Our Nature: Conversations about the relationship between nature, spirituality, and well-being

EP 08: A Pain Free Existence With Alexander Technique Practitioner Alan Katz

Episode Notes

If you’ve ever been injured or have suffered from chronic pain of any kind, this episode is for you. Alan Katz is an Alexander Technique practitioner who came to Alexander Technique after a devastating injury left him in constant pain. After only a few sessions, his pain began to subside and Alan quit his job to make Alexander Technique his life’s practice. Today, he teaches people how to use their bodies the natural way - with balance instead of tension. What’s most amazing about Alexander Technique is that it invites us to use our body to heal our body. In this episode, you’ll learn what happens during an Alexander Technique session, how Alan believes people when they say they’re in pain, why Alexander technique works when other healing modalities don’t, and simple, effective ways each of us can begin to properly align our bodies. I hope you’ll walk away from this episode feeling inspired to pay closer attention to what your body is trying to communicate. I know that learning Alexander Technique gave me that permission.

QUOTES:

“The body would prefer to be in what we call homeostasis. It prefers to be feeling better. It prefers not to have pain here, pain there, pain everywhere. And if you bring it to a place which makes more sense, it generally stops hurting.” - Alan Katz

“I teach people how to use their bodies with balance instead of tension.” - Alan Katz

“Everything should be stacked on everything else. That’s how the body is made.” - Alan Katz

“We’re not meant to hold our bodies. We’re meant to be in our bodies.” - Alan Katz

“The body is a balancing act and the more attune to that you are, the happier your body is.” - Alan Katz

Resources:

• Alexander Technique

Connect with Alan Katz:

• Alan Katz’s Website
• Call Alan to book an appointment at: 212-691-8607

Connect with The Our Nature Podcast:

• Follow Our Nature on Instagram

Gratitude List: This podcast would not be possible without the group of talented individuals below. I offer them my sincerest thanks and love.

• Produced by: Will Wells
• Mixed by: Kevin Aguirre Buitrago
• Graphics by: Tim LaSalle
• Music by: Nick Ceglia

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SHOW NOTES

• The story of how Alan first found Alexander Technique
• Why Alexander Technique is very difficult to explain
• Why Alexander Technique is associated with acting
• Alexander TEchnique is another level of mindfulness
• Why people come to Alexander Technique as a last resort and why it’s so effective
• How balancing your body does not include holding.
• Modern society has caused us to improperly use our bodies, which has led to pain
• What happens during an Alexander Technique session
• How aAlan would respond to the skeptics of Alexander Technique
• “This (Alexander Technique) is about the way we are meant to use our bodies, period.”
• Why doctors send people to Alan when they’ve given up
• Alan’s greatest success story
• Why Alexander Technique can help with other ailments - OCD, stomach issues, shaking
• What Alexander Technique can do or people with chronic pain
• Why table work during an Alexander Technique is like deep meditation
• Simple technique that anyone can do to feel more balanced and aligned
• “There’s no join in the body that’s meant to be locked.”
• Your skull is meant to be supported by your spine, not your neck
• Let your feet support you
• The last five questions

THE LAST 5 QUESTIONS:
1. What is your favorite place in nature?
I love the ocean and I love the forest. I kind of like nature, period.
2. What is the animal, mineral or plant that resonates with you the most?
I like rocks a lot.
3. What is one thing we can do right now to connect with the natural world and bring more harmony into our lives?
Breathe into your belly.
4. What’s the greatest lesson nature has taught you?
Yin and Yang. Balance. Within all Yang, there is Yin and within all Yin there is Yang.
5. Nature brings me…
Happiness.