Basic Training for Alexander technique and other somatic practitioners in Best Practices when working with clients living with Parkinson’s disease

The Poise Project, a nonprofit based in the United States, is committed to training somatic practitioners in best practices to be prepared for the growing global epidemic of people living with Parkinson’s disease and their families.

We encourage you to take this in-depth training in how to help people better manage this misunderstood and complex disease. We will also try to help you connect with our growing international network of neurologists, allied health professionals, and community partners around the world.

This training reflects ten years of our work with people with lived experience of Parkinson’s, their families, and interactions with clinical and research professionals in the field.

To learn more about The Poise Project and all of our international activities from 2016-2026 please visit our TPP Timelines pages:
https://www.thepoiseproject.org/2025-timeline

How can you help improve the quality of life of people living with Parkinson’s disease?

Take our training to be ready to address the complexities of Parkinson’s disease, and the daily challenges of people living with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s. Our Somatics for Parkinson’s Basic Training offers practical information on best practices to more effectively teach this population in your practices.

If you are interested in improving the quality of life for people living with this challenging disease, The Poise Project has a Basic Training in Parkinson’s via four recordings from one of our past group online trainings. There are a total of 13 hours of recorded training and you can chose from groups that were taught:

In English

In Spanish

In French

After viewing these recordings, you will follow up your training by meeting for an additional 4 hours with the instructor live via Zoom so that all participants have the opportunity to share their own perspectives and insights, have a chance to ask the instructor any questions after having absorbed the training information, and learn more about how to support people living with Parkinson’s and their families in your community.

Did you know that:

Parkinson's disease is the 2nd most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide after Alzheimer’s disease?
Parkinson’s is now considered to be one of the most complex human disease?
More than 10 million people are currently living with Parkinson’s disease worldwide?
25 million people are estimated to be living with Parkinson’s by 2050?
Parkinson’s is now considered to be growing at epidemic rates?
Parkinson’s has no cure?
Parkinson’s is severely disabling in many parts of the world because of late diagnosis, poor treatment, and harsh social stigma targetting people living with this disease?
Many people living with Parkinson’s lack trustworthy self management and lifestyle education due to false information, “cure” scams, and social stigma?
Many people living with Parkinson’s have much higher risks of social isolation, inactivity, and depression that can lead to more rapid disease advancement?
Many countries don’t have available exercise and other programs for people living with Parkinson’s that can them help prevent the progression of this disabling disease?
More health professionals need training in Parkinson’s disease?

This training includes:

The definition of Parkinson’s disease and other related Parkinsonisms
Stages of progression of Parkinson’s disease
Types of Parkinson’s diagnoses
Causes of Parkinson’s
Current medications and treatments for Parkinson’s, and how they impact how you bring somatic practices to this population
Specific difficulties and challenges unique to working with this population, and how to be better prepared for them in order to be effective
Understanding the many symptoms of Parkinson’s, both motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms, with video examples, and with experiential options
Some best practices that will help you address specific symptoms.

Resources include:

Materials on the stages, causes, and symptoms of Parkinson’s
Video examples of symptoms of Parkinson's disease
Published research supporting Alexander technique (AT) for Parkinson’s, including the research done by The Poise Project
Research handouts
AT for Parkinson’s materials to use as handouts
Guidelines for speaking to medical and allied health professionals about AT specifically
Intake forms with questions you might ask prior to your client’s first session to understand what stage they are in and what symptoms they have
Sample evaluation forms to gather feedback from your participants after a course of lessons to support the effectiveness of your trainings

TRAINING DETAILS

13 hours of recorded trainings

4 hours of live Zoom follow up with the instructor

Access to a comprehensive online folder of up-to-date course materials, supportive content, and professional outreach materials

COST: US$350* (Trainees currently in a certification program: US$275)*

* Your fees are used to sustain the work of The Poise Project, help us subsidize public classes, conduct IRB approved research projects, and cover our travel and fee expenses for our advocacy for Alexander technique at international conferences. We do not want cost to interfere with your training.

If you live in a low-income or high-inflation country, please contact us directly and we will work out an equitable fee.
If you need to pay your fee with an installment payment plan, we can work that out with you, too.

REGISTRATION

1) Please send an email with “Parkinson’s Basic Training” in the subject line, and note whether you would like English, Spanish, or French recordings, or some combination, to:

info@thepoiseproject.org

2) Please make your payment to:

· Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/thepoiseproject

Or if you in the United States, you can also use Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thepoiseproject
Our Venmo name is: @ThePoiseProject.

