All members of the Colorado Society for the Alexander Technique are certified by the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT). Here is an alphabetical list of our members. Click on a name to find out more.
To view maps and locations, click here.
COVID-19 policies vary by teacher:
*please contact the teacher to learn more.
**please contact the teacher to learn what specific precautions they are taking.
- Jess Albertine (Denver)
- Travis Chastain (Colorado Springs). In person/hands-on with precautions** or online
- Lynn Danielson (Denver)*
- Maedée Duprès (Denver). In person/hands-on with precautions**
- Ian Ferguson (Colorado Springs)*
- Heidi Brende Leathwood (Denver). In person/hands-on with precautions**
- Jonathan Leathwood (Denver). In person/hands-on with precautions** or online
- Nicole Rafferty (Denver). In person/hands-on with precautions*
- Laurie Sellers (Colorado Springs). Not currently practicing
- Anna Sobotka (Golden [Denver Metro Area]). In person/hands-on with precautions**
- Naoko Yoda (Centennial)*
Jess Albertine
2344 E Iliff Ave, Denver, CO 80210
https://www.openmindat.com/
OpenMindAT@gmail.com
https://www.youtube.com/@OpenMindAT
720-432-4792 (text preferred if possible)
Jess Albertine comes to the Alexander Technique from a background in the performing arts, disability, and LGBTQ+ communities. Originally a flute player and composer, she studied the Alexander Technique for ten years to help with her own medical issues before deciding to become a teacher. She completed her teacher training at Alexander Technique Denver in 2022. Jess loves to help students work toward movement ease with a commitment to inclusivity, body positivity, and self-ownership. She combines her training with personal experience in managing chronic health issues, creating a safe place for students to work on themselves without judgment. She currently teaches at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, in the Newman Center for Performing Arts.
Travis Chastain
2020 N. Academy Blvd., Suite 268, Colorado Springs, CO 80909
https://www.bodymindbalanceco.com
tchastain2@gmail.com
720-339-8521
Travis Chastain was first introduced to the Alexander Technique in 2010 as a Master of Music student in Classical Guitar performance at the University of Denver. Struggling with back pain and weakness in his right arm from a whiplash injury, Travis found the principles of the Technique invaluable in recovering his functioning and saving his guitar career.
Travis holds a Bachelor and Master in Music degree from the University of Denver and currently teaches 40+ students at his Glendale studio while performing regularly throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
Travis graduated as an AmSAT-certified teacher in 2018 to help people overcome their personal challenges and to articulate the benefits of AT work in reducing back pain to the medical community.
Lynn Danielson
Denver
Website coming soon
lynngdanielson@gmail.com
720-318-3368
A keen amateur keyboardist, Lynn Danielson started Alexander Technique lessons with Heidi Leathwood to improve his piano skills. He was surprised to find that the lessons not only resolved his issues with back pain but also improved his overall health and well-being.
Lynn started attending the training course at Alexander Technique Denver when it opened in 2013, graduating in 2019. He has trained regularly at workshops in Malibu, with additional workshops in Chicago and Albuquerque. As a post-graduate teacher he has also trained at the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles.
Lynn has enjoyed a career in systems administration. His Alexander students have included office and retail workers, musicians, and the elderly.
Maedée Duprès
6225 S. Clarkson St, Centennial, CO 80121
dynamic-balance.net
maedee@dynamic-balance.net
720-475-0117
Maedée Duprès was first introduced to the Alexander Technique while dancing in London (UK). After moving to the USA and making Denver her home, she graduated as an AT teacher in 1993. She enjoys working with performers as well as people of all ages who wish to improve their movement and postural balance, or who are recovering from injuries or chronic pain. Maedée was a faculty member of Alexander Technique Denver for nine years.
For thirty years she brought artists and practitioners together under ‘a living arts centre.’ Now as Dynamic-Balance, her practice is at her home movement /studio in Centennial, CO, which includes AT and Tai Chi Ch’üan.
Ian Ferguson
Colorado Springs CO 80907
coloradospringsconservatory.org/ian-ferguson
endgain@gmail.com
503-381-6802
Ian Ferguson received his AmSAT certification from the Oregon Center for the Alexander Technique, where he trained with Rebecca Robbins. He came to the Alexander Technique while working towards his trumpet performance degree, when he experienced a debilitating repetitive strain injury in both arms.
Ian received his BM from the University of Northern Colorado. Now a professional pianist/vocalist/guitarist/trumpeter, Ian has helped numerous students learn to prevent the habits that cause repetitive strain injuries like tendinitis.
Ian is currently Director of Programs at the Colorado Springs Conservatory and an active performer, composer, and clinician in the region. Ian also maintains a private Alexander Technique studio in Colorado Springs.
