By Allyna B. Steinberg, Fabio Tavares, Emily Faulkner, Renee Schneider and Chyna Whyne
The Alexander Technique (AT) Diversity Coalition[1] organized this panel to foster critical dialogue around racial equity and other diversity issues to strengthen the AT community. The panel aimed to increase awareness of the ways diverse identities in terms of gender, sexuality, race, age, ability, status, and so on — of teachers and current and potential students — impact the use of the self and interactions in the AT community. Panelists shared experiences, ideas, strategies and resources for AT teachers to take back to their practices, teacher training programs, and professional organizations to support sharing AT with diverse communities.
The panel was made up of a racially diverse and international group.
Fig 1: The panelists: Allyna B. Steinberg, Fabio Tavares, Emily Faulkner, Renee Schneider and Chyna Whyne
A call to action! We have an opportunity as AT teachers to empower ourselves to be more inclusive, reach more diverse audiences and join the worldwide conversation about issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity.
For this call to action, we invite you to ‘brave space’. As you read this and beyond, we invite you to stay curious, be engaged even if discomfort arises (as that is part of the process), and to reflect on your own experiences and opportunities for change. To begin, please reflect on the following: What diversity have you observed in the AT community? (In terms of ethnicity, skin color, class, sexuality, gender, disability, and so on). Who does the AT community primarily consist of? Who is not a part of the AT community? Do you make conscious efforts to understand your role in the systems that lead to what you observe? How can we use these reflections to make our community more inclusive?
Allyna B. Steinberg
Allyna Steinberg observed a lack of racial diversity at AmSAT Conferences since 2010 and the AT World Congress in 2015. She was not sure how to take action until 2016 after the NYC Health Department where she works launched the Race to Justice Initiative, an internal process for advancing racial equity and social justice. The initiative was started by then commissioner, now Harvard professor Dr. Mary T. Bassett[2] who wrote the article “#Black Lives Matter: A Challenge to the Medical and Public Health Communities” which appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine[3] Through her involvement, Allyna saw more deeply that lack of diversity is not an accident and that there are strategies for increasing diversity.
To raise awareness of these strategies within the AT community, Allyna reached out to the few people of color AT teachers she knew to co-develop a workshop for the 2017 AmSAT Conference. The workshop was co-presented by Aik Hooi Lee, Renee Schneider, Allyna Steinberg and Pyeng Threadgill, who co-developed the workshop with Mona Al-Kazemi and Belinda Mello. It was presented again at the 2017 ATI Annual Conference. An enthusiastic reception from the AT community led to the AT Diversity Coalition being formed. After the first workshop, participants felt a group was needed to continue to normalize conversations about race, racism, and equity, and implement strategies for change.
Fig 2: Equality vs. Equity[4]
Why is equity important? Equity means trying to understand and give people what they need to enjoy full, healthy lives. It’s different than equality, which aims to ensure that everyone gets the same things. Although equality may also aim to promote fairness, it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same things. Everyone starts from a different place because of the way society assigns social value based on race, gender, sex, ability, immigration status, sexual orientation and so on, which affects the power and privilege that is available to individuals and communities. As Fig 2 suggests, different communities will need different things.
We can apply an equity lens to consider what people from different communities need to become a part of the AT community as students or teachers. In order for the AT community to be racially and otherwise diverse, we will need to explore with an equity lens on the following four levels:
● Internal - within ourselves, our awareness of self, including how our social identities relate to our use and our implicit or unconscious biases;
● Interpersonal - within our relationships, those with students and collaborators within and external to the AT community;
● Institutional - within the policies and practices in our organisations, our private practices, teacher training programs, post-graduate certification programs, and professional organisations; and
● Structural - across organizations and society, within the policies and practices common to multiple professional organizations (e.g. teacher training program regulations) and within interactions with the larger world.