Or send a check to:
The Poise Project, 5 Grove Garden Avenue, Candler NC 28715

QUESTIONS?

Monika Gross
monika.gross@thepoiseproject.org
+1 828-254-3102 WhatsApp or direct

TESTIMONIALS

‘The training for Parkinson’s was not just informative, but truly inspirational - a very worthwhile experience. I learned so much about all aspects of Parkinson's disease and how beautifully I can aid in improving the quality of life of those affected by this disease. The Zoom format of this class lends well to the curriculum while also providing plenty of time for personal interactions, questions, and valuable dialogue. I left the course feeling inspired: having gained not only new information about this particular application but a renewed appreciation for being able to teach Alexander technique to my community. I fully recommend this training to any Alexander technique teacher or other somatic practitioner, even if you are not currently teaching students living with Parkinson's disease. ‘

—Mary Beth Coolidge, Ohio USA

'I recently completed The Poise Project's first step training which taught me about the daily challenges of people living with this extremely complicated disease. It also gave me background into the varied symptoms and ways Parkinson's disease manifests. Monika's deep knowledge, experience and compassion were evident at all times. Her teaching was clear and comprehensive and I can recommend this course as a first step into educating ourselves about working with the growing population of people affected by Parkinson’s disease.’

—Raewyn Khosla, Ottawa Canda

‘I highly recommend taking the Parkinson's training with The Poise Project. It has been highly valuable learning opportunity - the way it was organized and conducted opened whole new world of better understanding - both detailed knowledge and heightened empathy around the topic. I am also excited to dive into all of the bonus materials shared with us. People suffering from Parkinson’s disease are a grateful and motivated community and we can help them tremendously. It is a great bonus to know more about the disease. Thank you, Monika!’

—Cathy Sommer, Edinburg, Scotland UK

Basic Training for Alexander technique and other somatic practitioners in Best Practices when working with clients living with Parkinson’s disease

The Poise Project, a nonprofit based in the United States, is committed to training somatic practitioners in best practices to be prepared for the growing global epidemic of people living with Parkinson’s disease and their families.

We encourage you to take this in-depth training in how to help people better manage this misunderstood and complex disease. We will also try to help you connect with our growing international network of neurologists, allied health professionals, and community partners around the world.

This training reflects ten years of our work with people with lived experience of Parkinson’s, their families, and interactions with clinical and research professionals in the field.

How can you help improve the quality of life of people living with Parkinson’s disease?

In English

In Spanish

In French

Did you know that:

Parkinson's disease is the 2nd most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide after Alzheimer’s disease?

Parkinson’s is now considered to be one of the most complex human disease?

More than 10 million people are currently living with Parkinson’s disease worldwide?

25 million people are estimated to be living with Parkinson’s by 2050?

Parkinson’s is now considered to be growing at epidemic rates?

Parkinson’s has no cure?

Parkinson’s is severely disabling in many parts of the world because of late diagnosis, poor treatment, and harsh social stigma targetting people living with this disease?

Many people living with Parkinson’s lack trustworthy self management and lifestyle education due to false information, “cure” scams, and social stigma?

Many people living with Parkinson’s have much higher risks of social isolation, inactivity, and depression that can lead to more rapid disease advancement?

Many countries don’t have available exercise and other programs for people living with Parkinson’s that can them help prevent the progression of this disabling disease?

More health professionals need training in Parkinson’s disease?

This training includes:

The definition of Parkinson’s disease and other related Parkinsonisms

Stages of progression of Parkinson’s disease

Types of Parkinson’s diagnoses

Causes of Parkinson’s

Current medications and treatments for Parkinson’s, and how they impact how you bring somatic practices to this population

Specific difficulties and challenges unique to working with this population, and how to be better prepared for them in order to be effective

Understanding the many symptoms of Parkinson’s, both motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms, with video examples, and with experiential options

Some best practices that will help you address specific symptoms.

Resources include:

Materials on the stages, causes, and symptoms of Parkinson’s

Video examples of symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Published research supporting Alexander technique (AT) for Parkinson’s, including the research done by The Poise Project

Research handouts

AT for Parkinson’s materials to use as handouts

Guidelines for speaking to medical and allied health professionals about AT specifically

Intake forms with questions you might ask prior to your client’s first session to understand what stage they are in and what symptoms they have

Sample evaluation forms to gather feedback from your participants after a course of lessons to support the effectiveness of your trainings