Her Story
About Sydney
I discovered the Alexander Technique as a theater major in college when I was struggling with self-consciousness in my acting and sometimes couldn't do what directors asked because of fear. Taking an Alexander Technique class my final year felt wonderful, like magic - like I could do anything. I decided to apply to a teacher training program in San Francisco, which was just starting in California at the time. I left Minnesota and completed the traditional three-year experiential training, where you embody the principles in your own body before putting hands on another person. For many years, I trained teachers at the training school in Los Angeles, and I've recently stopped working there to focus on private one-on-one lessons. People come to me from all walks of life, usually with chronic pain problems or working on personal development. The technique is about learning to let go of habits that interfere with optimum functioning and moving with more ease and less effort. We believe the mind and body are connected, not separate things, so when you improve one, you improve the other.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sydney
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the fact that the principles are foundational and they really work. As I developed other interests in my life and had children, I always could come back to those principles. They were very dependable. I think that's what sustained my interest, really. It's not like, you know, it works.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Really get a strong foundation so that you understand the principles and that you embody them. Then be flexible, be open to where you can find new connections to the work. You can connect people from a broader area than where it started in the performing arts. There are just so many possibilities. But I always say start with the foundation, really be very strong in your foundation. Don't do a little bit, a little dabble, and then flip to something else and something else. I don't think that works for some people, but you're really not doing the work justice and you're not doing yourself justice.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is that people want a quick fix, and we're not offering that. It takes patience on the part of the teacher, and it takes patience on the part of the student. Everybody's offering a quick fix, but I don't think it exists. I really think that's the biggest challenge. But when people wake up and realize that the quick fix isn't exactly working, then there's an opening, then there's an opportunity. It's very exciting that we've got a lot of young people involved again - for a while we didn't have so many young people involved, and now we do, and that's very exciting. The technique is getting a resurgence now.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being present is huge for me. The Alexander Technique really requires you to learn how to be present so that you're able to be present to what's going on with your body, at the same time you're present to what's going on in your environment, and you're present with other people. It's a skill that gets developed in the training. I really do like the word being present. And if you're present and you're listening, then I don't think you can help but develop compassion. It's wonderful that meditation is so big right now because the technique is very calming and very helpful to help people get more centered.
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