Alexander Technique was performed in three 60-min sessions per week for 12 weeks. The control group participants received routine care for LBP patients. The two groups completed the VAS-Pain scale immediately after and one month after the intervention. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics and mean pain intensity score before the intervention (p > 0.05). Immediately after and then one month after the intervention, there was statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding the mean scores of pain (p < 0.05). The results of repeated measures ANOVA showed that, in the intervention group, the mean score of pain had decreased over time (p < 0.05). The results of the present study showed that the Alexander Technique was effective in reducing the intensity of pain among the participants. We recommend the Alexander Technique as a useful and effective intervention for reducing chronic LBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Shilling's arguments on body pedagogics in sociology, we show how the negotiation of epistemic concerns is central to our understanding of practices of embodied interaction. Using conversation analytic methods, we examine audio and visual data from recordings of tuition in the Alexander Technique to accomplished amateur musicians. Our analysis builds on previous research on the body in pedagogic contexts, and focuses on embodied and discourse practices through which imperceptible changes to the body are warranted, the management of recruitment and agreement to embodied change, and the use of embodied mimicry. We position our approach as a rapprochement between the concerns of the sociology of the body and interactional studies of embodied action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a reflection about the role of the Alexander Technique and its application and influence in vocal pedagogy. It is based on more than seventeen years of active teaching as a qualified Alexander Technique Teacher and as a professional singer, working alongside vocal pedagogues, teachers, students and professionals. Its objective is to reflect upon the role of body awareness, psychophysical and emotional consciousness, and wellbeing in the realms of vocal pedagogy and singing.

Deterioration in movement and posture often occurs with aging. Yet there may be approaches to movement training that can maintain posture and movement coordination patterns as we age. The Alexander Technique is a non-exercise-based approach that aims to improve everyday movement and posture by increasing awareness and modulating whole-body postural muscle activity. This study assessed whether nineteen 55-72-year-old Alexander Technique teachers showed different posture and movement coordination patterns than twenty age-matched controls during a standing and walking protocol using 3D inertial sensors. During upright stance, Alexander Technique teachers showed lower centroidal sway frequency at the ankle ( p = .04) and lower normalized jerk at the sternum ( p = .05) than controls. During gait, Alexander Technique teachers had more symmetrical gait cycles ( p = .04), more symmetrical arm swing velocity ( p = .01), greater arm swing velocity ( p < .01), greater arm swing range of motion ( p = .02), and lower range of acceleration of the torso in the frontal plane ( p = .03) than controls. Smoother control of upright posture, more stable torso motion, and less restrained arm mobility suggest that Alexander Technique training may counter movement degradation that is found with aging. Results highlight the important balance between mobility and stability within the torso and limbs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Johnson and Cohen.)

To enable people with dementia to live well we must support the person as a whole. The Alexander Technique (AT) offers an approach which addresses both physical and psychological issues which may be suitable to help people with dementia. In this new area of research, this study aimed to establish whether the AT is currently taught to people with dementia and if so to bring together the experiences of AT teachers in relation to the perceived benefits and suitability of the AT for this group. This qualitative study included data from responses to survey questions, interview transcripts and published articles. A total of 84 AT teachers took part in an international survey of whom 18 (21%) had taught one or more people with dementia. Thematic analysis generated the following superordinate themes: 'The AT can help people with dementia', 'How change comes about', and 'Adapting the AT for people with dementia'. AT teachers described perceiving improvements in movement, pain and flexibility; increased calm, sociability and environmental awareness. They highlighted the reciprocal nature of the relationship between teacher and student and highly valued this. Touch was seen as a key means of communication, helping people with dementia to feel safe. It seems that the AT does not require major adaptation to work with this group although the challenges of working in a care setting were discussed. The AT offers the potential to be a valuable intervention for people with dementia and further research is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caring for a family member who is living with dementia can be incredibly challenging. Interventions to support family carers are vital and so carers should be supported to care for themselves and to maintain their own sense of self. The aim of this exploratory study was to explore the views of carers on the potential value of developing an Alexander Technique intervention for family carers of people with dementia. We delivered a one-off taster session of the Alexander Technique to family carers of people with dementia. Eight carers of people with dementia attended the group session led by two registered Alexander teachers. Post-session questionnaires examined carers' thoughts on the content, context, and process of learning the Alexander technique. A focus group at the end of the session asked participants to provide feedback on their experience and the perceived benefits for carers. Carers' satisfaction with the session was high and they reported benefitting from it. Participants appreciated having time for themselves in which they were able to stop to enjoy a moment of calm. They felt they could use the ideas they gained from the session in everyday life. The use of touch in the sessions was also valued by carers. This study provides preliminary evidence that the Alexander Technique has the potential to increase carers' ability to self-care and to support them in their caring. In so doing it has the potential to indirectly help those they care for. • Family carers of people with dementia who took part in an Alexander Technique session recognised the approach's value. • The Alexander Technique's everyday applicability could enable carers to see self-care as possible. • Carers valued the use of reassuring and undemanding touch because they missed physical intimacy and touch. • Research should investigate the optimum number of sessions for any future Alexander Technique carers' intervention. • It may be of value to explore teaching carers and care recipient dyads together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The postpartum is a transitional period and potentially challenging time of heightened vulnerability for women where self-care is compromised. Mothers can ignore their needs while prioritising baby care. The Alexander Technique (AT) is a holistic self-management technique shown to be effective in managing some psycho-physical tension issues and heightening self-efficacy and self-care. The AT has potential to help compromised aspects of maternal well-being in the postpartum. To explore how women familiar with the AT use it for the key postpartum issues of Sleep and rest , one of three superordinate themes identified in a qualitative interview study. Semi-structured interviews via Skype. Research approach: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Seven women, with varying levels of AT experience, 4–13 months postpartum. Participants used a variety of self-care strategies through modifying their self-management with respect to Sleep and rest. Identified sub-themes were the 'knitting' of maternal and infant sleep, how participants rested using the AT and recognising maladaptive habits. Further research into the AT as an approach to supporting perinatal well-being is warranted. The AT has significance for self-management, self-care, addressing maternal needs for rest, restorative sleep as well as tension issues in the postpartum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]