Hi. I’m Lauren and I’ve been writing this blog since 2014.

Since 2003, I’ve worked predominately with clients who have pain problems. Usually low back pain — simply because it’s so common — as well as neck and shoulder pain. I’m trained in the Alexander Technique, a very old but still mostly unknown technique developed in the Victorian era that helps people change postural and movement habits that are causing or exacerbating pain or getting in the way of optimal functioning.

I found my profession by searching for help with chronic pain issues that started at age 19 and lasted the better part of 10 years. It affected many things in my life and led me to study and eventually train to be an Alexander teacher.

The Alexander Technique didn’t solve all my problems, but it did open a whole new world to me. One in which I began to understand how I was contributing to my pain—simply by better tuning into my habits of posture and movement. I began to develop life-long skills to reduce the habitual tension in my body that was causing me to be so uncomfortable. It was like I finally had a foot in the door and had gained a degree of control back over myself I’d desperately been searching for. To this day I continue to use and build on my skills to be as comfortable in my body as I can.

I love what the Alexander Technique has to offer because it’s simple and extremely practical. I love to help people learn the skills of the Alexander Technique—and watch them use those skills to make positive changes in their lives. Often, it’s the simple things in life that prove to be the sources of endless learning and exploration. That’s why I’m continually fascinated by this work now more than 25 years since I first encountered the Alexander Technique.

I’ve always admired people who can take very complicated things and explain them to anyone, in simple and accessible ways. Complicated is easy. Simple is hard. How do you use fewer words and have more impact? A good teacher is a good explainer. That’s what I’m striving to be. The main reason I started and continue to write this blog is to work on being a better explainer.

This blog is for anyone interested in exploring posture in a way that’s fun and interesting—and differs from the standard advice you’re usually given. I will never tell you to stand up straight and pull your shoulders back (I promise!) It’s based on my years working with the principles of the Alexander Technique as well as my own experiences managing a body with chronic pain.

***

I’m married to a man I met ballroom dancing over 20 years ago and we still dance to this day. I don’t have kids and am blessed to have both my 87-year-old parents living nearby — I refer to them lovingly as my parental units; parental unit #2 now has late-stage Alzheimer’s type dementia. I love being outdoors, which is when I usually come up with my topics to write about. As I kid I loved to dress up and I still do at age 52 (Halloween is my favorite holiday). I’m a quiet person but I love to tell jokes to anyone who will listen.

And if you’ve read this far here are a few of my favorite short jokes:

What do you call a chicken crossing the road?
Poultry in motion.

What’s the difference between a well-dressed man on a two-wheeled bike and a poorly-dressed man on a tricycle?
Attire!

What do you call a psychic midget who’s escaped from prison?
A small medium at large.

Did you hear about the kidnapping?
He woke up.

If you’re E. coli what do you call your brother?
Broccoli.

What did the father buffalo say to his son when he left for school?
Bison.