One strategy that is key to this exploration is centering, which is elevating the voices of and prioritizing the needs of people who are traditionally not heard or seen.[5] This ensures that the people who are facing the most significant challenges accessing our community can influence policies and practices to foster change. Centering can be achieved by educating ourselves about the experiences of (and building relationships with) those traditionally impacted by oppression, including people of color, people on low income, people with disabilities, immigrants, people who are incarcerated, and LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex or Queer) people. For people with privileged identities (white, male, heterosexual, not disabled, and so on), it’s critical to remember the historical[6] [7] [8] [9]and current-day oppression faced by traditionally marginalized communities and reflect on the ways we can create brave spaces in which to collaborate together.[10] [11]
Furthermore, there is a proven framework for action at the community level, normalizing-organizing-operationalizing,[12] that can guide efforts in our AT communities. It includes three parts:
● Normalizing - increasing understanding of, and naming, racial and other inequities (for example: participating in or creating opportunities for training and discussion around implicit bias and racism, sexism, ableism and other forms of oppression, a professional organization statement naming the racism in FM’s writings);
● Organizing - creating infrastructures for discussion and action (for example: AT Diversity Coalition, local collaborations among AT teachers and local, person-of-color-led, community-based organizations); and
● Operationalizing - establishing new policies and practices (for example: sliding scale, racially diverse images on websites, in books and in other communication products, a professional organization policy to consider and document how decisions will affect communities traditionally marginalized).
Allyna was motivated to start teaching a NYC Health Department Worksite Wellness class based on the Alexander Technique because it was clear that healing needed to be a part of the Race to Justice Initiative. In fact, healing is a key strategy in justice movements based on the notion of self-help -- not just as an individual pursuit -- as a community pursuit.[13] [14] [15] There are growing numbers of trauma-informed and resiliency initiatives whose formation was driven by this equity-lens perspective, and these may offer inspiration and opportunities for the AT community. These initiatives include the federally-funded ReCAST: Resiliency in Communities after Stress and Trauma Initiative[16] [17], Niroga Institute’s Dynamic Mindfulness reaching urban schools[18], and the Center for Health Care Strategies’ Advancing Trauma-Informed Care, funded by Robert Wood Johnson.[19] An excellent starting point to learn about these initiatives is the #BLACKJOY video series created by ReCAST Minneapolis.[20] [21] [22]
Fabio Tavares
Fabio Tavares has been on a healing path since he realized he was gay, growing up in his native Brazil then many years later in NYC when he found himself struggling with alcohol and drug abuse. A couple of twelve-step-programs, therapy, a spiritual practice, a very strenuous career as a professional dancer and AT all played a huge role in helping him find the ground under his feet so he could finally begin to let go of all that extra stuff and breathe again.
Fabio has not always felt like he fit in within the AT community because of his identities.
Fabio is an advocate for the LGBTQI community and people in recovery in general and he brings the AT into those places fearlessly. His wish is for AT teachers who are either in recovery or are part of the LGBTQI community (or have loved ones in their families who belong to those communities) to talk more openly about it. We can only heal and promote social change together. It warms my heart when I learn about other colleagues who share similar experiences.
[Note: Fabio’s story is featured in more detail in a 2019 AmSAT Journal article.]
Emily Faulkner
Emily Faulkner teaches students who come from diverse socioeconomic and ability/disability backgrounds. Emily comes from a dance background. Her involvement with diverse populations was born out of curiosity, a passion for movement, and a desire to find work.
Figure 3. Emily Faulkner teaching at Steady Buckets
She works with children and teen athletes who play for Steady Buckets - an innovative basketball, physical fitness and life skills development program for boys and girls ages four to 18 in the greater New York City area. The program’s objective is to develop hard working, resilient, empathetic and confident individuals who will make a positive contribution to their communities. Steady Buckets is open to all children who are willing to work hard and maximize their potential. The program is free of charge which leads to socioeconomic and racial diversity among participants. In fact, participants come from the poorest and the wealthiest neighborhoods in NYC. Emily predominantly works one-on-one at Steady Buckets at the ‘shooting station,’ the area of the gym dedicated to shooting practice during a skill building class. She takes a child aside and spends about five to ten minutes showing them how to get into ‘monkey,’ bend the joints of the arms without unnecessary tension, and from there to inhibit the desire to put the ball through the hoop and instead, apply proper basketball shooting form. She often works on something simpler than shooting since shooting is quite complex and requires a great deal of inhibition. Instead, she will work with players on monkey, standing on one leg, jumping up and down, walking, and many other simple movements.
