What People are Saying about RIAT
“As the newest faculty member on the RIAT team, I have been deeply impressed with the level of commitment and expertise the program has to offer. Along with its rich curriculum and supportive environment, RIAT builds community—a fun, safe place to learn. I think any student would be fortunate to fulfill their three-year Alexander Technique training in this rich and thriving environment.”
—Caren Bayer, RIAT & Sapientia Series Faculty
“Starting my journey on the teacher training course at RIAT was one of the best decisions I could have made. It has offered a constant safe space for deep growth and exploration. The teachers diligently strive to meet me (and the other students) where we are on any given day in any given moment. Through their conscientious practice I’ve been able to explore the Alexander Technique through multiple lenses; garnering my own lens to, perhaps, one day share. I will forever be grateful for the autonomy RIAT is helping me cultivate.”
—Tyler T. Simms, RIAT 2023 Grad
“I have been blown away by just how life changing the RIAT Teacher training has been at the Sapientia Center NYC. I truly feel like I struck gold by studying here. Not only have I found the teachers and community at the Sapientia Center and RIAT CORP to be incredibly supportive, knowledgeable, and nourishing but I have found myself bettered in more ways than I could have imagined. I will be forever grateful for the deep impact the Sapientia Center has had on me.”
—Lane Kwederis, RIAT 2023 Grad
“I’ve explored different training courses over the years, and I’m very fortunate to resume my training at Sapientia. Nan is an expert teacher and director who knows how to effectively address individual and collective needs, and her enthusiasm for the work, students, and colleagues is ever-present. The course has a clear structure and progression of individual, hands-on work based on first generation teacher training courses. The faculty’s unique perspectives and experiences build off this framework, and the variety of viewpoints from teachers and trainees enhances the learning process. We have a lot fun, and there’s plenty of laughter and enjoyment along the way. Above all, there’s a sincere wishing for the best in ourselves and each other as we continue to grow and change.”
—Patrick Connelly, RIAT Trainee
I work hard for a living cleaning people’s homes, and have a lot of stress in my shoulders and hands. At the clinic at Riverside I had a new experience that showed me there are other ways that I can work more easily, this is important as I get older.
– Julia Pineda, Domestic Cleaner
“The superb RIAT teacher training program is comprehensive, clearly structured and grounded in being ‘present.’ Generosity of spirit, kind attention and care from the stellar teachers is keenly felt. Freedom of communication and expression is encouraged, fostering a safe, warm community environment. Post-graduate classes and/or opportunities to volunteer to assist on the training course extend further support. RIAT engenders an open-minded, respectful culture that truly promotes curiosity within and without oneself.”
—Gayl Forman, RIAT Grad and Affiliate Faculty
“When I think about my time at the teacher training course at RIAT, the word that pops into my head is integrity. Not only is the teacher training where I learned how to find integrity of movement and thinking in myself, as well as how to help inspire that in a student, but there is a spirit of integrity at the heart of the curriculum. This course will teach you very practical hands-on skills, but more importantly it teaches a framework of learning and exploration that will help you continue your education and follow your curiosity for years to come. All of the teachers on the course were unique, generous, playful, passionate and helped me become the best teacher I could, even when I was resistant to change.”
— Kevin Munhall, RIAT Grad and Affiliate Faculty
“The detrimental habits I had developed over 25 years of dealing with a chronic illness were often more limiting than the illness itself. When all else failed, taking Alexander Technique lessons offered a glimmer of hope. Enrolling in RIAT’s Teacher Training program has turned that hope into my own reality. Through comprehensive training from a diverse staff of experienced teachers, I’m now able to respond to pain without stiffening and bracing. “Fight or flight” no longer takes control of myself, and I’ve regained my ability to use my body with ease. For that, I am forever grateful.”
—Steven Borzykowski, RIAT Grad, Affiliate Faculty
“I had the pleasure of teaching in-person and online classes for RIAT from April 2020 until June 2021. Rather than shutting down the training in April 2020, like most AT schools, RIAT made quick and thoughtful changes to provide students and teachers with support while responsively adapting the curriculum to the evolving global crisis. The online and in-person learning environments are safe, deeply respectful, enriching, and accepting of all students, including those students who face societal marginalization. ”
—Kristin Mozeiko, RIAT Visiting Affiliate Faculty
What People are Saying about the Sapientia Initiative
Thank you again for the chance to participate in your lovely clinic; it was like a little, wholly-unanticipated miracle for me. An unexpected and deeply appreciated blessing.
– Lisa Radakovich Holsberg, M.F.A., M.Ed., M.A., Fordham Ph.D student, Professional musician
“The Sapientia Initiative provides a unique way to experience the Alexander Technique. One can take private Alexander lessons there, or group Alexander classes on various topics through the Sapientia Series. It is also the home of RIAT, a training program for those who would like to train as Alexander teachers. The teaching that one experiences in any of these programs is thoughtful, supportive, and constructive. The Alexander Technique is a unique method for increasing conscious awareness of the self, the environment, and the interaction between the two. Through strengthening and clarifying the mind-body connection, one is able to change ingrained habits, and find a sense of grace and flow in daily activity. As the world becomes more and more complex, it’s a relief to know that there are institutions like the Sapientia Initiative there to help us navigate life’s waters.”
—Bill Connington, RIAT Affiliate Faculty
“Sapientia Initiative is bringing the Alexander Technique into the future. It offers excellent training led by world-class faculty and informed by the latest science, and innovative programs that are responsive to a changing world. Sapientia exemplifies the mission of ‘Alexander Technique for all’ by creating a welcoming and supportive environment for each member of the community to discover their own unique path for learning and personal growth. I have been fortunate to benefit from being both a student and teacher here, and always look forward to what Sapientia will offer next! I highly recommend Sapientia’s programs to anyone, whether you are new to Alexander or seeking to broaden and deepen what you already know – there is something for all here.”
—Eleanor Taylor, RIAT Faculty
“When I studied mindfulness, it never addressed the body in motion. In working with trainers, only the physical was valued. It wasn’t until I discovered the Alexander Technique and the unique approach of Sapientia Initiative that I began to learn about psychophysical wholeness of the person. Now in my eighth decade, I am beginning to learn how to move mindfully and to engage my whole self, with the guidance of expert teachers and a group of congenial trainees who are seeking a better way. A way to understand and undertake daily activities and exercise with grace, pleasure and ease..”
—Clare Robert, RIAT Trainee
“Sapientia Initiative has been an oasis for me, a place to deepen exploration of what it means to practice the Alexander Technique and what it means to be in community with others. Sharing my own teaching experience through the Embodied Anatomy classes, working with Nanette Walsh and with Karla Booth, has been a fun and delightful means of keeping open to new information. Sapientia has created a learning community that is at once open and rigorous; it invites new experience and new perspectives on what it is to know…..for me, as teacher and learner, it’s been a place to slow down, to focus, and to refresh….very life-giving, indeed!”
—Peggy Florin, RIAT & Sapientia Series Faculty
Some people are wired athletically and others like elastic bands. I am neither. Nevertheless, as evidenced by my closet strewn with every conceivable equipment and exercise instruction, I have searched far and wide for a practice that would have me “toned to the bone” and supple as a young tree. I had given up until I attended Nanette’s Alexander Technique Studio. Suddenly, I found myself working with, rather than against my body. The sublimely simple movements and comforting mood of her work tapped into the fitness guru and graceful ballerina I never knew I had inside. Thanks to Nanette and the Alexander Technique, I am now enjoying the rooted, strong, flexibility of the tree in the yoga posture “tree pose”- without the strain of the “pose”.
– Rev. Maureen Dean, M.S.W., M. Div