Alexander Technique group lessons in an exercise program for women following treatment for breast cancer: An Interview with Alazne Larrinaga
The ASO Newsletter - 25th edition
Helping you stay connected to Alexander Technique related research.
This month we release an interview and slideshow presentation with Alazne Larrinaga, an Alexander Technique teacher based in Galway, Ireland. Alazne talks about her MSc research project where she introduced Alexander Technique group lessons into an exercise program for women following treatment for breast cancer.
Alazne explains how the participants in the lessons noted that they found breathing easier and that their use improved when carrying out some of the exercises. The interview includes a discussion about how research projects such as this give us the opportunity to demonstrate how Alexander Technique lessons can add value to other interventions in a medical setting, and how small studies such as this can combine to build an evidence base to demonstrate this. You can access the full thesis on Alazne’s website here.
Interview and Slideshow Presentation
References
Presenter Bio and Links
Alazne Larrinaga holds a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology and its application in Therapy from The University of Galway (NUIG). She is a qualified Smart Yoga Teacher, Fitness instructor and Exercise for Health Specialist (Register of Exercise Professionals (REPS) Ireland) as well as a DSE risk assessor. She holds the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) Exercise Instructor Training certificate and the Level 4 Cancer Specialist Instructor. She became a qualified Alexander Technique teacher in 2016 and completed a 500 hours postgraduate course right after. Alazne also holds a Degree in Economics and a Masters in finance. After a career in finance for high-profile companies, which lasted for over ten years she began suffering from back pain and postural problems. She discovered she had two bulging disks (L4 and L5) and doctors told her she needed to undergo a risky operation. This led her to train as an Alexander Technique teacher. Alazne taught the Technique at the Alexander Technique Centre, Ireland for almost 5 years. She continuously works as a private practitioner holding individual and group classes and therapy sessions both in Ireland and abroad. She works as an Exercise physiologist/Specialist at Croí (the West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation) with a variety of participants who have suffered from cardiovascular diseases, cognitive function problems, back pain, different types of injuries (knee, neck etc.) and stress using the Alexander Technique in her classes. She works for canrehab.uk, teaching online Exercise and Alexander Technique as Therapy for Cancer Survivors. She was also part of the https://safefit.nhs.uk/ She has given workshops for different organisations such as NUIG, Medtronic, the Spinal Injury Association of Ireland, the Galway Blue Note Choir, and several primary schools in Galway and Spain. She has worked as a consultant on a variety of projects, such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) programme 'School Sitting', presented at the ‘learning environment’ conference in NUIG in October 2019. She has collaborated on an NUIG research project (Department of Drama) on the benefits of theatre for individuals with Down Syndrome, in which she designed physical activity programmes for the participants. She presented her Masters research ‘The role of the Alexander Technique in Exercise for Cancer Survivors’ at the Irish Annual Cancer Research conference in February 2020.
Alazne is a member of ISATT (Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers), APTAE (Spanish Association of Alexander Technique Teachers) and the Irish Massage Therapist Association (IMTA).
To learn more about Alazne Larrinaga you can visit https://www.alaznelarrinaga.com/
Thank You
Thank you for being here and supporting research on the Alexander Technique and its teaching. Special thanks to Alazne Larrinaga for her generous contribution to this post, and to Erica Donnison for interview and work in putting it all together. To all community members who have contributed so far, your work is appreciated and making a difference!
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