Emily finds one key to success is adapting traditional AT language. With basketball players, Emily uses language that reflects simple principles of biomechanics like ground reactive force and balance. For example: ‘You are bouncing off the floor the same way a basketball does.’ Instead of talking about posture, she talks about form which helps the students see a clear relationship between what she teaches and what they are looking for (i.e. good basketball playing form). She doesn’t generally use the word ‘inhibition,’ but rather says things like, ‘let’s pretend that you’re doing that movement with the same intensity that you ask your mom what’s for dinner.’
Emily also teaches at the Lighthouse Guild for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She teaches an ongoing class as part of an adult day-care program. Some people have been blind since birth. Some became blind more recently as the result of an eye disease or an accident. Some people are visually impaired but not blind, and some have no visual impairment at all, but are in the program because they have another disability that prevents them from spending the day by themselves. Some students also have cognitive disabilities. She’s worked with these students for close to a year. They are perceptive, enthusiastic and open-minded, and Emily sees the freedom of movement they attain through dance and the AT principles.
She structures the class as a dance class with a lot of AT exercises and hands-on. She guides the students through simple movement explorations informed by AT principles like wiggling different parts of the body, marching in place and also using their hands to identify various joints including the atlanto-occipital and hip joints. Balance is a big issue, so they often get into pairs and work on standing on one leg. At the end, Emily generally plays Latin or popular music to allow the group to free dance in pairs, trios and solo, which they all love. There is a great deal of emphasis at the Lighthouse on ‘being cautious’ so that no one falls or bumps into anything. She uses her class as an opportunity to help the students build confidence and to play with the idea that when we are relaxed and balanced, we are less likely to fall. So if they are all dancing, and someone accidentally knocks into someone else, they remind themselves to stay soft and relaxed so that the contact is pleasant and not startling.
The work Emily has done with these diverse communities has not just benefited her students, but has made her much more sophisticated and culturally rich. Her basketball students have introduced her to music, fashion and food. Emily feels that for many of the kids from disadvantaged circumstances who dream of playing professional or division one basketball, the only way to overcome their environments is to be diligent and earnest far beyond their years. It is humbling to watch them work and learn. Her visually impaired students have introduced her to a world of people who have a different perspective on life. It’s helped her to absorb on a personal level the obvious truth that people who have a disability can be as funny, perceptive, intelligent and charming as anyone else.
Renee Schneider
Renee Schneider sees a critical path toward expanding and diversifying our practices: consciously create virtuous cycles of healing within ourselves, with students and with communities. Diversity should be inherently important to Alexander teachers because of the AT’s core value of each person becoming their own individual. As we develop as individuals, we also come to realise the diversity within ourselves and the range of expression we potentially have. As one learns to not let fear rule one’s life, we become curious, engaged, open to experimentation and more able to see the world from different perspectives.
In the era of Trump in America, it is easy to feel powerless, discouraged, exhausted. It is easy to turn away. It is much more pleasant to return to the quiet of one’s teaching and shut out the strife in the world. More and more, however, it is becoming difficult to ignore as bullying and demonizing anyone seen as different by the president has been picked up by his supporters. Some of their favorite targets include racial minorities, immigrants and the LGBTQIA+ communities. White nationalists marched in the streets in Charlottesville in August 2017, not hiding who they were, though their doctrine espouses an unimaginable violent ‘cleansing’ of the country of non-whites. How long do the American people let President Trump erode democratic norms and institutions, glorify hate and petulance and throw away the good will of the country that isn’t his to throw away?
For those that are part of a racial minority in America, however, turning away is often never an option. Growing up a minority trains a person from childhood to see cues, hear dog whistles and understand deep in one’s body that one is not totally safe. Historical trauma also is passed down through the generations, epigenetic trauma. As the social tide of intolerance builds, the pull is felt one way or another even stronger.
