https://www.cathydowden.com.au/, https://www.cathydowden.com.au/bookings, https://www.ebconsultingsuites.com.au/practiti

Cathy Dowden Alexander Technique, 27 Sydney Road, Coburg, Melbourne (2026)

29/10/2026

Most of us have been sitting, standing, bending and moving our entire lives without giving much thought to HOW we're doing it.

But what if the way you *think* your body works is actually influencing the way you move?

This is where **Body Mapping** comes in.

Body Mapping is about developing a clearer, more accurate understanding of your body's structure and how its different parts work together.

For example, many people think they bend from their waist or back, when much of that movement actually happens at the hip joints.

Understanding where your joints are and how they're designed to move can open up new possibilities for greater ease, freedom and flexibility.

Through the Alexander Technique, I help people explore their movement habits, question long-held assumptions and discover new ways of using their bodies in everyday life.

And the interesting part? Sometimes the smallest change in awareness can make a surprisingly large difference.

✨ How well do you really know your own body?

Every body is different. Body Mapping is best explored through personalised guidance and practical experience. If you're curious about Body Mapping and how the Alexander Technique could help you move with greater awareness, I'd love to explore it with you.

Learn more about individual lessons via the link in my bio or visit my website: www.cathydowden.com.au/alexander-technique-melbourne-private-lessons

26/10/2026

If you’ve been curious about the Alexander Technique, this is the final opportunity to join one of my small group classes this year.

As we head toward the end of the year and life starts to get busier, this can be a wonderful time to give yourself some space, to slow down, reduce unnecessary tension, improve your balance and breathing, and become more aware of the habits that affect how you move in everyday life.

My 4-week small group classes are a practical and supportive way to experience the Alexander Technique, whether you’re completely new to it or have explored it before.

Over four weeks, you’ll have time to learn, practise and experiment with simple, useful skills that you can take into your daily life.

📍 November classes in Coburg and East Coburg

My final 4-week class block for 2026 begins in November, with several days and times to choose from:

• Mondays from 16 November, 6:30pm–8pm
• Wednesdays from 18 November, 2pm–3pm
• Thursdays from 19 November, 11am–12pm
• Saturdays from 21 November, 2pm–3:30pm

✨ All mobility and fitness levels welcome, including beginners
✨ Small, supportive groups
✨ Guided activities and hands-on teaching
✨ Practical skills you can use in everyday life
✨ Final group class block for 2026

If you’ve been meaning to try it, this is a great time of year to begin and a chance to give yourself a supportive reset before the silly season.

November classes are now open for booking. Secure your place today by heading over to my bio or to my website:

https://www.cathydowden.com.au/alexander-technique-melbourne-group-classes

26/10/2026

If you’ve been curious about the Alexander Technique, this is the final opportunity to join one of my small group classes this year.

As we head toward the end of the year and life starts to get busier, this can be a wonderful time to give yourself some space, to slow down, reduce unnecessary tension, improve your balance and breathing, and become more aware of the habits that affect how you move in everyday life.

My 4-week small group classes are a practical and supportive way to experience the Alexander Technique, whether you’re completely new to it or have explored it before.

Over four weeks, you’ll have time to learn, practise and experiment with simple, useful skills that you can take into your daily life.

📍 November classes in Coburg and East Coburg

My final 4-week class block for 2026 begins in November, with several days and times to choose from:

• Mondays from 16 November, 6:30pm–8pm
• Wednesdays from 18 November, 2pm–3pm
• Thursdays from 19 November, 11am–12pm
• Saturdays from 21 November, 2pm–3:30pm

✨ All mobility and fitness levels welcome, including beginners
✨ Small, supportive groups
✨ Guided activities and hands-on teaching
✨ Practical skills you can use in everyday life
✨ Final group class block for 2026

If you’ve been meaning to try it, this is a great time of year to begin and a chance to give yourself a supportive reset before the silly season.

