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Tanya Shoop

The Alexander Technique and Me

• In my early 20s I hurt my back through lifting a heavy weight. This became chronic and I tried different therapies. In the meantime, I was also damaging my knees and ankles, usually from exercising.
• One day, I innocently went to an Alexander Technique class. It blew me away. I realised I was exacerbating my back pain. If I changed my habits, maybe my back could improve. Believe me, there was a lot of room for improvement.
• It became a lot more than my back. My posture improved, I felt lighter and less stiff, more confident, freer in my body.
• My day job was office based and very stressful. Eventually I left. I did my Alexander Technique training under Walter and Dilys Carrington. They'd trained with FM Alexander in the 1930s and worked with him until he died in 1955. It was a fabulous school and I loved my time there.
• I gave anatomy lectures there for a few years. This was scary but I confronted my fears and learnt so much.
• Now I focus my time at my practices in Brixton, South London, and in the City.

Tanya Shoop - Behind the Scenes

• My favourite structures in London are the London Eye and the Gherkin.
• Top TV programmes for me include: The Wire, Inspector Morse, Madmen, House and Wallander (Swedish version).
• I love creative activities and knitted a great skull and crossbones jumper recently
• I enjoy football but won't say who my team is in case that puts you off coming to lessons with me!
• My favourite foods are Indian and Italian.
• Reading is a great joy. A recent superb read was The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
• I really like jokes, especially puns. I'd love to remember more than one joke at a time.

© Tanya Shoop 2010