““Susan taught me not to be afraid of movement. Thanks to her creative and intuitive approach, I learnt how to manage my lower back pain, both physically and mentally. What she taught me stays with me in my everyday life, and I am now able to move much more naturally and without pain.””

““I had the good fortune to ‘stumble’ onto Susan Overton’s teaching when I was passing through Berkeley. I was bent on fitting in a lesson amidst a hectic and tiring work schedule. She was most open to my situation and needs and welcomed my past work as a student of AT. Susan was very holistic in her approach and fully present with my experience. Perhaps most notably, where other teachers have discussed certain principles, she presented the same with new clarity. She also added to my teachings in such a way that overcame current blocks in my own progress. Many thanks – and strong recommendation for her AT teaching.””

““As a dancer, suffering from a chronic dance injury, I delight in how the simplest of natural movements can become beautiful and elegant. Susan’s lessons open my mind and body, allowing my movement to express a pure and natural energy. Now that movement itself feels more relaxed, and supported, I have returned to dance–to find that inspiration and awareness can be harmoniously sustained.””

“After I had my second cervical spine fusion, I still had almost continuous pain in my neck and shoulder. I tried everything I could think of to reduce the pain, including physical therapy, acupuncture, Feldenkreiss, cranial-sacral treatment, yoga, water aerobics, and a multitude of medications. Learning the Alexander Technique with Susan Overton was the only thing that has given me lasting relief from the worst parts of my pain, and put me on the road to complete relief.
I am thoroughly convinced that if I had learned this technique years ago, I would not have needed surgery. But at least I can use it now to stay balanced and avoid harmful physical habits. I anticipate feeling better and better as time goes on and I continue to learn and practice this method of using your body. There is nothing esoteric or unnatural about it, but I now have insights into subtle and not-so-subtle habits involving my head, eyes, jaw, mouth, and on down, which I have discovered are not helpful or necessary for upright posture. Every time I meet with Susan I learn something new, or relearn something I’d forgotten, always a very useful and beneficial hour.”
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“After spending a couple of months working on the Alexander technique, my chronic pain has reduced drastically. I was taking nerve pain meds daily before in order to be able to sit in front of a computer at my desk job without debilitating neck pain and headaches. Susan is an excellent teacher. Susan is kind, perceptive, and understanding of her students and what they need to do to improve their posture, form, and movement. I now sit, walk, stand, and (perhaps most importantly) use a computer with better posture, and my pain has significantly reduced”

““Working with Susan, I have become aware of ways that I hold tension in my body unconsciously, causing needless pain. I have been releasing old patterns and adopting habits of greater ease. Susan is a thoughtful and patient teacher – a joy to work with.”
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“Susan is a kind and extremely perceptive Alexander Technique teacher. This review is long overdue, but I spent approximately two and a half months at the beginning of the year going to weekly AT sessions with Susan. The goal was to bring back balance to my walking style, which had over the past few years started to overemphasize the right side of my body causing sciatica and tension in my back. My upper back and wrists also suffered from a consistent pain because of a mixture of things, including mild scoliosis. I came in to the sessions with a sort of a rigid expectation and an anxiety to remember everything constantly and to assert my way into becoming better. Susan quickly and very sweetly showed me that some of my body issues came from my very mindset of wanting to get to the end goal as soon as possible. (Other successes aside, this slowing down and being present with my surroundings and thoughts has helped me maintain a freedom from pain and also mental anxiety! I am very grateful to Susan for this). She then led me through a variety of movements to realize the compulsions of the body in sitting, walking, standing, etc. and the way she asked me to change those movements has helped me, primarily, to say goodbye to shoulder and wrist pain, sciatica that flared up after any form of squatting, things that had me running from chiropractor to acupuncturist and back, and also to start to feel very mobile and elegant in movement, in a way that has freed up a lot of my body that wanted to stay static and rarely rotate. It is now seven months past and I am still able to maintain whatever Susan taught me. She does not expect you to come to her perpetually – a lot of progress was made in those few weeks. I really appreciate Susan as a teacher and as a human being, it was a pleasure to work with her during these sessions!”