I qualified as an Alexander Technique teacher in 2000, completing the 3-year, full-time STAT (Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique) training. My practice has included people from diverse walks of life: musicians, singers, writers, gardeners, computer users, public speakers, shop workers, HR managers, lawyers, doctors, therapists, priests, walkers, runners etc.
I sing and perform a wide range of music with an especial love for Gregorian and Byzantine chant, Baroque arias, French melodies, and the music of living composers. My own songs come to me as I listen to nature, they connect melodically with spiritual traditions from around the world, although I was singing them long before I had heard that music.
My singing teaching and voicework is grounded in the Alexander Technique. I especially enjoy enabling the vocal freedom that energises the body, strengthens creativity, and heals mind body and soul. I have taught individuals and directed choirs in schools, music centres, theatre groups and churches for more than 25 years.
I have developed a deeper awareness of Alexander Technique‘s ability to resolve trauma in the mind/body and thereby restore one’s ability to cope with life. I further my studies of trauma resolution specifically through training with Kitty Breen’s Hyoid Matrix™ work; have taken regular supervision on my work from a Trauma trained psychotherapist and continue to read widely and attend workshops. I have used Alexander Technique to heal from my own PTSD from 10 years as a Parent Carer.
Olivia Boot Simpson, November 2020
