The Poise Project

10/07/2026

FREE Scientific Session with author Monika Gross this Friday, October 9th, 2026, 12-1pm Eastern Time

"Somatic Scientific Article Presentation & Experiential Session based on new peer-reviewed publication: ‘Partnering With Poise’: A Preliminary Study of an Alexander Technique‐Based Group Course for Informal Care Partners"

The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA) is happy to present this special event to celebrate the recent publication of a peer-reviewed scientific article co-authored by our Research and Publications Committee member, Monika Gross.

Eight Alexander technique-based ‘Partnering with Poise’ courses were delivered in a variety of community settings in North Carolina to 63 family care partners of people living with Parkinson's disease. Delivery of the course was supported by a grant from the Parkinson's Foundation.

Monika will share how the course was developed, what assessments were used to measure outcomes, and what results were found. She will also lead an engaging 15 minute experiential session for interested attendees to be guided in some of the activities that were found to be impactful for care partners who took the course.

There will also be ample time for Q&A and discussion. (And no PowerPoints will be employed.) :)

For participants who would like to read the article in advance, here is a link, and please share widely as it is open access: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gps.70233

REGISTRATION INFORMATION IN FIRST COMMENT BELOW.

Objective Informal care partners often experience role-engulfment and decreased quality of life. Alexander technique is a non-exercise, cognitive embodiment training common in performing arts. Studi...

09/23/2026

Who knew that it takes so long to get scientific papers published? Well, we do now!

The Poise Project is proud to announce another successful publication of a peer-reviewed scientific paper this month.

TITLE: Dyad-centered online group intervention for Parkinson's: Preliminary evidence for feasibility, efficacy, and mechanism

We shared data from our Alexander technique-based online course, “Poised for Parkinson’s”, for people living with Parkinson’s disease that we delivered during the COVID19 pandemic to 14 people living with Parkinson’s and 12 family care partners.

There are over 12 million people living with Parkinsono's today, and this is projected to increase to 25 million by 2050. We are showing that AT can help!

We compared pre- and post-course outcomes and then followed up 6 months after the course, and we ended with very positive results:

• Course attendance was 82%.
• Course retention was 87%.

• Participants with PD and care partners both reported high levels of enjoyment, learning, and feeling more prepared to deal with the challenges of PD

• Overall symptom management improved.

• Largest improvements were in managing falls, posture, shuffling gait, drooling, and symptoms during “on” periods; balance, fine motor skills, apathy, and depression also showed promising improvements.

• Improvements in self-reported agency were driven by improvements in perceived physical control.

Our next paper will share the outcomes of our pre-COVID19 in-person delivery of this same course. Stay tuned!

Here is a link to the abstract: https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.com/article/S1360-8592(26)00152-X/abstract

Here is a link to a folder with all the Supplementary Materials: https://bit.ly/PDOnlinePaperSupplements

If you would like a PDF of this study, please contact [email protected]

09/18/2026

New review article citing Alexander for pain management and recovery.

Note that it identifies one-to-one, private pay sessions to be a significant barrier for the public. The Poise Project is experimenting with a nonprofit model and group delivery to address these barriers with successful outcomes for both people living with Parkinson's and family care partners.

However, the article notes that exercise or acupuncture could be lower in cost, but doesn't share that a course of AT sessions has long-lasting benefits even without further training, and without having to set ongoing time aside to practice as it is integrated into daily life, whereas exercise and acupuncture require ongoing adherence, and ongoing costs.

From article:
"The practice of teaching AT involves a one-to-one lesson between an instructor and patient, at which the instructor identifies points of unnecessary stress and tension that can be focused on by the student through technique stages of the following: the means-whereby (conscious awareness in action) and nonendgaining (process over product), inhibition (nondoing, noninterference), and direction (carrying out clear intention to move).

The technique can target several conditions including CP, chronic fatigue syndrome, and various disorders associated in an individual’s unique occupation.

AT is effective for reducing pain and disability associated with chronic neck and cLBP, with sustained benefits lasting at least 12 months in well-conducted RCTs.

For cLBP, a large factorial RCT found that 24 individual AT lessons produced significant and clinically meaningful improvements in Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire scores and reductions in days with pain at 1-year follow-up, compared to usual care. Notably, even just six AT lessons combined with an exercise prescription achieved nearly equivalent benefit to the full course of 24 lessons. These findings are also reinforced by systematic reviews, which conclude that the AT is supported by strong evidence for effectiveness in managing cLBP.

