Flora D.H. Ojanen, M.AmSAT, RYT
Flora D.H. Ojanen is a German-American Alexander Technique educator, movement specialist, martial arts aficionado and registered yoga teacher with teaching offices in San Francisco and Berlin.
Flora has over 20 years experience of teaching in the US, and constantly updates her own education in new teaching methodologies, neuroscience, anatomy & physiology, movement- and fascia research, psychological insight, martial arts, meditation & mindfulness practices.
She is well known for her warmth, enthusiasm and connection to her students. Her love and commitment for her work and teaching is palpable upon meeting her.
Flora holds a degree in Sociology (Berlin 1994) and massage therapy & energy work ( Berlin 1996). She discovered the Alexander Technique in 1997 and began taking lessons due to a painful back condition and a more general search for positivity and elation in daily life. Alexander lessons provided not only physical relief from the pain, but also opened doors to an unknown joy and empowerment that was deeply fascinating to her. In 1999 she decided to join a 3-year Alexander Technique teacher training in Berkeley, CA, after moving from Berlin to San Francisco.
Being a long-time student of traditional Chinese Martial Arts, Flora's teaching is strongly influenced by the brightness, directness and ease of Daoist thought and philosophy. She started teaching Tai Chi with a focus on alignment, balance and inner strength in San Francisco in 2013.
Flora is a member at the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT), and at Yoga Alliance (certified US Yoga Teacher since 2006). The fact that "off the mat" habits and daily tensions also show up "on the mat" has inspired her to create ideas for an integrative Alexander-yoga practice and to make it accessible for any body shape, age and ability.
In past years, Flora has been invited as a guest teacher at the Alexander Technique Centre in Galway, Ireland, and at the Alexander Educational Center in Berkeley, CA. She has taught workshops at the 10th International Alexander Congress in Limerick, Ireland, in 2015, and at the 11th International Congress in Chicago, US, in 2018.
In the summer of 2022, Flora will again be based in Berlin with a new private office in Berlin-Steglitz for in-person work, and available internationally for online lessons.
Flora will continue her signature Home Office Posture - online workshops in the fall of 2022 for anyone working from home and wanting to stay physically energized while avoiding sensory overload and back-or neck pain. These workshops include virtual, spacial and mental self-awareness skills, body design teachings, ergonomics and movement studies, all aimed at supporting you at a computer all day.
Considerations
As an educator, Flora does not diagnose or treat specific physical conditions. She educates her students in the principles of the work of F.M. Alexander and helps them to develop the awareness necessary for constructive change.
Theory and practice of the Alexander Technique are supported world-wide by the medical community, and research in neuroscience and education is ongoing.
Tai Chi Chuan
Alignment, Balance & Inner Power
San Francisco Classes
Effortless Power: Yang Tai Chi Instruction
Where: SF Golden Gate Park/
Walk In Balance Alexander Technique Center
When: Upon Appointment
Tai Chi is a wonderfully calming and stress-reducing activity, naturally counteracting our fast-past, modern life-styles. When you learn and practice Tai Chi, the benefits are multifold. Besides cultivating internal power and a more easy-going attitude, benefits of a regular Tai Chi practice include better posture and flexible joints, balance and co-ordination, relaxation, clarity of mind, reduced stress and improved body tone.
Your internal structural system gets a tune-up and reset each time you practice, which can prevent injury and pain associated with a sedentary life, too much stress and computer overuse.
Alexander's principles of effortless power, self-cultivation and grace in movement are the cornerstone of this unique and mindful way of learning Tai Chi. Even though functional alignment and precision are emphasized as important keys to a successful and long-lived practice, we are not necessarily concerned with how flexible you are, but rather how to bring ease and fluidity to your movements.