What can one do about these engulfing tidal social forces, especially when most people don’t try or even know to try to rise above the pulls swirling around them? Most can’t see the ecosystem within which they live since there is no separation between the ecosystem and the individual within it. Just as one doesn’t recognize the air one breathes, one doesn’t recognize the tone of hatred and fear in leaders’ voices or even their own voices if that’s all they hear. This period of Trump has helped some to see the underlying inequities in our society and the implicit mistrust for those who are different. No longer does anyone believe as some did under the presidency of Barack Obama, that we are living in a post-race America. This was a ‘feel good’ belief for white liberals who did not experience what was always happening and who did not meaningfully interact with people of color. Oppression has not only existed in the era of Trump, the things we are now paying attention to have been a part of white colonization and history forever. Trump is the magnifying glass of this realization for a lot of people.
As Alexander Technique teachers we would like to think that we will be the beacons of light in a darkening world and that we would see through the confusion, propaganda and ‘gaslighting’[23] and give a helping hand to those about to be run over. At what point though do we as AT teachers say that enough is enough and take action? The Trump era and the rise of nationalist governments around the world urges AT teachers to exercise their brains more, get clear and take a stand for what they believe in. It invites us to take a hard look into how we treat our students and the communities we serve and why we do not have more students and more students of color and of lower socio-economic status.
We all could do better to align with the AT values of individuality, free choice and more-informed levels of consciousness. This is one viable strategy to ensure the Technique will be around for another hundred years.
First, let’s consider the fact that diversity makes a country rich with resources and is a feature of today’s global reality that is only going to increase. In the year 2045 the US is projected to become ‘majority minority,’ meaning that more people in America will be of a minority group than of the current majority ‘white’ group.[24] Therefore, one would assume that a typical AT teacher would see more students of increasingly diverse backgrounds as time goes on. AT teachers will also begin to have competition from ‘talk therapists’ such as psychologists and social workers, who increasingly work with clients through touch, such as through programs like Somatic Experiencing®.[25] Therefore, the AT teacher of the future will be more versant in a variety of cultures and better able to relate to a more diverse array of students. This future teacher will evolve into being able to keep up with the demands of the marketplace and to better equip themselves to support the psycho-social needs of their students.
Second, let’s consider the art of the Alexander teacher in supporting each student to become more of an individual. Ideally, students over time realise that all the tools are within them to set their course, unfurl their sails and explore life from a captain’s chair. What can help teachers to better ensure that this happens with students from different communities from them?
Questioning what is AT culture vs. the Technique itself. The Alexander Technique itself should be able to be transferred and adjusted to different communities, just as it is adjusted to different people. Is there AT ‘culture’ that is expected to be learned in lessons or on training courses and lessons? If so, how essential are those elements? At what point does the teacher’s supposedly objective opinions and ‘molding’ of the student’s use bleed into over-control of the student?
It is true that most training schools in America have white culture imbued in them. African-American culture for example is louder and livelier than white culture generally. A prospective African-American trainee visiting a course in which stillness and quiet are emphasised can feel the pressure of fitting in culturally, where a cultural transfer is expected or self-expected, in order to obtain the Alexander Technique skills transfer. This dynamic could turn off students from joining courses.
In the teacher’s practice, students can feel vulnerable, particularly as they are challenged to do things differently and give up reliance on some of what they believe to be true. How might this be amplified if the student is from a different socio-cultural background from the teacher? The teacher may be coming from a training course where one lives and breathes the Technique and where the Technique was related to life in England among F.M. Alexander’s students. However, when teaching an essential element of the Technique, such as head forward and up, one needs to talk about the principle but does not need, for example, to talk about the rich, powerful and famous of England near 100 years ago (even though some might find it interesting).
The Technique grew out of a certain culture, class and time period. If it had grown out of another culture, class and time period, what would it look and be like? If F.M. had ‘passed’ as another type of person in a different country, culture, and class, who would our students be today?
