Alexander Technique

Martin Warner has 40 years of experience working with people professionally in an educational and therapeutic capacity. The last 30 years have been involved with Alexander’s work, which he has been teaching professionally since 2003, worldwide, offering an expanded, fun, and innovative approach to Alexander’s work based on his own current and evolving understanding.

Martin trained with Don Weed, who served an apprenticeship with Master Teacher Marjorie Barstow in Nebraska, who had received her teaching certificate from Mr. Alexander himself and was in fact the first person to graduate from Alexander’s first training course in 1933. Don had trained at the prestigious chiropractic university, Logan University (formerly Logan College of Chiropractic).

Prior to the pandemic, Martin ran special, intensive workshops around the world for many years in Essaouira (Morocco), Tuscany (Italy), and Orebic (Croatia). In addition to overseas workshops, he ran monthly workshops in the UK in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, London, Dorset, Devon, and Norfolk. The volume of teaching had been such that, prior to the pandemic, Martin spent 300 nights per year operating out of hotels all around the world. Sadly, as with many of us, former lifestyles came to an abrupt stop as a result of the pandemic, and Martin was forced to build upon his prior experience of working with clients via video call. This has proved to be highly effective. Martin has however run two face to face intensive workshops since the end of the pandemic in the UK.

10 years ago, whilst teaching in Glasgow, Martin was first introduced to Dr. Frank Corrigan, MD, FRCPsych (the originator of DBR.) . As a result of the last 10 years of collaboration, Martin and Frank have designed a Somatic (body-based) Interweave Component for Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), which facilitates the release of long held shock from a client’s nervous system and helps them discharge emotions and affects linked to traumatic experience. Deep Brain Reorienting is a novel, cutting-edge method for dealing with traumatic experiences at the deepest level of the brain. The Somatic Interweave Component was created from Martin’s extensive experience and understanding of Alexander’s work, coupled with Dr. Frank Corrigan’s lifelong interest in and knowledge of neuroscience. Frank and Martin are now collaborating on specialist one-day workshops for training DBR-trained trauma specialists worldwide in the Somatic Interweave Component.  

Psychotherapy

Martin has a clinical background in psychotherapy and counselling. He trained at Goldsmiths College in London, studied psychodynamic psychotherapy based on the works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. He qualified with a Postgraduate Advanced Diploma in Psychotherapy. This course predated MSC courses, and it was designed for clinicians to take up senior positions of responsibility in companies. He went on to have 18 years of personal analysis under the Zurich school in London, namely the Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists (IGAP). Martin had a long period of psychotherapy under Philip Maggs (Ed.-Psych), who had been the Senior Educational Psychologist for the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) for many years. Maggs’ analytical psychologist had been Molly Tuby, who attended the Jung Institute in Zurich in the 1950s and was the last analyst in the UK to have known Carl Jung personally. Martin’s primary analyst in London was Chuck Schwartz, who was trained by Jung’s close friend and collaborator for 30 years, Marie Louise Von Franz, at the Jung institute in Switzerland. Chuck’s London analyst, Dr. E.A. Bennett, who practised from Harley Street, London, wrote the book “What Jung really said” and was the only British psychiatrist to be invited to Jung’s home in Switzerland. In 2001, Martin exhibited a collection of his own paintings, which were an outgrowth of his personal analysis (Active Imagination), at the Pastel Society of the Year exhibition held at the Mall Galleries in London.

Martin’s clinical supervision spanned 16 years, thrice weekly, from a Lacanian perspective, and Martin’s clinical supervisor was ,Sue Draney, who was trained at the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research (CFAR) in London, and whose own clinical supervisor was Adam Philips, “one of Britain’s leading psychoanalysts and literary critics.”

He has an eight and a half-year background working in residential social work as a Senior Team Leader working with adolescents with challenging behaviours in both behavioural and psychodynamic units. Four and a half of those years were spent in London’s east end, working in a specialist unit for Barnardo’s. In addition, he spent thirteen years working under Occupational Health Transport for London as their Senior Drug and Alcohol Counselling Consultant. Martin designed the in-house clinical structures and assessment mechanisms, many of which are still in operation today. His responsibilities included ensuring all “due diligence” was covered under the “Transport and Works Act” with respect to public safety.

