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Who
WHO ARE WE?
The Contemporary Alexander School is a learning community dedicated to furthering the Work of F.M. Alexander with self-paced, non-residential Contemporary Alexander Teacher Training & Post-Graduate Studies. In addition, there are study opportunities for Personal Exploration and Professional Enrichment/CEUs. Founded by Robyn Avalon, CAS is the US branch of Alexander Alliance International.
Alexander Alliance International is an international alliance of sister schools, founded in 1982, with training programs in Europe: Zurich, Bournemouth, Einbeck, Buchholz, Berlin; USA: Portland(OR), Santa Fe, New York City, Dallas/Ft Worth, Cleveland; and Japan: Kyoto, Osaka, Okayama. We are an international learning community that enjoys learning and exploring with each other; and offers support and respect for everyone’s unique contributions to the vitality and growth of the Work.
We run independent* contemporary, non-residential training programs. We welcome people of all races, religions, sexes, gender identities, sexual orientations, body types, abilities, and ages.
*AAI has always been and continues to be independent of all political societies, as did F.M. Alexander and Marjorie L. Barstow. We carry, with goodwill and humility, their tradition of independence forward into the future.
CAS & AAI support equity, justice, & Belonging
We call upon ourselves to be accountable for the work we must do as individuals and as an organization to consciously participate in the process of dismantling oppression and inequality and promoting equity and belonging within our Work.
Learn more about our Code of Ethics, Community Agreements,
and our efforts in support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
CAS DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
CAS offers sliding scale options for GLOBAL MAJORITY / BIPOC students interested in the PEP and Teacher Training Programs, with the intention of supporting profound diversity the next generation of Alexander Teachers in the world. Contact CAS Director for more details.
+ WHO ARE OUR STUDENTS?
- Anyone who wants the tools to change their life.
- Anyone who is physically uncomfortable due to stress, tension, postural habits, movement problems, old injuries, or poor self-image.
- Performing artists and teachers of performing artists.
- Athletes, martial artists, fitness/Pilates/Gyro teachers, yoga instructors.
- Equestrians, Centered Riding/Natural Horsemanship teachers and students.
- Bodyworkers, movement & somatic educators, physical/occupational/speech therapists, counselors & psychologists, and allopathic/alternative/oriental medical professionals (CEU’s available).
- Anyone who wants to become a Certified Alexander Technique Teacher.
- Alexander Teachers who want to add contemporary, real-life applications to their skills
What
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
CAS offers study and training in a contemporary form of the Alexander Technique, designed to help you apply the principles of the Work directly to your real-life situations. You can study through lessons, workshops, retreats, courses, and trainings in satellite cities throughout North America.
Historically, the only way to study the Work deeply, personally and professionally, was to join a Teacher Training Program or take years of private lessons. This creates a hindrance to those who do not want or need to become certified AT teachers, as well as positioning the study as belonging to those privileged in both finances and time availability. At CAS, we hope to end this inequity, and are committed to finding ways for everyone to access the Work at a deep level. In service of our commitment to making the Work more accessible the world, we offer 3 ways to study deeply:
The DREAM TEAM
This unique new co-creative paradigm is for those looking for a co-creative, tailored year of study around a chosen theme(s), designed for a self-organized group. (eg, gather your own DREAM TEAM of family, friends, and colleagues to study together)
PEP - Personal/Professional Enrichment Program
For those looking for deep personal understanding and embodiment of Alexander Principles, as well as applications to their professional venue.
TEACHER TRAINING
For those wanting to become Certified Alexander Technique Teachers.
Our newest offering, the DREAM TEAM, begins with you reaching out in your own community for the people you would love to spend a year studying with, in combination with a series of intro workshops and discussions designed to help your group co-create the structure and content of your course with the CAS Faculty. The 13 month course includes 25 in-person days of study, plus 50 hours of online supportive group study. There is a minimum of 6 people required to birth a DREAM TEAM.
We offer opportunities for deep personal and professional study through our PEP (Professional Enrichment Program), offered in CAS branches in the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Los Angeles, and New York City. These part time or full time programs offer small group in person study sessions lasting 1 - 3 days, balanced with larger, weeklong Retreats and Immersions. It is the ideal way to give yourself a year of committed deep study, without having to join a teacher training program. It’s more than lessons and less than training - offering access to an international study community.
If you are interested in becoming a Certified Alexander Teacher, the CAS Teacher Training Program prepares you to teach individuals and groups, through classical and contemporary styles, with a deep, embodied, understanding not only of the Work, but also the art of teaching it.
We offer a holistic approach, recognizing that we are physical-mental-emotional-spiritual-sexual-energetic beings. We use the principles of The Work to examine all of these aspects, allowing us to consciously choose how we wish to express ourselves. Our curriculum honors these aspects of ourselves through studies in Ways of Being, Ways of Knowing, and Ways of Teaching.
+ WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY ALEXANDER WORK?
Contemporary Alexander Work is a practical, kinesthetic, hands-on study of our innate design for movement and support, our habits of awareness and response, and our ability to make new choices. It which teaches you how to relieve pain, tension, and habitual life patterns, and rediscover excellence, ease, strength, flexibility, grace, joy, and choice in every activity of life.
+ What do Contemporary Alexander Teachers do?
We simply observe how you do whatever you do. We observe with kindness and clarity. We watch you do what is important to you, and what is not quite working the way you want it to work. It could be walking up or down the steps, or singing a song, or playing the cello. It could be relating to people at work, or at home. For some it is speaking in front of people, or being more comfortable at your computer. It might be practicing Yoga, Pilates, or Tai Chi. Maybe what is important to you is swing dancing, or tango, or weaving, or pottery, or painting.
