Before I was a posture expert, an ergonomist, or an Alexander Technique teacher, I was a project manager. Burnt out, exhausted and physically broken, and only 32 years old.
Years of long days at a laptop, striving to be the best at my job, had left me with a serious repetitive strain injury. The healthy posture of my youth had been replaced by a hunched, sorry figure. It hurt to type. It hurt to sit. Honestly, everything hurt, and it was taking my career, my mood and my home life down with it.
When your arms stop working, you pay attention
Scans at the hospital showed I had ‘cervical foraminal stenosis’. My arms and hands would burn, go weak and numb, and drop things, not ideal for a father of two young children. I was offered two choices: surgery, at great risk, or the permanent use of nerve-dampening drugs with plenty of side effects.
I chose a third way, good posture, body awareness and good space around me. As long as I practise what I preach, I feel great. So I don’t just talk the talk; I walk the walk.
I tried all the usual suspects
I set about trying to get fixed. Strength training, yoga, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic. Acupuncture and Tai-chi. I ran, a lot. It all helped, a bit. But working still hurt, typing still hurt, and sitting at a desk still hurt.
Then I met a Doctor who taught me the Alexander Technique, a process for getting back in touch with how I lived in my own body, noticing the tension and stress I poured into everything, and learning to let it go. It felt good, and it began to help. The missing piece was learning to stop fighting my own body and instead set up my surroundings, and myself, to work with less effort and strain.
Why I do this
That journey became my vocation. With 15 years’ experience as an Alexander Technique teacher and as a Certified Remote Ergonomics Specialist, I founded Posture Stars in 2019 to help everyday people, and the companies they work for, avoid ending up where I did. Today’s technology just isn’t built with our posture in mind, so I fuse the best of modern bodywork, mindfulness and ergonomics into something practical you can use the moment we finish.
Helping people work comfortably, confidently and pain-free is a wonderful thing to do for a living. I just love it.
