About Mara

I had chronic lower back pain as an adolescent due to scoliosis. After chiropractors and massage therapists provided only temporary relief, I discovered the Alexander Technique. I was so impressed with the Alexander principles that I decided to pursue Alexander work as my career goal. I went to London to do a three-year training program at the School for Alexander Studies. My back trouble completely disappeared by the end of my training and I came to appreciate other benefits of the Technique when faced with the challenges of parenting and other stressors of adulthood.

I have lectured about this work at a variety of medical settings including Mt. Sinai Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tufts Dental School. I’ve also taught group classes and workshops at the New England Conservatory of Music, Wellesley College, Brown University, Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Eileen Fisher Corporate Office.

Besides English, I am comfortable giving Alexander lessons in French, Spanish, or Yiddish.

Contact Mara

Testimonials from Mara’s Students

“I’m an amateur violinist and, in my early seventies and after a lifetime of poor posture, I was having back pain which really cut into my musical pleasure. I was also aware of looking quite fragile because of the forward and downward curve of my neck and shoulders. Enter Mara Sokolsky! Since working with Mara, the pain is gone and I’ve developed a new body awareness and an easy, natural way of standing and sitting.”

— Sara B., Retired Teacher

“Before beginning my Alexander work, I had poor posture and experienced frequent discomfort. I now stand noticeably taller and move about my day with more ease and comfort.”

— Dan C., Portfolio Manager – Mutual Fund

“Studying the Alexander Technique has been a life-changing experience for me. Under Mara’s expert hands, I have gained a heightened awareness of my own body which subsequently has taught me how to stay out of my own way in order to function more freely in the world. Mara has shown me infinite patience and kindness, and no matter the issue, she always presents a way to help. Every lesson leaves me feeling lighter, more balanced in body and mind, and happier.”

— Amy S., Actor/Singer

“Mara has helped me over a period of three years to change habits of contracting my body. Not only have lessons been a pleasure, but the effects of her work have been far-reaching: I am moving easier, and also enjoying a more positive outlook and greater patience and poise in a variety of circumstances.”

— Loren S., IT Professional

Mara in the News

Quotations from Notable Students of the Alexander Technique

“Lessons in the Alexander Technique taught me how to sit in a state of lumbosacral poise, and my chronic low back pain gradually became cured. The Technique is true education. Compared to surgery, (e.g. for low back pain), a course of instruction is inexpensive.”

— John H.M. Austin, MD, Professor of Radiology, Columbia Presbyterian Center, New York, NY

“Alexander’s work is of first-class importance and investigation by the medical profession is imperative.”

— British Medical Journal

“The technique’s many benefits for actors include minimized tension, centeredness, vocal relaxation, and responsiveness, mind/body connection and about an inch and a half of additional height.”

— Kevin Kline, Actor

“Between the three of us (Tinbergen, wife, daughter) we already notice with growing amusement, very striking improvements in such diverse things as high blood pressure, depth of sleep, overall cheerfulness and mental alertness, resilience against outside pressures, and also in such a refined skill as playing a stringed instrument.”

— Nobel Prize Laureate Nikolas Tinbergen discussing the Alexander Technique in his Nobel Prize Acceptance speech

“The Alexander Technique keeps the body alive, at ages when many people have resigned themselves to irreversible decline.”

— Robertson Davies, Author

“97% of people with back pain could benefit by learning the Alexander Technique – it is only a small minority of back pain sufferers that require medical intervention such as surgery.”

— Jack Stern, M.D., Spinal Neurosurgeon

“The Alexander Technique helped a long-standing back problem and to get a good night’s sleep after many years of tossing and turning.”

— Paul Newman, Actor