How I discovered the Alexander Technique

I always loved movement and dance.  I became a “star” in my brand new elementary school when I danced in front of my father’s Latin band at a school assembly in New York.  Later, as a stay-at-home mom, I missed dance.  When my daughter was eight, I decided to get active again: I joined The Nickolaus Technique exercise classes.  After a few years of taking classes, I became an instructor and gave classes.  One of the franchise owners was training at The American Center for The Alexander Technique (ACAT), the oldest training course in the United States, and asked me to volunteer as his student.  At the time, I was about to buy a Nickolaus franchise.  After volunteering at ACAT and experiencing a lightness I had never before felt, I started private lessons with a Senior Faculty member and my life changed.  Forget about the Nickolaus franchise, this was for me.  My then-husband was going to be assigned to London, and I knew I could find a home in England with The Alexander Technique because FM Alexander and his Technique were well known in England.  We never made it to London, but I have been able to teach The Alexander Technique wherever I found myself: New York City, Stamford CT or Santa Fe NM; even being invited to give annual workshops in Italy and Switzerland over a six-year period.

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few years after graduating in 1987 from ACAT.  At the time, I had a private practice in Stamford and was an assistant ACAT faculty member.  My symptoms were (and are) fatigue and paresthesia, or nerve-ending pain, and spasticity on my left side.  I found early on that I could quiet my nervous system by applying the principles of The Alexander Technique.  This has enabled me to minimize the debilitating effects of the disease.  I even convinced my New York neurologist to plan a case study to show the potential of using The Alexander Technique in the management of MS symptoms.  

MARTA CURBELO was certified by ACAT to teach The Alexander Technique in 1987, immediately volunteered as an assistant teacher and then became an associate teacher and finally a member of the Senior Faculty in 1989.  Marta has taught at The Juilliard School and has had private practices in New York City, Norwalk CT and Santa Fe NM.  She has conducted workshops in Santa Fe, New York City, Switzerland and Italy and taught in a physical therapy facility in Mt. Kisco, NY.  Marta also has been certified, after a one-year course of study in the Art of Breathing, to teach breathing coordination in conjunction with The Alexander Technique.  She is now retired from AT teaching.