For chronic neck pain, a large RCT demonstrated that 20 1-on-1 AT lessons resulted in significant reductions in pain and disability at 12 months, as measured by a 31% improvement in Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire scores and improved self-efficacy, compared to usual care. The evidence on AT for chronic neck pain is supportive but less robust than the research supporting cLBP.

While AT is considered an effective treatment option for chronic neck and cLBP, economic analyses suggest that AT is less cost-effective than exercise or acupuncture. A full course, such as the 20 to 24 lessons used in key clinical trials, may cost $1000 to 2400 per patient.

Group formats may offer a more affordable option, with preliminary evidence of preserved clinical benefit.

No serious harms have been reported in clinical trials, and the intervention is generally well tolerated."

Reference:
Phuphanich, M. E., Cho, C., & Lai, A. (2026). Beyond Pills: Integrative Approaches to Pain Relief. Physical
medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America, 37(3),
407–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2026.03.004

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rlcJInOcPacYtxy7Js0PEV0PXwvou_fo/view?usp=sharing

08/26/2026

Important lessons for all family care partners to learn from what Dolly Parton shared in an interview a few days before her death about the impact that being a primary caregiver for her husband, Carl Dean, who had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, had on her own personal health.

In this video by Dr. Neil K. Shah, a researcher on issues related to family caregiver health and wellbeing (CEO, CareYaya)

We share it with you so that you can share with others who are family caregivers in the U.S. today, how The Poise Project's "Partnering with Poise" course may help you to be able to be a loving care partner while also making sure your health and personal needs are equally taken care of, equally important.

FROM DR. SHAH'S VIDEO
"Four days before she died, Dolly Parton quietly warned about something that almost nobody noticed - and it explains what really happened in her final months. I want to talk about the chapter almost no one is covering - the one that touches 63 million Americans right now.

For the last years of his life, Dolly was the primary caregiver for her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean. Medications, symptoms, sleepless nights, all of it. Carl died in March 2025 at 82. In the months that followed, Dolly said publicly what most caregivers only whisper: while watching over Carl, she let her own health go. Skipped appointments. Ignored warning signs. Ran on empty. She died roughly 17 months after he did.

I've spent years researching what happens to family caregivers, and I've watched this pattern play out in thousands of families. Researchers call it the widowhood effect: after a long-married spouse dies, the survivor's own risk of dying rises sharply over the next 12 to 18 months.

In this video I cover three things about Dolly that very few people know - her largely hidden generosity, the quiet 60-year love story that started at a Nashville laundromat, and the warning she left for every caregiver in America."

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the widowhood effect?
The documented rise in mortality risk for a surviving spouse after their partner dies — driven by the shock of grief, collapsed daily routines like meals and medication reminders, and lost purpose.

Why are caregivers at higher risk?
Chronic stress keeps cortisol elevated for months or years, driving inflammation, weakened immunity, and higher blood pressure — often while the caregiver postpones their own screenings.

What did Dolly Parton die of?
Her family has not released a cause of death. She died peacefully at home in Nashville, per her nephew Bryan Seaver.

I'm a caregiver and I'm exhausted. Where do I start?
Make your own checkups non-negotiable, protect sleep where you can, and think in seasons — this week, this month — not an indefinite marathon. And let go of the guilt. You were never meant to do this alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xArDQpUVHRU

Backed by AARP AgeTech Collaborative as the future of caregiving. Built in collaboration with major research universities.

08/05/2026

Announcement: Special live online event hosted by ISMETA (The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association) open to the public focusing on The Poise Project's "Partnering with Poise" study publication:

TITLE: "Somatic Scientific Article Presentation - ‘Partnering With Poise’: A Preliminary Study of an Alexander Technique‐Based Group Course for Informal Care Partners"

DATE: Friday, October 9th, 2026
TIME: 12-1pm ET
Live online via Zoom

ISMETA is happy to announce this special live online event to celebrate the recent publication of a peer-reviewed scientific article co-authored by our Research and Publications Committee member, Monika Gross.

Eight Alexander technique-based ‘Partnering with Poise’ courses were delivered in a variety of community settings in North Carolina to 63 family care partners of people living with Parkinson's disease. Delivery of the course was supported by a grant from the Parkinson's Foundation.

Monika will share how the course was developed, what assessments were used to measure outcomes, and what results were found. She will also include a 15 minute experiential time to lead interested attendees in some of the activities that were found to be impactful in the course.

We will reserve ample time for a Q&A discussion.