Gaining virtuosity in the diversity within yourself. One way to improve one’s skill in relating to others is to explore one’s own diversity, as Fig 4 demonstrates, and acknowledging one’s privileges. Living well within one’s various identities, states and roles ensures a confidence in being which enables one to be present for the student as the student shows up with their different identities, states and roles. Likewise, understanding the range of one’s identity, and how wide it can be, and often contradictory, gives the student an example of someone who lives in complexity with awareness.
Fig 4: The diverse identities of Renee Schneider
A kind of ‘antagonistic action’ within one’s identities means being able to hold opposing views at the same time and give space for both. A teacher with room for diversity in him or herself means there is more room for the student.
AT teachers want tone in the musculoskeletal system, not tension. Similarly, Renee sees her Asian cultural roots as being ‘in tone’ with being raised in an Anglo-American culture. Good tone is present when information is feeding both ways constantly and both extremes can be accessed when necessary or appropriate. By working without judgment of oneself and students, the teacher becomes more aware of the tone in the diversity within ourselves and students. We can develop good tone in the system consciously by playing with the extremes but generally being somewhere in the middle most of the time.
Renee likens the experience of learning several languages with being able to take on different roles or identities. It is easier to learn the language if one is learning the culture at the same time. One won’t ever be able to be fluent without the understanding of the mores and situational dynamics in the culture. As one learns many languages and many cultures, one finds out more clearly who one was before the learning took place. After the learning, the person is a different person. When people who are very different meet and they learn to talk together and be with one another, they become more agile, more skilled, more honed at the same time. This type of normalised exploration of differences is fabulous. It’s when one starts thinking one person or way is better than another that one gets into trouble.
Creating virtuous cycles with the support of knowledge of polyvagal theory[26], [27]. The polyvagal theory has become the prevailing way of looking at the autonomic nervous system with important implications for understanding the needs of students, especially those from traditionally marginalized groups that suffer disproportionately from trauma. In an oversimplification, the autonomic nervous system is sometimes described as having two opposing halves: the parasympathetic system responsible for the relaxation response associated with a sense of safety and social engagement, and the sympathetic system responsible for the stress response associated with ‘fight or flight’. However, the polyvagal theory describes two functions of the parasympathetic nervous system, which operate via the vagus nerve or tenth cranial nerve that connects the brain and gut. The vagus nerve has two branches: one slows the body down to calm, while the more primitive branch slows the body down to ‘freeze’, an immobilized and/or dissociated state. ‘Freeze’ occurs with chronic stress and trauma.
For students who are in a state of ‘freeze’ (and often do not know it), safety is the most important thing for changing their nervous system and their use. To this end, AT teachers can consciously create virtuous cycles of safety, healing and relational bonds in expanding circles starting with self.
First make a virtuous cycle within oneself, such as:
1. Consciously begin the cycle by working on differentiating real threats from perceived ones and experiencing safety more deeply psychosomatically.
2. With greater safety experienced, one’s nervous system becomes more regulated, allowing for rest, digestion, oxygen, better use and authentic social connections.
3. This leads to better thinking, more perspective and self-mastery, enabling better differentiation of real threats from perceived ones (step 1).
A teacher can also create virtuous cycles of well-being with students. For example:
1. Consciously be a safe harbor for students. Encourage each student to become more and more an authentic individual.
2. With safety, the student becomes more regulated and has better use, better social connections and never misses a lesson.
3. The student-teacher relationship becomes more stable, sustainable and safe, allowing for more authenticity and self-mastery (step 1).
In addition, a teacher can create virtuous cycles with communities of which they are not a member, such as religious or ethnic groups. To create a virtuous cycle in a new community where a teacher wishes to give lessons, the teacher could do the following means-whereby to open up a new market:
1. Spend time in the community. Listen and absorb the community, take in the culture. This earns trust.
2. Over time the people will begin to feel safe with you and may be open to some conversation about what you do, about AT and possibly lessons.
3. With lessons that meet them where they are, they receive benefit, earning further trust. This makes spending time in the community easier, more enjoyable and more fruitful. ‘Word of mouth’ in the community brings more new students.
