April Events

Back Saver Groups

New April events for 2007 include two back saver groups for people with back pain, back ache or back injury.

Contact me for a welcome pack and to book your place on one of the Back Saver groups. Or download the Welcome Pack to see what you would be in for. It has lots of information about the Alexander Technique and the back saver groups.

People come to back saver groups with chronic back pain, after car or riding accidents, and for many other reasons. Some only have a "niggly" back that they are worried about, perhaps from sitting at a computer all day or commuting long distances by car.

A merely "niggly" back is a good poke in the ribs telling you to do something now. Don't wait for your back to get worse, but start considering now what you want to do to sort it out. A Back Saver group is a great place to start looking.

What are Back Saver Groups?

I show you how to use your back in a way that doesn't damage it, and improve your confidence if you have been injured. Most injured backs are still very strong, very capable and very able to be pain-free. Keep hoping, and come and explore!

Although the full courses last ten weeks, you can come to a Back Saver group as often or as rarely as you like. The Welcome Pack tells you what we cover each week.

There is plenty of practical information about how to do basic day to day things without hurting an injured back.

The groups are very relaxed and laid back. In fact, many people value them as a time of stillness, "me time" in a busy week. When you're at home, it's easy to feel you should be finishing off this or that job, and you might put off self-help exercises or "still time."

There is a tendency (me too!) to jump up from lying on the floor to make that important phone call you should have made on Tuesday! At a Back Saver group, you're purely there to learn to look after yourself, and the phone's out of reach. This is a Good Thing!

We do no stretching or gymnastics-- there's nothing to be afraid of. We play games, relax, observe ourselves and each other, laugh, discuss some basic anatomy, and find better ways of doing things group members find difficult or painful-- carrying children, sitting at a computer, looking over a shoulder, driving, handling animals, lifting weights efficiently.

You can get an idea of the kind of activity we use by looking at the self-help exercises on this site. But because I am supervising the group, there are many exercises the back saver groups can do that I would not recommend you do on your own. In all cases these are not dangerous, just more difficult to do effectively without supervision.

Many groups I have known take on a life of their own and run for longer than the original 10 weeks. Groups have even led to some enduring friendships.

Please contact me for a welcome pack and to book your place on one of the Back Saver groups.

One-to-One Lessons

Each month I teach many people the Alexander Technique one-to-one.

My Alexander Technique One-to-One lessons are short (half an hour), highly effective for relieving back pain, and tailored to your specific needs in a way a group can never be.

One-to-one Alexander Technique work is better, but it's also more expensive, and there isn't the valuable social element of group work.

Please contact me to discuss one-to-one lessons further.

Combining Groups and One-to-One Lessons

You can have you cake and eat it too!

• Join a Back Saver group this April to to meet other people with an interest in the Alexander Technique or maintaining their back health. Watch them change, hone your observation skills and get valuable feedback

• Get my full attention during the one-to-one lessons. One-to-one lessons are great for avoiding common mistakes, learning quickly and deeply, getting out of pain fast, and further exploring questions that arise in the back saver groups.

You can contact me to discuss whether lessons, back saver groups or both would be more suitable for your particular situation.

Is the Alexander Technique Right for Me?

If I think the Alexander Technique is not suitable for you, I will not hesitate to tell you. This could be because I think you have a physical injury that it would be better to treat at this stage (using Osteopathy, physiotherapy, surgery or other options.)

Rarely, I could ask you to check for a dangerous medical condition before coming for lessons (usually because you have severe back symptoms such as partial paralysis.) After treatment has concluded, Alexander Technique lessons or groups might be appropriate to stop the injury happening again, or to help you rehabilitate.

Nick Mellor MSTAT
April 2007
Ravenstonedale
Kirkby Stephen
Cumbria