Whatever it is, we watch you with a benevolent eye. We see what you are doing well, and we perceive what is interfering with what you want to do. We help you notice your interference. It might be a subtle tightening, or holding your breath, or it might be an idea you have about how to do your task. Often we use our hands, always respectfully and without force, until you undo what you are doing that’s getting in your way. Pleasure, comfort, and ease return. You learn how to help yourself.
Why
WHY STUDY ALEXANDER WORK?
‘I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.’ - Carl Jung
“You cannot do something new if you keep doing something old.’ - FM Alexander
‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.’ - Albert Einstein
You study the Work to create the life you choose.
You learn to replace habitual life patterns with new, more conscious choices. Through study, you become capable of redirecting excessive effort and stress into useful energy, and creating the experiences you desire.
Regaining deep structural support, you learn how to be relaxed and ready, soft and strong, light and substantial, firm and flexible, awake to yourself and to the world.
Ways of Being ∙ Ways of Knowing ∙ Ways of Teaching
How
HOW DO YOU STUDY AT CAS?
CAS has developed a realistic, self-paced structure for Alexander Technique Teacher Training, Alexander Post Graduate Study, and ongoing personal and professional study, through:
bringing the Work to your home community
weekend courses, week-long intensives and month-long immersions
regular online study and support
academic-friendly scheduling
self-designed study - the opportunity to study at the pace and timing which realistically fits into your life
+ Read More
Through our travels we have met so many skillful, talented, curious people who would love to integrate Alexander’s Work into both their personal growth and professional proficiency - if only they could find the time!
Often, continuous study/training requires mandatory attendance, sometimes even daily, and if there is no opportunity in your area, it also requires frequent travel - which can be both expensive and unrealistic in the larger scheme of your life. And, if you are on an academic schedule, the challenges can be even greater. At CAS we understand these issues, and have developed our programming to make it possible for you to study.
Find out more about how to bring the Work to your community.
COUNCIL CIRCLES
CAS utilizes the Way of the Council as a way of communicating that encourages attentive listening, as well as honest and compassionate expression, created and evolved by indigenous cultures worldwide, and shared as a wisdom tradition for all people.
For more information, click here.
CAS offers Lessons, Workshops, Retreats, Courses, Teacher Training, and Post-Graduate Studies.
Lessons
+ Find out more
Lessons are offered in conjunction with Workshops and Courses throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Whenever a CAS Teacher is offering classes in your area, there will also be the opportunity to take a private lesson. CAS Graduates offer lessons throughout the US - find one in your area by checking our Directory.
Workshops
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Workshops are offered in numerous cities throughout North America, often by request. Introductory Workshop topics are tailored to the interests and needs of your local community. They are the perfect way to cultivate interest in a satellite course or training in your area - consider hosting one!
Retreats
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Retreats are held in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Portland, Oregon each year. They are multi-level experiences, attracting beginners through post-graduates; those interested in personal exploration as well as professionals seeking new skills, and Alexander trainees and teachers from varying traditions interested in our contemporary style of teaching.
Courses
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Courses are generally hosted by a local community that is interested in more in-depth study than workshops provide. Oriented towards personal exploration or professional studies, there are a range of topics, including body mapping, breath & sound, intuitive arts, advanced hand skills, and Contemporary Alexander Work. Courses are offered through a series of Modules spread over a year, and are an ideal way to broaden your skills and experience.
Teacher Training
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Contemporary Alexander Teacher Training is a 4+ year commitment, depending on your rate of study and proficiency. There are 4 main week-long gatherings each year, spread between Portland, OR (beach-front in Neskowin) and Santa Fe, NM (in the NM mountains). In between these main Events, there are weekends - which can be done in a satellite city - as well as regular online classes. The Training is self-paced and non-residential, offering the flexibility to realistically fit it into your life.
Post-Graduate Studies
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Alexander Technique Post-Graduate Studies happen in Santa Fe, NM as well as satellite cities. Master Trainers Bruce Fertman and Robyn Avalon teach Post-Graduate courses worldwide, offering advanced studies in a contemporary style of the Work. The curriculum includes group teaching, teaching in activities and life situations, and advanced hand skills. Teachers learn to work with students while they do whatever they do, allowing the Work to be easily accessible.
Where
WHERE ARE CAS CLASSES HELD?
In beautiful places.
At CAS, the landscape - Nature - is part of the faculty. Being in Nature helps create a container where we can drop our everyday selves and patterns and connect with our Self as a part of humankind, Nature, and consciousness.
CAS bases in Santa Fe NM, New York City, Los Angeles, and Portland OR/Pacific NW - often in retreats in the mountains or at the beach. We take time each day to broaden our perspectives by taking in the horizon, hiking through the forest, or resting at the water’s edge.
Knowing that it’s not always possible for everyone to travel, we also bring Alexander’s Work to you - wherever you live.
+ Read More
Through our unique satellite programs and study Modules, CAS strives to make ongoing personal and professional study possible in your already busy, full life by bringing the Work to your community and offering flexible, self-paced programs. In addition, CAS hopes to help lower the carbon-footprint by having a few teachers travel, rather than all of the students.
Anyone can anchor a satellite program. If you have a community of friends or colleagues who would like to study, contact us. We will help you organize lessons, workshops, and courses to meet your community’s needs.
Past North American CAS cities have included: Cleveland, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Dallas, Anchorage, Honolulu, Aspen, Austin, Tulsa, Victoria (BC), San Carlos (Mexico), Tuscan, Phoenix, Iowa City, Portland (OR), Santa Fe and more.