Renee feels that because the study of the Technique is such a privilege and a gift, that teachers have a duty to try to share the wealth of their knowledge, particularly to those who most need it and whom will then go on to share it with others. To study the Technique is to work towards the further evolution of man as a social being who can make advancements in being able to resolve problems without violence.
Renee hopes that Trump’s leading the American people to look over the edge into the ugliness of an intolerant world will create the slingshot needed to bring about a social and scientific renaissance and leap forward in the exciting social evolution of man. Perhaps it is enough to wake up more AT teachers to create the virtuous cycles that will allow a greater impact on individual and socio-political health.
Chyna Whyne
In 1999, Chyna Whyne studied at the Constructive Teaching Centre in Holland Park, London, and she could not see herself as part of the AT community. She was the only black trainee. She was invited to the 2018 Congress and still could not see herself as part of the AT community. Realising that she stood out amongst 700 AT teachers from all over the world as the only black teacher prompted questions, such as: ‘Does this mean that AT is not readily available to people of colour? Is it kept locked away only for the elite?’
On one level she felt very special, yet on another, saddened by the loneliness of it. How can a technique that offers so much to human existence be so removed and so segregated? This very segregation could well be the underlying reason for the possible extinction of the Technique unless something radical takes place. All too often AT teachers have a mindset, in Chyna’s opinion, that can appear dusty, old-fashioned and aloof. This work has clearly not filtered from the elite down, so a new strategy is needed. A fresh injection of life and vitality is needed. She’s dusting off those AT mindsets of ‘them and us’ and bringing what she has learnt about AT to the streets of Jamaica, working at Caribbean Maritime University[28] and other locations.[29] [30]
Chyna attended her first AT conference, the 2018 Congress, because she was invited to be a speaker on the topic of why the Alexander Technique is not widespread amongst people of colour. She sees the questions, conversations and debates around diversity as valid. However, she encourages that action be taken. Otherwise, we run the risk of another 20 years passing by and ‘lip service’ being the only motion having taken place. Swiftness is a necessity as we are on the border of extinction - so she suggested a strategy.
For AT teachers who have not yet experienced what it feels like to be a minority in this world, have not socialised with people of colour, and/or have not gotten to know another culture and practiced understanding and accepting differences, Chyna invites you to take a trip to Jamaica and open your vision into how others live.[31] African Jamaicans, like other black people, are often portrayed as robbers, murderers, uneducated, and savages, when in fact they contribute to the foundation of the existence of mankind without true recognition. The stigma on blackness impacts us all through its devaluation of people. Chyna had a personal experience of internalising stigma - an identity crisis that arose while growing up being dark-skinned in England. She, like many black people, wanted to be white. For example, she wanted to have long hair like white girls because this is what was portrayed as beautiful in the media.[32] Understanding the differences and similarities in social experiences is part of understanding and healing the way identity impacts the use of the self.
Once AT teachers begin to visit Jamaica, Chyna believes then we can truly say that we are dealing with diversity and can really start the healing process. Chyna is, to date, the only AT teacher on the shores of Jamaica and quite frankly it is a little lonely, she says. Collectively, AT teachers can contribute to the development of the forward moving culture of Jamaica if we are prepared to ‘walk the walk’. Taking positive action is key to the survival of AT, so now that a clear opening has presented itself, through Chyna, for teachers to visit and teach in Jamaica, walk this way, in high heels or not, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just bring on the changes.
Conclusion
The AT Diversity Coalition gained many new members from the Congress interested in becoming active in continuing this dialogue about inclusion, diversity and equity and forging collaborations to reach new communities. The Coalition is helping to shape the next AmSAT Conference in NYC in June 2019 around the theme of diversity, and is supporting Chyna Whyne with the Jamaica program. The coalition Facebook page is a place to stay informed, exchange ideas and review related resources[1]. Please join us in any way you can.