November classes are now open for booking. Secure your place today by heading over to my bio or to my website:

https://www.cathydowden.com.au/alexander-technique-melbourne-group-classes

21/10/2026

Did you know the top of your spine is actually between your ears?

Most of us think of our head sitting on top of our neck, but the spine extends much higher than we realise, and the connection between our head and spine is designed for movement, not stiffness.

Our bodies are not meant to be fixed or held in one position. They’re constantly making tiny adjustments, recalibrating and finding balance.

And here’s something fascinating: our breathing plays a part in all of this.

When we release unnecessary tension, our whole body has the freedom to respond naturally to each breath.

This is one of the beautiful principles of the Alexander Technique. It’s not about holding the perfect posture. It’s about allowing freedom, balance and ease in movement.

✨ Less holding. More freedom. More movement.

In this reel, I explain where your spine really begins and why understanding this can change the way you think about your body.

13/10/2026

Before I discovered Alexander Technique, I honestly didn't know what I was looking for, I just knew that something wasn't right.

I'd become increasingly worried about my future. I was carrying extra weight, I wasn't happy with my body image, and every attempt I made to get healthier seemed to make my back and shoulders hurt even more. So I did what I thought I was supposed to do. I went to the physio, then I started Pilates. Three mornings a week before work, group classes, private sessions... I poured a lot of time, energy and money into trying to fix the problem.

It helped a bit, but I always had this feeling that it wasn't really getting to the heart of it. I couldn't have told you what was missing, only that something was.

At the time I was incredibly busy, constantly moving from one thing to the next. I wasn't someone who spent much time reflecting on myself, and if I'm honest, I probably wasn't very good at listening to what my body was trying to tell me either.....Alexander Technique wasn't even on my radar.

I'm a practical person from a very science-minded family, so I'd always assumed it was one of those alternative therapies that probably wasn't for me.

Then my partner went to a music conference where there happened to be an Alexander Technique workshop.. When he came home he said, "I think there might actually be something in this."

That was enough to make me curious.

A few months later I was at a house concert where, instead of a support act, there was a guest speaker. It turned out to be the very same Alexander Technique teacher, Ann Shoebridge. I remember walking up to her afterwards and asking, "Is it only for musicians?"

She laughed and said no. So I booked a lesson and waited three months to get in. I recognised from that first session that this was addressing my fundamental issues.

I was hooked!

Looking back now, I realise the biggest thing I gained wasn't just less pain.
It was the experience of walking into a room where, for the first time in a long time, the space was entirely about me.

Just having someone help me notice how I was moving, how I was breathing, how I was relating to myself, and discovering that I didn't have to work so hard all the time.

It sounds so simple now, but I realised I'd completely lost touch with myself.

Learning to let the ground support me wasn't just a physical experience. It taught me something about self-compassion, about slowing down, and about giving myself permission to stop striving for a moment. None of that was what I thought I was signing up for, but it was exactly what I needed.

It's one of the reasons I love teaching today. So many people arrive thinking they're coming because of neck pain, sore backs or tension, and of course we work with those things. But often they leave with something much bigger.

They leave feeling more connected to themselves than they have in years. Sometimes the thing we're searching for isn't another exercise or another treatment, sometimes it's simply finding the space to hear ourselves again.

https://www.cathydowden.com.au

06/10/2026

**A chair can change the way you feel when you sit.**

A few years ago, I went to an Open Studios exhibition in Adelaide and came across a retired aeronautical engineer who made furniture for his grandchildren.

He had created these beautiful little stools using circles and triangles. They were light, structurally stable and beautifully simple.

I fell in love with one, there was just one problem: it was child-sized.

So I asked him, “Could you make me one for an adult?”

He told me it was an interesting request and that he’d need some time to think about it.

A few months later, he contacted me and offered to custom make one. The following year, I was back in Adelaide for WOMAD, picked up my stool and brought it home with me.

And I still use it today!

It’s just the right height for me. When I sit on it, I feel supported, open and capable.

