It was interesting meeting with Greg and Kathy Holdaway yesterday (6/10/19) at Perth Adult Speech Pathology for an introduction to the ‘Alexander Technique for Speech Therapists’. They were in WA to present at the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) XXII National Conference and kindly agreed to work-shop their ideas and engage in some lively discussion with me and a colleague, Thila Raja, particularly around our shared areas of interest of vocal tension disorders.
Based in NSW, their company, ‘BodyMinded’, promotes ‘overall postural balance and coordination’’ and advocates that whether speaking or singing, using the voice always engages the coordination of the whole person. The phrase: “Always all of you”, was an idea that Greg re-iterated throughout our chat and resonated with me. That is, one’s general postural tone, as well as movements, tensions and stresses which may appear in peripheral parts of the body ‘are part of the larger part of the action’, (i.e. speaking or singing), especially for those with vocal issues.
Please contact us if you have been noticing difficulties with your voice. These ideas, in addition to specific vocal exercises and strategies can be incorporated in a personalised voice therapy programme.
