(EN) A conversation between Jörg Aßhoff and Petra Pachaly
The Alexander Technique School Berlin, which was founded 20 years ago, currently has 12 students, 4 assistant teachers and a network of regular guest teachers from Germany and abroad. Teaching takes place in the Somatic Academy on Paul-Linke Ufer: a beautiful, large room with lots of windows and a view over the rooftops. It is a lively place, sometimes even babies or dogs come in. Once a year, Jörg’s school has been meeting with Aranka Fortwängler’s school from Freiburg for many years. The school meeting is called “Connect”.
Today I meet Jörg in an ice cream parlor in Berlin Kreuzberg. The anniversary is a reason to celebrate and find out more about it: What was it like in the beginning when he founded the school? How did it develop? What is important to him? What motivates him to work as an instructor for such a long time? Are there any plans for the future?
Petra: “How did it start back then?”
Jörg: “I started school in my 3-room apartment in Kreuzberg. I actually had completely different plans. Now there were two students and me. But it was rarely just the three of us, there was almost always someone else, guest teachers or guests, who made the whole thing livelier. A year later there were 5 students, and after that we always had around 10 students.”
Petra: “What does success mean to you? ”
Jörg: “Success is important to me and I can see that in the happiness of the students and also the so-called ‘teachers’. It is important to me to create a community in which we have fun, learn together and develop further. I am also pleased that the school is helping to spread the Alexander Technique around the world. We train many international students in Berlin, who sometimes go on to teach in Cyprus, Portugal, Japan, Australia, Norway, South Korea or Slovenia, for example.”
Petra: “I don’t think it’s easy to motivate yourself anew every day. Did your Zen experience help you with this?”
Jörg: “Yes, the discipline, among other things. Doing the work. You have to get the engine running, every day anew. When I work with someone, that happens. You can’t let yourself down, otherwise it becomes very exhausting. Today I say to myself: I’ll just do it and get going, that would have been different in the past.”
Petra: “What advice would you have given yourself in the past?”
Jörg: “Stay cool. I used to worry too much. Alexander Technique, the routine, the daily work, the form helped me a lot to become calmer and more relaxed.”
Petra: “What is important to you in the training?”
Jörg: “The school is shaped in equal parts by Alexander’s teachings, by the community and by the individuals. I think it’s important to focus on the individual
people, to understand them as a whole and to involve them fully in a process of transformation. Every person has something to offer. The health of the person is more important to me than the result, the role or position that someone has afterwards. I have become more pragmatic and want to enable people to really apply the principles of the Alexander Technique in their lives.
I used to be an actor and I like to see the school as a kind of performance. That gives me energy. The guests are the audience who are involved in the ‚performance‘. There is a precise choreography, the play is going somewhere, but at the same time there is a lot of leeway, a lot of improvisation possible, depending on the mood of the day and the “weather conditions” and depending on how the group is put together… Everyone plays a role. From time to time there are guest players or the roles are changed or recast. Everyone has to get involved. You can’t just watch or read a book for hours on end. So every day is a new day, a good day…
The school is a place where we can talk about essential things, topics that quickly fall by the wayside in everyday life. In the group we can express the topics, opinions and of course the original ideas of F.M. Alexander and at the same time compare them with everyone.
When teaching, I focus more on the basics and avoid mixing things up with other methods. In this respect, I am clearer and more determined than before. Why is that? Especially because it works very well, because it is effective and powerful…the students also come to learn the Alexander Technique…
Petra: “What are the plans for the school in the future?”
Jörg: “It’s an institution that makes people happy, that’s worth a lot to me. And I hope that it will continue to exist with all its lively social relationships. It shouldn’t be dependent on me alone. I want to create the conditions for it to continue.
Petra: “What do you wish for?”
Jörg:
“I wish that everyone who is or was involved in the training in some way can be satisfied and perhaps even happy with it.
And that we learn even better that “work” is more important than personal wishes and opinions.”
I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make the school a vibrant place all these years, especially my (also changing) team.
I can look back on an exciting, intense and very enjoyable time…
My wish for myself is to remain flexible.”
Thank you Jörg for this personal insight and all the best!
https://alexander-technik-schule.de/ Guests are very welcome!
Jörg Aßhoff, Founder and Head of Training Alexander Technique School Berlin
Petra Pachaly, Assistant Alexander Technique School Berlin
