Jean Applonie
Success Stories
"I believe the Alexander Technique can benefit everyone regardless of your passion or career."
I had heard of Alexander Technique all through college but never really explored it as an option for making cello playing easier. When I finally decided to try it, I was having debilitating headaches for days on end and some that lasted weeks at a time. I wasn’t able to function at all. I had to cancel my private teaching lessons and social plans.
That’s about the time that a friend told me about Alexander Technique and told me about an open house that Jean was having. I met with Jean privately after her open house and, after discussing my issues and motivations with her, decided that she could probably help me.
Not only did the work with her help me retrain my body to move in a more efficient way while playing cello and doing other life activities but it also helped alleviate my headaches by practicing those more effective movements in my life.
I believe Alexander Technique can benefit everyone regardless of your passion or career. It definitely has helped me be happier and healthier in my daily activities and career. I highly recommend it to anyone.
- Tamara Baca
"In lessons with Jean, I step back, recharge, and release the toll that stress has taken on my body."
I find as much released in a session with Jean as I do in a lengthy massage, or trip to the chiropractor. I have a fast-paced career and a very demanding schedule; I am passionate about what I do. In lessons with Jean, I step back, recharge, and release the toll that stress has taken on my body.
We work on subtle adjustments to daily routines that are repeated thousands of times. Sitting, standing, walking, breathing. These subtle changes have an exponential impact on my state of mind, inner peace, and increase my strength endurance, and stamina.
- Nicole Pinnell
"The additional mental and emotional benefits continue to surprise me."
“After months of debilitating back pain from very long-term spinal issues I decided to try Alexander Technique knowing nothing about it. Ever the skeptic, I was incredibly surprised that I got some remarkable relief right away. So I went twice a week without fail for the 3-month intensive beginner course.”
“My behavior and habits changed with what I learned, enough to keep me out of pain most of the time. The additional mental and emotional benefits continue to surprise me daily so I’m happily continuing with the maintenance lessons.”
- S.V Jacobson
"I feel 2” taller when I get off the table, and my joints don’t hurt."
“I learned so much. I’m more conscious of keeping my body straight and even when arising and moving throughout the day. I’m conscious of my hip alignment when I walk. I’m also keeping my neck and head aligned with my body instead of hunching over, particularly when sitting. I’m also more conscious of my breathing in all situations.
The table work is awesome. I expected a massage, but it is totally different—stretching out the muscles and joints. I feel 2” taller when I get off the table, and my joints don’t hurt. I slept well the night after table work. The constructive rest helps me recharge in the middle of the day.“
- Julie Saville
I finally decided to make my body and my health a priority after living for decades with unhealthy physical and mental habits. Jean’s work revealed that I carried years of stress in the form of nearly constant tension in my body, especially in my shoulders, neck and back.
This doubtless had contributed to poor sleep, poor posture, and occasional migraines, which in turn resulted in more tension, all in an unhealthy and unsustainable loop. My body simply could not let go.
Jean’s Alexander work taught my body to release that constant tension and approach new stressors and physical challenges in a healthy and sustainable way.
- Jessica Andrews
"My neck is more released and it makes playing a “lighter” experience."
I am currently doing a lot of piano accompanying, and I realized that the Alexander techniques helped me to be aware of my posture and to release and let go of tension.
Instead of sitting with an arched back, the new position I have learned makes it a lot more comfortable. Also, my neck is more released, and it makes playing a “lighter” experience. When I am coming to challenging parts of the music, I can release the tension and be more relaxed.
- DeAnn Jenkins
"I now strive to “feel nothing” by replacing 50 years of harmful habits with the skills I learned from Alexander Technique."
I have perpetual tension in my neck and shoulders; it’s where I hold all my stress. If the Alexander Technique has taught me anything, it’s to be aware of how I hold my body in everyday activities. I am so much more mindful of where my shoulders, sacrum, neck, hips, etc. are and where a better position could be to improve pain and discomfort.
I astoundingly said in one session, “I feel nothing.” To have my body be in such a neutral position that I couldn’t feel any single part screaming for attention was eye-opening and relieving. I now strive to “feel nothing” by replacing 50 years of harmful habits with the skills I learned from Alexander Technique.
- Amy Farmer
"Now, having gained the kind of freedom of movement I haven’t had in years (with no surgery on the horizon) I think my recovery is no less than miraculous."
When 30+ years of occupational back pain started to manifest as leg neuropathy, I realized if I didn’t get REAL help REAL soon, I might have to quit playing piano professionally. My GP was already talking surgery. Then I remembered the Alexander Technique. I’d had lessons here & there over the years, only with temporary results. Not so this time around.
Why did I choose Jean?
Clear explanations & solutions, a structured program, and most of all….sensitivity. Jean’s ability to relate to my pain, my situation, made all the difference.
Now, having gained the kind of freedom of movement I haven’t had in years (with no surgery on the horizon) I think my recovery is no less than miraculous. So grateful to you, Jean!
- Michael Sushel
"I feel that the Alexander Technique is a wonderful complement to the efforts of all older adults who desire to stay active, mobile, and healthy."
I am in my early sixties and found myself struggling with the pain, stiffness and limited range of motion issues associated with arthritis. Years earlier, a Physical Therapist suggested that the Alexander Technique would likely be able to help me with the gait issues she recognized in me.
The Alexander technique has helped me begin to see the many ways that I hold tension in my body. I have also discovered patterns of movement that I have unwittingly clung to because they felt “normal” and yet they have in fact been detrimental to my joints.
I have learned about what proper alignment looks like and feels like in my body. I never knew that standing up, walking, and picking up something off the floor could be accompanied by such fluidity and economy of motion.
My desire to age well with grace and dignity has been enhanced by the Alexander Technique. I feel that the Alexander Technique is a wonderful complement to the efforts of all older adults who desire to stay active, mobile, and healthy.