Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing

“Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing” restores sensations of release and movement during the breathing cycle, so that we can experience a more dynamic body.

Bringing together the methodologies of Alexander and Stough, Jessica developed her own technique, “The Art of Breathing,” which eventually evolved into a patented technique she incorporates into her teaching and can be learned in her postgraduate certificate training course.

Central to Jessica’s technique is the understanding that a more reliable sensory appreciation of habits and movement patterns can be directly applied to the practice of efficient breathing. As Jessica teaches:  “The key to coordinated breathing is an easy exhalation, which prompts a full and easy inhalation.”

“Breathing is reflexive; you never have to take a breath. It has a quiet presence and is in perpetual motion. It is inspiring to know that our breath responds naturally and spontaneously to our every thought and feeling”

Jessica Wolf

How we Work

Our work is incredibly subtle, yet immensely powerful. It is a combination of hands-on guidance and verbal instruction. It is always light and fun. No lectures, no ‘exercises’, no manipulation.

“Breath is the bridge that connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Who is……

Jessica Wolf

Jessica Wolf, AmSAT,  has been teaching the Alexander Technique for more than 40 years and is currently a Professor in the Practice of Acting at Yale School of Drama, where she established the Alexander Training curriculum in 1998. Jessica founded Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing, and offers a certification training course for AT teachers. She created the first three-dimensional animation of the respiratory system. Other faculty appointments include the Aspen Music Festival, The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase, Circle in the Square Theater School, and the Verbier Music Festival. Jessica maintains a private teaching practice in New York City and works with performers on and off-Broadway and in film and television. She travels extensively, giving workshops internationally to healthcare providers and executive leaders.

Jessica’s website

F. M. Alexander

Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869 – 1955) was an Australian actor / orator / performer who in a quest to solve his personal vocal problems made certain fundamental discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and how the way we apply our conscious awareness in the act of living relates to our health and well-being. The subtle and yet incredibly powerful system of conscious re-education of the self that he developed is what we now call The Alexander Technique.
It is easy to mistake the Technique for some form of “body therapy” as it involves hands-on work, but it is, in essence, a philosophy that can be learned and explored through the activity of daily living. Perhaps you could say that Alexander (without meaning to) packaged thousands of years of philosophy into a format most easily assimilated by the western mind.

More on the Alexander Technique

Carl Stough

Carl Stough (1926 – 2000) was an American choral conductor who developed a method to re-educate a person’s individual breathing pattern through an extremely subtle, indirect approach. He called this system “Breathing Coordination” and taught it with great success to many people ranging from sufferers of extreme breathing disorders (chronic emphysema) to the American track and field team at the high-altitude Mexico Olympics (still one of the most successful post-war Olympic teams, setting 7 world and 6 olympic records). Although he never directly trained anyone in his method Jessica Wolf and a few others worked with him very closely for many years.

More on Carl Stough

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