Judith is a trained Alexander Technique teacher, and her work dove-tails with that of Charles: he deals with understanding, handling and riding the horse. Judith’s expertise is with the position and body use of the rider.

For more information and a comprehensive explanation of the Alexander Technique please follow link to www.stat.org.co.uk. Judith took Alexander lessons for several years before committing to the three year training process.

Teaching riders was Judith’s aim, having experienced postural problems in her own ridden work, which improved dramatically with the Technique.

‘For many riders , tension creeps into one or more of the following places – neck, shoulders, arms and hands ,hips, thighs, calves, ankles. These tensions can be released by learning the technique, allowing a more fluid and aligned body. This learning is not difficult , our bodies are designed to work in an efficient and graceful way , but stresses and tensions tighten us over time , leading to stiff and braced riding. The effect on the horse is easy to imagine! We know horses mirror our tensions, and we cannot expect the horse to move easily if we are gripping on the reins, or have vice like grip on the saddle!

It is very hard explaining what the releases feel like, and each person has individual tensions and twists, so every lesson is different. The Alexander teacher acts as a guide to the rider, so that ‘tight spots’ can be eased away with hands on work and vocal directions.

Alexander lessons are described on the Stat website, and for people new to the technique, I would recommend at least four lessons before work commences on horseback. Ridden lessons are generally at low paces and unlike a traditional ridden lesson. Some work is done stationary, then usually on the lunge at walk and trot, which allows the pupil to concentrate on the deeper seat they are experiencing.

I call my work ‘SEATSECURE’ because that is the effect it has. The seat bones and buttocks are deeper onto the saddle. Legs are dropping away from the hip joints without bracing into the stirrups. The back lengthens and absorbs the horse’s movement, allowing softer sitting trot. Aids are clearer to the horse because the rider is relaxed and balanced.’ With a body following the horse’s movement rather than blocking the forward energy, horses move more freely.

Working to release the hip joints and legs for a deeper seat

Working on release through the forearm, this helps contact and feel through the reins

The balance of the head on the top of the spine is vital for our alignment and posture - both ridden and in all activities

Prices for 2012

Alexander Technique lessons

Initial consultation (1hr) £35
Subsequent lessons (45 mins) £35

Seatsecure lessons

Lessons in treatment room (1hr) £35
Lessons with own horse £35

Liberty & Groundskills work

Lessons with own horse £35
Using our horse £40

( Lessons which combine the use of Alexander Technique with horsemanship skills to enhance body language and communication between horse and rider)

Liberty & groundskills.

Liberty is a skill that in natural horsemanship is used to help...
1. ...to find what the horse really thinks of us!
2. ...whether we are controlling the horse only by the use of tack, or whether he is mentally connected to us
3. ...to check whether we are 'over signalling' the horse
4. ...to check whether the horse is truly understanding us
5. ...to have fun!

It should NEVER be used to drill the horse into doing repetitive tricks or to show off or to mentally abuse/dull/intimidate him.
The Alexander Technique is extremely good in making us aware of how we use our bodies. This translates to the horse as much clearer signals- making it easy for him to understand what is being required of him. When I give a liberty lesson I give attention to the rider's position and the way she moves. For example a lot of people 'creep' around their horse when at liberty, or perhaps they send too much energy, or perhaps the energy is not directed clearly .
Each horse is very different in personality, and this is reflected in how we work at liberty. The sequence of the tasks we do may not vary, but time spent on each one will vary enormously. For example, a tense horse will take time to be calm and attentive to you , whereas a bolshy horse may need persuading that the arena is 'yours', not his.
I have illustrated some of the tasks with the pictures below taken from a liberty session with a horse in for schooling here. Merry has had a few short sessions already, but his owner was doing this for the first time. I work with Merry first to give his owner a chance to see what I am doing.

I am getting Merry's attention by claiming his favourite corner. Note his high head stance - he's tense, but also thinking about me ....wanting me out of that corner!
He's more relaxed now, quietly standing in the centre
Now he'll follow me around the arena
Now his owner takes over. Stroking him to reinforce the thought that the centre is where good things happen,and to begin the bond with her.
First lateral flexion....
which later turns into first hindquarter yield
Then Merry is ready to follow his owner round the arena
Will Merry come towards?
Yes!

