Movement Laboratory:
Introduction to Alexander Technique

Alexander Technique is an educational method that helps us move mindfully through life, prioritizing our own well-being above the tasks we are performing. 

Movement Laboratory workshops create a high awareness environment in which participants are encouraged to observe their habitual patterns of movement in everyday activities like sitting, standing, walking, and lying down.

The goal of the workshop is to invite more ease, coordination, lightness, and joy into our lives. Emily and Mike will provide verbal and hands-on guidance to help students explore new movement experiences. Upon leaving the workshop, students will have simple, practical skills that they can apply to any activity in their daily life.

Emily Sapa discovered the Alexander Technique during her musical studies. She found it to be an effective way of helping her learn to release excess tension built up from years of flute playing and create a more easy, free pathway to artistry.

She completed a three-year, 1600-hour teacher training program at Alexander Technique School New England and was certified in 2014. Emily teaches AT at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and offers private lessons and group classes in the Pittsburgh area. She is particularly interested in helping people learn how to move through their daily activities with awareness and ease, skills that transfer beautifully to more complicated activities like yoga, exercise, playing an instrument, etc. 

Mike McKenna is an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. He completed a three-year, 1600-hour AT teacher training in Berkeley, CA.  Mike has taught AT group classes at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and yoga studios in Berkeley. Now in Pittsburgh,  Mike is excited to share Alexander Technique with people who are interested in exploring improvements to posture and movement, stress reduction, and pain relief.  He maintains a private practice in the Lawrenceville neighborhood.   

Mike was inspired to become an Alexander Technique teacher after experiencing the positive changes AT lessons had in his own life.  Learning to become aware of and change deeply ingrained habits is liberating!