Interests and disciplines

Martin often recommends chiropractic treatment as an adjunct to working with the Alexander Technique. Martin has been treated by Dr. Anne McDonnell (Blackheath Chiropractic Clinic) in London since 2001. Anne has specialised in a school of chiropractic called Sacral Occipital Technique (SOT) and was the former president of SOT Europe. Anne was awarded International Chiropractor of the Year 2010 and European Chiropractor of the Year 2013. Many of Martin’s clients have also had the privilege and fortune of being treated by Dr. Anne McDonnell.

Martin is currently also being treated by Dr. Melanie Cutting (Natural Chiropractic) who was jointly awarded BCA Chiropractors of the Year in 2015. Melanie is also trained in Functional Medicine and Medical Herbalism which Martin has found to be critical new components of his personal development, expanding his knowledge of health and nutrition, which has been a lifelong interest since 1975.

Martin was originally training to be a classical homoeopath at Regents College in London. During the first year of study, he met Don Weed, his Alexander teacher, and decided to instead train as an Alexander Technique teacher. Martin continued, however, to see his own homoepath, Christine Sanders, for 18 years. Chrisine had been trained in both classical homoeopathy and the Sankaran Sensation Method. Martin was further supported in homoeopathy by Dr. Eric Asher (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Medicine (1969 - 1974) and Faculty of Homeopathy UK. FFHom FRACGPPrivate GP) who is an international teacher for the Faculty of Homeopathy. Dr. Asher was the head of the Medical Directorate for The Third Space, London’s premier gym, for many years. Martin was a founding member of this gym and trained with many world-class athletes. Dr. Asher now heads the medical services at Sixten London.

Martin has a longstanding interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which he has used as part of his personal development. His Chinese doctor for many years was Professor Bo Yin Ma, a well-known Chinese-British expert, educator, and practitioner of TCM and the president of TCM UK, who was a visiting professor at many universities in the UK, France, and China.

Martin has 50 years of experience in karate and is a fourth-degree black belt in Wado-Ryu. His primary instructor was Les Birkin, 8th degree black belt, whom he met and started to train with in 1971 under the British Karate Association (BKA). Peter Spanton, 9th degree black belt under Higashi Karate Kai (HKK), based in London, was the first person in the UK to receive his black belt from Master Tatsuo Suzuki in the 1960s, and he graded Martin to 4th degree black belt. Martin had private lessons with Peter in 1980, was a multiple-time national Karate-Kata champion within HKK, and was frequently asked to judge national kata (form) and kumite (sparring) competitions. Martin is grateful for the high value that Peter placed on technical precision and for his Budo/Warrior Spirit.

In more recent years, Martin has had the pleasure of training under Iain Abernethy, 7th degree black belt, at his dojo in Cockermouth, Cumbria, and he has also attended four intensive residential training courses in Shropshire on the application of Kata (Bunkai). He is qualified to teach Iain’s basic principles in his approach to karate. Martin also had the opportunity to train with 8th degree black belt Peter Consterdine, the head of the British Combat Karate Association (BCKA), thanks to his time with Iain Abernethy. Both Peter Consterdine and Iain Abernethy resonated with Martin’s search for a pragmatic approach to karate, and Peter’s understanding of body mechanics for power generation was and continues to be inspirational. Iain’s decoding of misconceptions surrounding the practical applications of kata remains enlightening, and Martin feels indebted to Iain for this.

Martin spent many years training with Michael Harris (5th degree black belt) and Peter Harris (6th degree black belt), the founding instructors of Elkai Karate in Ealing Broadway, London. Elkai develops competition fighters of international calibre, which is both demanding and austere in terms of training. Martin spent many years training at this dojo in order to take his karate to the next level and push the boundaries of all comfort zones. Martin remains grateful for the old-school input from both Peter and Michael.

Spiritual tradition

Martin has taught many clients who have long-standing involvements with various spiritual traditions and practices, namely Transcendental Meditation (TM), The Diamond Heart Approach, OSHO, Non-Duality, Roger Linden, and NLP.

Martin’s spiritual tradition is The Gurdjieff Work (The Gurdjieff Society), based in Holland Park, London. Martin met his own Gurjieff teacher in 1979, a remarkable woman by the name of Brenda Tripp (OBE). Brenda had been responsible for the British Council in Europe and Russia. Brenda had a strikingly clear intellect and was close friends with the British philosopher and historian, Sir. Isaiah Berlin, who she had met whilst living and working in Russia. Martin’s teacher in Holland Park had spent many years in a group with Michel de Salzmann. His mother, Madame Jeanne de Saltzman, took over responsibilities for Gurdjieff’s work when he died.  

Alexander Technique Martin Warner has 40 years of experience working with people professionally ... Read More