Acknowledgements
It takes a village to bring forward diversity issues. As such, we would like to acknowledge and thank: those AT teachers that have raised and taken action on issues of inclusion, diversity and equity previously[33]; the AT Congress team, especially Carol Prentice for offering support to panelists that enabled their attendance; Lucia Walker for moderating this panel; and to other AT Diversity Coalition members that contributed to the development of this panel including Lolita Brinkley, Tami Bulmash, Ariel Carson, Kecia Chin, Kim Jessor, Ian Jorgensen, Aik Hooi Lee, Merida Pineda, and Rebecca Tuffey.
Author Bios
Allyna Steinberg (AlexanderTechniqueForLiving.com) co-founded the Alexander Technique Diversity Coalition. She has been studying the Alexander Technique since 2000 and completed her teacher training with Ann Rodiger at the Balance Arts Center in NYC in 2015. She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree and has worked for the NYC Health Department since 2003. Allyna has been involved in community mobilization around sexual and reproductive justice and internal reform around racial equity and social justice. She has also been teaching the Alexander Technique as part of the NYC Health Department Worksite Wellness program since 2016.
Fabio Tavares (healthandpoise.com/) is a Brazilian actor, dancer and acrobat. He has studied the Alexander Technique, Klein Technique™️ and Zero Balancing, with certification in all three modalities. In addition to creating and performing his own original work, he has also danced, performed and collaborated with other artists. He worked with the dance company STREB- Extreme Action for 14 years where he served as the Associate Artistic Director for a decade. Fabio was an adjunct professor at Pace University in New York from 2014-2017.
Emily Faulkner (emilyfaulkner.com) has been a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique since 1999 (ACAT). She is a faculty member at Movement Research, a centre for experimental dance, where she teaches the application of the Alexander Technique to improvisation. She is also an affiliate member of the RIAT training course (New York). As the artistic director of Emily Faulkner Dance, she has shown her work nationally and internationally. She also teaches interview and presentation skills, and has worked with blind and visually impaired AT students. She also acts as movement coach for a youth basketball league called Steady Buckets, based in New York City.
Renee Schneider attended UCLA specializing in Asian American Studies and has an MBA in international management from Thunderbird University (ASU). She has lived abroad as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Kyrgyzstan) and MBA Enterprise Corps Volunteer (Thailand). She owns businesses in Thailand and the U.S. In 2007 she moved from Bangkok to Urbana, Illinois to train with Joan and Alex Murray. She now assists Rose Bronec at the Alexander Technique Urbana Champaign program. She also practices Ortho-Bionomy® and trauma healing through Somatic Experiencing. Renee is one of the founding members of the Alexander Technique Diversity Coalition.
Chyna Whyne (chynawhyne.com) is a singer/songwriter, fashion model, Kimetic Yoga Teacher and Alexander Technique teacher from Jamaica. She has recorded and toured with renowned musicians including Eric Clapton, Seal, Bob Dylan, The Who, and Peter Gabriel. She studied the Alexander Technique at the Constructive Teaching Centre at Holland Park, London from 1999-2002. She has written a book about the Alexander Technique called Master the Art of Wearing High Heels and offers workshops on the same topic. Her media appearances include GMTV, Britain’s Next Top Model, The Telegraph, Daily Express, Glamour, Red and the Daily Mail. Her courses incorporating the Alexander Technique as a tool for success in the workplace were recently accredited by Delaware University.
References
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[8] Disability Rights History Timeline. (n.d.) In PRIDE: A Curriculum [High School Unit 3 Student Handout]. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from http://www.yodisabledproud.org/organize/docs/PRIDE/5_High_School/Unit_3_High/3_1h-History_Timeline.pdf.
[9] Timeline of LGBT history. (2018, September 26). Wikipedia [Web page]. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history.
[10] Obear, Kathy. (2017). “Privileged and Marginalized Group Patterns” in Exploring the Dynamics of Privilege: Our Role and Responsibility to Create Inclusive Campus Environments. Pages 7-10. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from https://drkathyobear.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/handouts-Dominican-2017-send-electronically-.pdf.
[11] Resource: Creating Safe Space Guidelines. (2018, June 30). Alexander Technique Diversity Coalition Facebook Page Note. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from https://www.facebook.com/ATDiversity/notes.
