In Conversation with Dr Nicola Hanefeld - Alexander Technique and Postpartum Self-Care

In this interview I speak with Nicola Hanefeld. Nicola is an experienced Alexander Technique teacher, educator, and researcher with an international career spanning several decades. She completed a combined Honours degree in Botany and Zoology in 1979, followed by a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of London. After moving from England to Freiburg, Germany in 1981, Nicola trained as an Alexander Technique teacher (1986–1989) with Yehuda Kupermann, Uri Eshet, Shaike Hermalin, Schmuel Nelken, and Giora Pinkas. Since qualifying in 1989, she has worked as a freelance teacher and was an assistant teacher at the Freiburg Alexander Technique training school for over a decade. In 2000, she founded SPEEK, an organisation offering workshops and coaching grounded in the principles of the Alexander Technique. That same year, she completed training in person-centred counselling, based on the work of Carl Rogers—an approach that continues to inform her teaching. Nicola’s deep interest in the lived experience of the Technique led her to a PhD at the University of Hull (2017–2021). Her research explored how women use the Alexander Technique in the postpartum period. She holds both German and British nationality, is the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Nicola is a member of the German Society of the Alexander Technique (ATVD e.V.). Check out the two published papers from Nicola's PhD: https://www.speek.de/images/stories/P... https://www.speek.de/In_a_way_its_jus... About the Interviewer: Ruth Hommelsheim is an Alexander Technique teacher and photographer based in London. After many years in the art world, she came to London to train with Anthony Kingsley at the Alexander Teacher Training School (ATTS) and graduated in March 2023. She runs a private practice in Shepherds Bush and is now also an assistant at ATTS. Her journey with the Alexander Technique has been deeply transformative, inspiring her to explore and share the profound wisdom of this practice. These conversations aim to capture the personal stories and deep insights of experienced practitioners who have dedicated their lives to understanding and teaching the Alexander Technique. https://poiseandpresence.info/ Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:28 Living with an Alexander Trainee 01:03 First lesson in 1982 01:46 AT brought up trauma response 03:00 Starting training in 1986 03:35 When she became aware of the reasons 04:27 The lack of awareness of trauma and abuse 05:29 Mixing up feelings with kinesthetic experiences 06:48 Inhibition can also be misunderstood 07:18 Incorporating Carl Rogers’ work 08:13 This needs to be integrated more into training courses 09:37 Training with Yehuda Kuperman in 1986–1989 11:00 Being pregnant twice during the training 12:47 What was missing in the training 13:49 Being an assistant teacher for 12 years 14:23 Building up a private practice 15:23 The experience how AT helped with the three births 17:45 How her PHD came about 19:10 The privilege of thinking about AT for 3 years 18:38 From practical work to research 20:01 Hardly any studies about backspin in pregnancy and postpartum 21:32 Interview research with women with AT experience 22:43 Sense of agency 23:39 Setting up a postpartum online program 25:36 The most important realisation while writing 26:38 Rogers’ concept of the self vs Alexander’s 29:58 Rogers’ concept of congruence 30:30 Self-actualisation tendency 31:18 Setting up SPEEK and how research helped 32:47 About SPEEK 34:34 Working with corporate clients 36:15 Most important aspect of AT for you? 36:43 How did AT change your life? 38:05 Her current definition of what is AT? 40:59 Being cheeky 41:50 About the principles 46:26 The process of becoming more aware of oneself 47:44 The emotional side of the work 50:09 End #alexandertechniqueconversations #alexandertechnik #alexandertechnique #podcast #nicolahanefeld #ATinfreiburg #postpartumwellness #postpartum #poiseandpresence #ruthhommelsheim