Heidi Brende Leathwood
Newman Performing Arts Center, 2344 E Iliff Ave, Denver CO 80208
heidi.leathwood@gmail.com
720-839-2549
Heidi has been a teacher of the Alexander Technique since 1995. She decided to certify as a teacher after AT lessons helped her heal from a piano related arm injury. Her present and former students number in the hundreds, aged 8–92, from many walks of life. They include musicians, actors, dancers, athletes, accident survivors, people with partial paralysis, cancer survivors, refugees, trauma survivors, police officers, ministers, psychologists, massage therapists, carpenters, office workers, health care workers, and many others.
Heidi has presented workshops at the AmSAT national ACGM, the MTNA national convention, the International Horn Symposium, the International ClarinetFest, and regularly presents workshops at college and universities. She is Director and faculty at Alexander Technique Denver, an AT teacher-training course. She also teaches Alexander Technique at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.
Jonathan Leathwood
Newman Performing Arts Center, 2344 E Iliff Ave, Denver CO 80208
mindfulnessinmovement.com
jonathan.leathwood@gmail.com
303-763-0608
Jonathan Leathwood welcomes pupils from all walks of life, bringing his many years of experience of teaching in music and the arts. In all of his teaching he emphasizes the integration of different kinds of knowledge and skill.
Jonathan came to the Alexander Technique in 1987, as a young classical guitarist seeking a means to address tension and performance anxiety. Since then he has enjoyed an international career as a guitarist. He became an AmSAT-certified teacher in 2017 and is currently Teaching Associate Professor at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver, where he teaches the Alexander Technique alongside classical guitar and musical analysis.
Nicole Rafferty
9360 Teddy Lane Suite 101, Lone Tree CO 80124
https://www.optimizedfunctionality.com
nikki@raffertyhome.com
720-840-7760
Nicole Rafferty has been an Alexander Technique teacher since 2016. She is the owner of Optimized Functionality, a company in Denver specializing in the Alexander Technique. Nicole holds degrees in psychology and violin performance from the University of Denver, and is a qualified teacher of the Suzuki method in violin.
As a student, Nicole found Alexander Technique lessons remarkably effective in alleviating back pain and stage fright. She decided that it was essential to train as a teacher so that she could help others gain the freedom and ease she had found from the Technique.
Laurie Sellers
14 Via Piedras, Manitou Springs CO 80829
laurie.sellers@mac.com
719-685-2244
Laurie Sellers was drawn to the Alexander Technique in the early 90s after developing back pain while working as an architect. Thinking she was taking only a “brief hiatus” from her architecture career to study AT, alleviate her pain, and improve her posture, she discovered instead a whole new world that she wanted to share with others.
Laurie graduated in 1995 from the North London Alexander Teachers Training Course and has since worked with musicians, professionals, and anyone who is struggling with pain and stress or who wants to improve their quality of life.
Complementing her AT teaching, Laurie is also a certified Shiatsu practitioner and craniosacral therapist. She currently teaches in Colorado Springs.
Anna Sobotka
730 Simms Street, Golden CO 80401
patternsofposture.com
anna.marie.sobotka@gmail.com
(402) 340-7550
Anna learned about the Alexander Technique while studying violin performance at the University of South Dakota. The back pain that she experienced while playing and performing became so disabling she thought she would have to quit her musical ambitions. However, in her first Alexander lesson, Anna found that the principles of the Technique not only eliminated her back pain, but brought freedom and ease to her whole body. In order to teach others how to manage and eliminate pain, Anna trained to be a certified AmSAT teacher graduating in 2019.
Anna has experience working with people from many walks of life, including dancers, musicians, actors, people with back pain, people with sciatica, people with hypermobility, people with chronic pain, dentists, carpenters, teachers, gardeners, athletes, and somatic practitioners. Anna loves teaching students the tools they need to take care of themselves while working toward their personal and professional goals.
Naoko Yoda
Centennial, CO 80111
naokoyoda1192@gmail.com
720-815-6567
Naoko came across the Alexander Technique while suffering from neck and back pain associated with her bagpipe playing. Alexander Technique lessons relieved her pain and improved her bagpipe playing skills. She graduated as an AmSAT-certified teacher from Alexander Technique Denver in 2019.
Naoko’s experience in psychology (BA), education, dance, music, and aikido is an influence in her teaching. A native of Japan, Naoko has a keen interest in the similarities between the principles of the Alexander Technique and Japanese traditional culture. She teaches in both English and Japanese, and offers private lessons and group classes. Her motto is “to make lessons fun and understandable.”