That feeling of support matters.

We often think sitting well means *holding* ourselves in the right position. Pulling our shoulders back. Straightening up. Trying to maintain “good posture”.

But what if the chair and the ground underneath you could do more of the supporting?

When you’re well supported, you don’t have to work quite so hard to hold yourself up.

And that can change the whole experience of sitting.

02/10/2026

I’m delighted to be presenting at the **AUSTAT Conference 2026**, happening right here in Brunswick this October.

From 16–18 October, Alexander Technique teachers from around Australia will come together at Balam Balam Place for three days of hands-on workshops, conversations, learning and exploration.

And you don’t need to be an Alexander Technique teacher to be part of it!

If you’ve been curious about the Alexander Technique and wondering what it actually involves, there is a special introductory afternoon designed for people who are new to the Technique.

I’ll be presenting:

**Come and Try Alexander Technique** at 1.30pm

This gentle, hands-on workshop is an opportunity to experience the Alexander Technique for yourself and explore how reducing unnecessary tension can help you move with more ease, breathe more freely and feel steadier and more balanced.

We’ll work with everyday activities including sitting, standing, walking and lifting, giving you practical ideas you can begin taking into daily life.

Also there's a second workshop - Exploring Alexander Technique and Vision.
Between the workshops, afternoon tea is provided. There will also be an opportunity to book a complimentary 10-minute one-to-one hands-on session with an Alexander Technique teacher.

**AUSTAT Conference 2026**
📅 Saturday 17 October, 2026 - 1pm to 5pm
📍 Balam Balam Place, 15 Phoenix Street, Brunswick

There is plenty happening across the three days, with workshops exploring movement, breathing, voice, performing, strength training, teaching and different ways of applying the Alexander Technique.

If you’re already familiar with the Technique, come and explore.

And if you’ve been following along here thinking, “I still don’t really know what the Alexander Technique feels like”... come and try it.

Bookings are now open through AUSTAT:

https://alexandertechnique.org.au/austat-conference-2026/

01/10/2026

Wednesdays in the sunroom. Avoid falls. Improve balance. Reduce body and mind tension and improve confidence and ease in everyday movement. Experience and learn these practical skills in this 3-week Alexander Technique 1-hour class.

New, experienced, any mobility, size or fitness. Classes explore participants' issues and posture, breathing, mapping own anatomy, through guided activities and hands-on teaching.

Learn to sit, stand and move more comfortably.

Wednesdays 2pm – 3pm

October 7, 14, 21.

NECCHI 32 Nicholson St, East Coburg.

3-week block: $82.50

15-50% off: Seniors. Book more 4-week blocks (next one starts 18 November). Bring a friend.

Booking link in bio

Email for discount codes: [email protected]

Enquiries? Call Cathy 0401 495 836

28/09/2026

Are you reading this with your head tilted forward right now? 👀

When you lean over your phone, your 5kg head feels significantly heavier to your body. Over time, this constant pull leads to tense shoulders, stiff necks, and mental fatigue.

Learning how to relieve this pressure without giving up your screen time is easier than you think.

Comment "RELIEF" below or visit the link in bio to book a session and experience the difference!

22/09/2026

Have you ever returned somewhere and your body seemed to remember it before your mind did?

This waterfall in Tasmania is a place I first visited when I had just turned four, shortly before my family moved to New Zealand.

Twenty years later, I came back.

I knew I had been there before.

It wasn’t a clear memory at first. It was more like a recognition, a feeling held somewhere beyond conscious thought. An extraordinary experience of what I think of as **body memory**.

We often hear about the body holding difficult or traumatic experiences, but our bodies hold so much more than that. Places, movements, sensations and experiences can stay with us in ways we may not consciously realise.

Sometimes we’re already responding before our thinking mind has caught up.

Going back to this place reminded me just how much of our experience can sit beyond conscious thought, and how powerful it can be when something brings that memory back to the surface.

Our bodies have stories too. 🌿