A full day regenerative retreat for Alexander Technique Teachers
12 nerves, 12 new ways to optimize coordination and create a sense of safety
presented by Clare Maxwell
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd
3820 The Oak Road, Philadelphia, PA 19129
Calm overthinking
Enliven your body
Deepen sensory awareness
Build somatic foundations for relationship with others
Alexander Technique Teachers of Greater Philadelphia (ATTGP) is excited to bring you this special in-person continuing education workshop with Clare Maxwell. The workshop is for Alexander Technique teachers, as well as any Alexander Technique-curious somatic practitioners and therapists who want to be central nervous system literate. We hope you will join us.
Here are all the details:
WHAT IS CRANIAL NERVE SEQUENCING?
It’s taking body mapping to a whole new level. By experientially mapping the 12 cranial nerves, we are expanding and refining our body schema beyond bones, joints, and muscles into the sensory, motor, and autonomic depths of our being.
HOW WILL CNS HELP ME AND MY PRACTICE?
Clare is on a mission to provide foundational somatic explorations of central nervous system anatomy. Cranial Nerve Sequencing (CNS) has for the most part been explored in a top-down, cognitive way. It’s very complex and can be overwhelming.
It’s also impossible to keep up with “the science” – but what if you could help people without having to pretend you know it all?
The benefits of learning it from the bottom up through somatically grounded exploration are astounding. States of ease, calm, and resonance arise. And, it’s super fun to geek out on anatomy and physiology with peers, and even clients – if you have the foundational knowledge.
The hidden benefit is a deep knowing that empowers you to safely explore with clients. Learning the foundational anatomy helps us trust our powerful, process oriented work more, communicate more clearly, and guide our clients safely towards healing without making false promises or relying on vague pseudoscience.
The vagus nerve is not the answer to all your problems, but it is an amazing ally. There are 11 other allies that no one is talking about though! One of them may be just the medicine that you or your client needs.
WHAT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS WILL GET:
- A practical overview of central nervous system anatomy and the 12 cranial nerves
- 12 new somatic practices to enhance primary control, safety & orientation, balance, and coordination
- Foundational links between each nerve and developmental movement
- Lots of fun trying out new material with colleagues
- A PDF of the entire course and the 12 practices you’ll learn
- Endless possibilities to explore with your clients
Restoring a fluid, dynamic head/neck/torso relationship is central to the Alexander Technique. This orienting, coordinating movement is also very powerful as an indirect aid to nervous system regulation. It restores the reliability of our “feeling” sense.
It calms us and stabilizes our sense of self, which is the springboard for personal agency in the world.
Cranial nerve sequencing gives you twelve different ways to access that relationship. Each cranial nerve provides a nuanced pathway in for you and your clients. There is no one right way, and no one way that works for everyone!
That’s why it’s so helpful to have a big, fun, multi-layered toolbox.
This workshop will give you practical knowledge, experience, skills, and language to bring the essence of the Alexander Technique alive in simple, direct ways.
The good news is, you don’t even have to be an Alexander teacher to come, or utilize this most basic of body mapping practices.
Here’s how we do it:
LEARN cognitive and visual information about each nerve, its pathway into your brain, and it’s sense organ, motor, or autonomic connections.
MOVE AWARENESS to those parts of yourself.
INVESTIGATE the connections for yourself using your unique imagination.
MOVE YOUR BODY to express the connections you find.
INTEGRATE what is learned with whole body movement, reflection, and discussion.
Cranial nerves 1 – 12 are responsible for the movement of our head as it relates to our body (smell, sight, hearing, taste, facial expression, swallowing and digestion, speech, balance) and to our environment; as well as most of our autonomic functioning.
Clare will give a brief visual/factual overview of each cranial nerve, but the majority of our time will be spent in somatic and movement exploration and reflection.
You’ll get a PDF of the visual presentation, but please bring a notebook for personal discoveries!
In the latter part of the workshop, we will integrate what you have learned by working with each other in our own method of teaching. Most participants will be AT teachers, but others are welcome so it may be an entirely new kind of exchange!
WHAT PAST PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING ABOUT CLARE’S CNS ONLINE COURSE:
“As a singer and a voice teacher, I have already studied this material a lot over the course of my career; I hadn’t realized how much I would learn from this experience about my own singing and teaching. I have lots more say to my students now, about facial expression, the tongue, the vagus nerve, the resources are endless!
“We are always talking about releasing the tongue when we sing or speak – and it’s one of the hardest things for my students to do. I can’t wait to try out some of these practices with them.”
—Charlotte Anderson, Voice Coach and AT Teacher
“We aren’t in control of the sensory information coming in…but we can choose how to welcome it. All we can do is let it inform us. In the coaching world, we talk about flow. This course gave me more of the science behind flow. All those non-doing, allowing concepts we want to bring into our work. After practice sessions in the course, I felt I deeply connected and grounded. My constant habit of leg-crossing was just…gone!”
—Dianne Sussman, Transformational Coach and AT Teacher
“I would 100% recommend this course. I loved the balance between information/cognitive content and practice/experiential exploration. Doing the exercises was most impactful, getting to “feel” the theory in my own body in a way that promotes more ease.”
—Steve MacCoun, AT and Hakomi Trainee
In Clare’s unique workshop you will return to your senses, one sense organ at a time. You will discover neglected areas of perception and re-integrate them for a sense of wholeness and peace.
Come join us!
REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP NOW!
Workshop Cost: $225 (ATTGP member rate: $135)
Early Bird Discount*: $185 (ATTGP early bird member rate: $110)
*Register before February 21, 2026 to get the early bird rate.
To register, please contact Imogen Ragone at info@alextechgreaterphila.com.
About Clare
Clare Maxwell trained in Alexander Technique at ACAT after a long career in experimental dance. She is certified in Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing and since 2007 continues a deep investigation of The Dart Procedures with Joan and Alex Murray, Luc Vanier and Elizabeth Johnson, and Marie Stroud. She teaches privately in Manhattan, Brooklyn and online, helping people deepen relationship with their own bodies and relate to others from a more somatically grounded state. Clare loves working with psychotherapists, and created Mobile Body Alignment and Cranial Nerve Sequencing to facilitate a somatically vibrant, broader application of the AT in the healing arts. She runs business growth mastermind groups and provides 1:1 mentorship for holistic/somatic practitioners who want to earn an abundant living. Learn more about Clare and her work at embodiedlearningsystems.com.
Clare is also offering a half-day workshop on the morning of Sunday, March 29 on Creating Mission Aligned Offers that Sell in Wallingford, PA. This workshop will take also have a Zoom option for participants. Click here for details >>