Flora D.H. Ojanen, M.AmSAT, RYT
Hi! I am Flora.
I’m a holistic posture and movement expert with over 20 years of teaching/coaching experience in the US and Europe. I’m a certified Alexander Technique educator, Yoga teacher and Tai Chi student/instructor. I am also mother of two amazing grown(ish) young men. And I know that posture matters, a lot.
I know that how I move and do things affects how I feel. And I know that how I feel affects the quality of my movements. My body works according to how I USE MYSELF. This is why I believe with all my heart that any posture training must address the psychophysical unity and wholeness of the human being.
I believe that the idea of wholeness must be fundamental for any work with the body. Many of us suffer from pain and chronic discomfort that is a combination of structural/mental/emotional elements. I believe that all parts of ourselves must be addressed together if we want to create lasting physical improvement.
I know from my own experience and see it with my clients that back pain, excess body tension, misalignment and chronic discomfort are not only reinforcing low levels of self-awareness, but they can easily undermine our confidence. And vice versa! For example, if I believe long enough that I am not worthy of love and attention, the freedom of my body and posture will suffer and possibly cause chronic misalignment and pain.
I know that it can sometimes feel like we don’t have any control over how our body is moving and feeling because the sensations can seem so random!
But the truth is we do have more control than we think. Physical sensations and chronic pain only seem random when we aren't (yet) aware of their meaning in relation to how we are balancing our structure & align the body with the force of gravity; how much & what kind of effort we use for everything we do; and how we use the gift of our attention.
Because this is not something we learn in school: How to BEST USE OURSELVES as a whole organism - so we can choose ways of embodiment that support our mental, physical and emotional health.
I made it my life’s mission to offer this kind of personal learning; a holistic posture school to help you see clearly how you actually have control... and how you can take it back if it has been lost.
To many of us, trying to improve our posture can seem like entering a twilight zone because much of what bothers the body and emotional self is invisible, habitual, and outside of everyday consciousness. We usually just feel the symptoms and not see the whole picture!
That’s what happened with me in my youth. I experienced back pain, chronic headaches and abdominal pain while living with the daily wrath of a narcissistic mother. Looking back at pictures of myself from that time, I can see how subdued and closed off my body was...as though I was hiding myself.
Most amazingly, I wasn’t aware of any of it! I for sure felt the deep emotional pain but I couldn’t see, feel or identify what was going on with my body that also was reinforcing my feelings, because I absolutely had no reference point, and no role model.
And so I couldn’t help myself or change anything for lack of awareness of myself because my body was a territory that was shut down and that I had no map for to navigate.
I stayed stuck with my pain until many years later when luck introduced to the Alexander Technique. Within a few lessons I had learned how to move with a new kind of empowered awareness that immediately changed how I moved and felt in my body. The results were unbelievable.
For the first time in my life I could sense who I was without the emotional baggage I carried around. It was a little scary at first, but it was ok because I was in control and held by an attentive and caring coach.
Most of the pain diminished. I learned how to navigate not only habitual movement patterns in fresh ways but also the thoughts and feelings I had about myself. It made such a positive impact on my mood and outlook in general that I entered a 3-year, full time Alexander Technique teacher training program.
I have scoliosis, and sometimes my tummy is still not right, but I honestly don’t know who I would be without this amazing work in my life. It saved me on so many levels. It helped me be the person I didn’t think possible before. It taught me to appreciate the beauty, strength and vulnerability in all of us.
This work is very practical. I learned how to direct myself in ways that promote physical and emotional balance. It gave me the skills to problem-solve all kind of issues with the body.
And I made it my life’s mission to share this knowledge with my clients. We problem-solve. We’re all unique in the way our posture problems arise. Yet we all have one type of body that, if seen as a territory to be stewarded (not conquered) needs to be well mapped out in order to navigate it correctly.
Poor posture, stress-related back pain, neck tension and most discomfort disappear when we bring balance and right relation to body, mind & emotion. Our bodies are intelligent, and learning to honor their structure and natural functioning in everything we do might be the best medicine for overcoming daily tension and pain that otherwise might get the best of our natural vitality and happiness.
A Few More Things About Me
What do my students/clients love about me? My warmth, care, enthusiasm and connection to them. My love and commitment to empowering them in their own, renewed embodiment.
I am 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 me to create an integrative Alexander-yoga practice that can be made accessible for any body shape, age and ability.
I am constantly learning and updating my own education in new teaching methodologies, neuroscience, anatomy & physiology, movement- and fascia research, psychological insight, martial arts, meditation & mindfulness practices.
I am a long-time student of traditional Chinese Martial Arts, and my teachings are strongly influenced by the brightness, directness and ease of Daoist thought and philosophy.
In past years I have been a guest teacher at the Alexander Technique Centre in Galway, Ireland, and at the Alexander Educational Center in Berkeley, and have taught workshops at the 10th International Alexander Congress in Limerick, Ireland, in 2015, and at the 11th International Congress in Chicago, US in 2018.
Considerations
As an educator I do not diagnose or treat specific physical conditions. I am educating my students in the principles of the work of F.M. Alexander and help them to develop the awareness necessary for constructive mind-body change.
Theory and practice of the Alexander Technique are supported world-wide by the medical community, and research in neuroscience and education is ongoing.
Closed in San Francisco but now available online
Tai Chi Chuan Classes:
Alignment, Balance & Inner Power
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 loge-lived practice, we are not necessarily concerned with how fit or flexible you are, but rather how to bring ease, fluidity, power and balance to your movements.
Please note: Before joining me for Tai Chi online, a course of 6 lessons that covers the fundamental principles of the Alexander Technique is required.
