Living the Alexander Technique: Interviews With Nine Senior Teachers by Ruth Rootberg

Author:Ruth Rootberg [Rootberg, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Body; Mind & Spirit, Healing, General, Health & Fitness, Alternative Therapies
ISBN: 9781937146771
Google: uQhOCgAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1937146774
Publisher: Off the Common Books
Published: 2015-05-28T21:00:00+00:00

The Accident That Turned out to be a Blessing

Sarnie Ogus

Sarnie and Ruth sit in Sarnie’s Manhattan apartment on a fine spring day in 2013.

Accident Leading up to Alexander Technique Lessons

Ruth Rootberg: Can you tell me what led you to the Alexander Technique and your teacher training?

Sarnie Ogus: I was a dance therapist. I trained with Marian Chase.1 It was the 1960s and I was living in Manhattan. I was on my way to a dance therapy class in a cab on Third Avenue, when a car hit us from behind. I slid down from the seat to the floor, got up and sat back in the cab seat, and went on to the class.

Soon after the accident, I started to get radiating pain in my groin. I thought it was gynecological, but after a visit to the doctor, that was ruled out. To make a long story short, it became gradually worse. The left leg became very painful. I began living on Valium. I still have a space in the groin where, if I touch it, I can’t feel anything, because the nerve is so damaged.

If you’re doing this [she demonstrates her older, habitual pulling down pattern], and you’re dancing this way, and you’re playing volleyball this way, and you’re in a car and you’re hit…you’re in a state of contraction, and the pattern is exaggerated. What happened to me was a disc between two vertebrae—L4 and L5—was pushed out and began to press on some nerves.

It came to a point where, when I brushed my teeth, I had to get on my knees and put my chin on the sink. I finally consulted with a respected back surgeon, and of course surgery was the recommended solution. They were going to take out the ruptured disc and fuse the vertebrae together.

Learning of the Alexander Technique

Sarnie: During the period before the scheduled surgery, I took my young son to a birthday party, and I was walking with a cane. Someone came over and asked me what the problem was. I told her my story, and she said, “Why don’t you try the Alexander Technique?” She kind of explained it to me, and I thought: Oh, that’s so crazy; that’s so flaky. As it turned out, she was in the first training class at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT). When I got home, I began thinking about my situation and what she said.

I was diagnosed with a herniated disc. I thought: What is a herniated disc? What does it look like? I am very visual, and because of my background in dance therapy, I knew a little anatomy, so I could visualize this. I began asking questions: How come I haven’t had anything happen before? How did this happen? What is going on? What recourse do I have other than a spinal fusion?

Fortunately, I had the card that the woman at the party gave me, so I contacted her and asked her more questions, and thought: What have I got to lose? I’ll try it.

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