[12] Bernabei, Erika. (2017). Racial Equity: Getting to Results. Local and Regional Government Alliance on Racial Equity. Retrieved September 22, 2018 from https://www.racialequityalliance.org/resources/racial-equity-getting-results/.
[13] Ross, Loretta. (2011, 2006). Understanding Reproductive Justice. Trust Black Women. Retrieved September 222, 2018 from https://www.trustblackwomen.org/our-work/what-is-reproductive-justice/9-what-is-reproductive-justice.
[14] Thomas, Ian. (2015, August 19). The Self Help Movement. Black History 365: Celebrating Great Black British Achievers. Retrieved September 22, 2018 from http://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/real-stories/the-self-help-movement/.
[15] Harris, Aisha. (2017, April 5). A History of Self-Care: From its radical roots to its yuppie-dirven middle age to its election-inspired resurgence. SLATE. Retrieved September 22, 2018 from http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2017/04/the_history_of_self_care.html.
[16] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017, March 1). SAMHSA is accepting applications for up to $10 million in Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma Grants [Press release]. Retrieved September 22, 2018 from https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/201703211200.
[17] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2016). ReCAST Grant Awards [Web page]. Retrieved September 22, 2018 from https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/awards/2016/sm-16-012?combine=&items_per_page=50&order=field_award_number&sort=desc.
[18] Nirogoa Institute. Teaching Transformative Life Skills to Students: A Comprehensive Dynamic Mindfulness Curriculum [Web page]. Retrieved on September 22, 2018 from http://www.niroga.org/education/curriculum/.
[19] Center for HealthCare Strategies, Inc. (2015, December 10). National Multi-Site Demonstration Launched to Advance Trauma Informed Care [Press release]. Retrieced September 22, 2018 from https://www.chcs.org/news/national-multi-site-demonstration-launched-advance-trauma-informed-care/. .
[20] #BLACKJOY - PART 1. (2017, December 17). On cityofminneapolis YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuoGAL9mZbs.
[21] #BLACKJOY - PART 2. (2017, December 18). On cityofminneapolis YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ME7e6Ra--0.
[22] #BLACKJOY - PART 3. (2018, January 17). On cityofminneapolis YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved September 26, 2018 from www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMAHNBuC9hA.
[23] “Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity.” Retrieved September 30, 2018 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting.
[24] Frey, William H. (2018, March 14). The US will become ‘minority white’ in 2045, Census projects. The Avenue from The Brookings Institution of Washington D.C.. Retrieved September 30, 2018 from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-census-projects/.
[25] “The Somatic Experiencing® method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter A. Levine, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, together with over 45 years of successful clinical application. The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma.” Retrieved January 27, 2018 from https://traumahealing.org/about-us/.
[26] Polyvagal theory. (2018, October 13). Wikipedia [Web page]. Retrieved January 8, 2018 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvagal_theory.
[27] Seth Porges, son of Stephen Porges who developed the polyvagal theory, presents a concise and entertaining introduction: The Polyvagal Theory: The New Science of Safety and Trauma. (November 3, 2017). On Nerd Nite YoutTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved on January 8, 2019 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br8-qebjIgs.
[28] Carribean Maritime University with Chyna Whyne. (2018, July 8). On chyna whyne YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved September 28, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MEXCmWFnIo.
[29] Alexander Technique | Neck Back Pain and Healing. (2018, March 12). On chyna whyne YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved September 28, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl6GZktDSc8.
[30] The Power off the Alexander Technique. (2017, August 1). On chyna whyne YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved September 28, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpqbA6kEx-8.
[31] Alexander Technique in Jamaica [Button to Express Interest]. On Chyna Whyne Website. Retrieved September 28, 2018 from http://www.chynawhyne.com/.
[32] ideaz book launch Chyna Whyne part 1. (2018, September 18). On chyna whyne YouTube Channel [Video]. Retrieved from September 30, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ZwHV9G8JE&t=5s.
[33] The Coalition has a resource list that includes writings of AT teachers and welcomes new suggestions. See https://www.facebook.com/ATDiversity/notes.