Article from the Gazette & Herald newspaper:

It's in the way you move

By Claire Bottomley

Judith works with her client at her specialist clinic for riders

Highly-regarded by actors and increasingly popular among sports people, the Alexander Technique is a 100-year-old therapy used to help improve posture and physical performance. Now a Ryedale-based teacher is specialising in using it to help horse riders hone their skills.

CLAIRE BOTTOMLEY went along to find out more.

Judith Wilson freely admits that many people have never heard of the Alexander Technique.

"It is not particularly well known, but the advantage of that is that people find me when they really need me, " she said. "So rather than just coming and expecting to have something done, they are prepared to work with you because they have found out about it and want to make it work."

Judith herself found Alexander Technique after suffering intense back pain riding.

"I can hardly remember where I first heard of it, but I went to lessons with the local teacher in Malton. I'd had aches and pains and been to see a chiropractor and short term it would sort them out, but it was not getting to the cause of why they were there."

Watch a young child walk and they have ideal posture, their head balanced perfectly on their spine. It is amazing how toddlers take to activities like swimming and skiing naturally in a way that tense, nervous adults could never dream of.

That's because we learn to over-use our outer muscles as adults, and become weary, causing tensions in our bodies that become an habitual way of moving.

Judith uses a skeleton to illustrate how the body is designed to move

Alexander Technique breaks down those habits and works on relaxing the body, letting gravity take its weight and re-educating people about taking strength from their skeletons instead of their muscles.

"Many people are learning to ride as adults now, so helping them to relax and not tense up can really make a difference, " said Judith.

She divides her time between standard sessions, helping people with back problems and other body issues, and sessions tailored specifically for riders.

Judith's horse riding credentials are top notch. She grew up on a farm and is married to Charles, a farmer and teacher of natural horsemanship, who has just written a book on the subject. She's shown horses, bred them and done hunting and dressage.

And as for Alexander Technique expertise, she completed a three-year course in York before setting up in practice at her home in Sinnington.

"It is growing more popular in sport, and anything where performance can be hindered by tension can be helped by Alexander Technique, " said Judith.

To find out first-hand what it's all about, Judith gave me an Alexander Technique session, and I was amazed by the effect.

I lay down on a table and Judith held my head in her hands and asked me to completely let the weight go. She then held parts of my arms and legs and put gentle pressure on joints, instantly releasing tension that I hadn't even realised was there.

Then we did some work standing up, adjusting and thinking about letting the weight of my body fall through my legs and joints, supported by gravity and the floor and relying on the senses in my feet and shooting up through my body for balance.

I also thought about the centre of gravity at the point where the spine meets the skull, at a much higher point than we realise, so that I stopped straining my neck unnecessarily to support my neck.

"Describing it can sound very dry, you really have to experience it to understand, " said Judith. "And for riders, they always want to do something. Getting into the mindset teaching yourself not to do things goes against the grain."

But when a client has a breakthrough, it is very rewarding. "I had a rider the other day who realised that by just subtly pivoting her torso she could get the horse to move, rather than straining her body to one side, which was great, " she said. "She's probably heard it a thousand times but she had to discover the movement herself."

And as for me, I may not have been on horseback but I was walking on air by the time I left Judith's. Not only was the session as relaxing as a massage, I have also been thinking about my posture ever since.

Yes, I think I'm getting the technique?

About Alexander Technique

It was invented in the 1890s by an actor, Frederick Alexander, who was struggling with voice problems. The method improves breathing which results in better voice projection, making it popular with actors like Dame Judi Dench and John Cleese.

Alexander Technique is often used in the treatment of back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as Parkinson's Disease.

Qualified Alexander teachers like Judith have undertaken a three-year, full-time approved training course and be listed in the directory held by the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT). For details visit www.stat.org.uk

To find out more about Alexander Technique, Judith recommends the following books: Alexander Technique by Richard Brennan, and Body Learning by Michael Gelb.

For more information about Judith's teaching visit www.sinningtonmanor.co.uk or call 01751 433296.

1:13pm Thursday 10th January 2008