For participants who would like to read the article in advance, here is a link, and please share widely as it is open access:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gps.70233

Register here: https://ismeta.org/events #!event/2026/10/9/scientific-article-talk-8216-partnering-with-poise-8217-a-preliminary-study-of-an-alexander-technique-8208-based-group-course-for-informal-care-partners

Somatic Scientific Article Presentation - ‘Partnering With Poise’: A Preliminary Study of an Alexander Technique‐Based Group Course for...

07/15/2026

We are proud to announce that The Poise Project's research study has led to a successful publication of a peer-reviewed research paper this month. More to follow!

TITLE: ‘Partnering With Poise’: A Preliminary Study of an Alexander Technique‐Based Group Course for Informal Care Partners https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/UTCRZ7INAV9IJZDDYTUY?target=10.1002/gps.70233

This article published in the "International Journal for Geriatric Psychiatry" presents our data from a multi‐site study of eight in-person Alexander‐based group courses in North Carolina attended by 63 family care partners of people living with Parkinson's disease. We compared pre- and post-course outcomes and then followed up 6 months after the course ended with very positive results:
• Course attendance was 85%.
• Retention was 84%.
• Participants enjoyed the course and the group interactions.
• Executive function, balance, and emotional self‐regulation improved significantly and remained high at follow‐up.

Our next paper will share the outcomes we found 12 months after the course ended. Long term retention of benefits is one of the strongest unique aspects of Alexander training!

Informal (unpaid) care partners are hugely underserved, under-resourced, and under-appreciated in society with very little support while at the same time providing billions of dollars of unpaid healthcare labor. Our study shows that AT offers unique skills for long-term support of care partners that grow with time.

If you would like a PDF of the study, please contact [email protected]



This is a link to the Supplementary Materials: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GbSIpgS4TtXu-_0DionMuTfKTlDgxTIL/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107132707706222307413&rtpof=true&sd=true

07/09/2026

The Poise Project is looking forward to participating once again at the 2026 Duke Caregiver Community Event on September 8-10.

Organized by:
Alzheimer's Association
Central Pines Regional Council
Dementia Alliance of North Carolina
Duke Caregiver Support Program
Duke Dementia Family Support Program
Duke Health
Duke HomeCare & Hospice

The Duke Caregiver Community Event offers insights from experts and ways to connect with services and support systems. Find answers and resources that can help you navigate this journey.

06/03/2026

BASIC TRAINING: WORKING WITH PEOPLE LIVING WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE

ONGOING SELF-PACED COURSE
Recorded & Live Sessions.

The Poise Project’s training prepares Alexander and other somatic professionals and trainees for the complexities of working with people living with Parkinson’s disease and their families. The goal is to help you better understand how to effectively help clients living with PD to manage their motor and non-motor symptoms and improve day-to-day quality of life.

Parkinson’s disease is a global epidemic, with projections of over 12 million people living with Parkinson's in 2040, and over 25 million by 2050.

This in-depth training builds on ten years of collaboration with clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. Course includes 13 hours of recorded group sessions, 4 hours of live sessions with the instructor, and access to an online folder with materials and outreach tools, updated with current developments. All funds support The Poise Project's ongoing international advocacy, research, and accessible program delivery.

Recordings available in English, French, or Spanish; live sessions are in English. Low income countries can request reduced fees.

Instructor: Monika Gross, M.AmSAT, M.STAT, M.ATI, MSME/T

Registration & Information: www.thepoiseproject.org/at4pdbasictraining

Email: [email protected]

02/26/2026

Alexander based "Art of Breathing" suggests that to support your breathing coordination you can simply focus on your exhales through your mouth, following them to their easy conclusion, then enjoy the inhales through your nose that follow.

Try using your simple breathing coordination by taking the Kevin Bacon “Lovely Day” challenge ~ not by first “taking a deep breath” to prepare, but instead by just enjoying an exhale to its natural conclusion first… and then enjoying the inhale of fresh oxygen rushing into your lungs... and then… “Day….!”

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HYZmFESeg/?mibextid=wwXIflex

02/19/2026

We just saw this excellent comment to a NY Times article. It highlights Alexander technique in a very clear way!

If you have a NY Times subscription, please click on Recommend to raise its profile!

And also everyone in general do please share this on your social media pages!

- - - - - - -

NY Time’s Reader’s Comment about article:

“A fairly common report, after a series of lessons in the Alexander Technique, is that people notice they’ve reclaimed lost height (actually, lost length). The Technique is worth looking into for many reasons not directly related to height, but a famous blurb/quote from actor Kevin Kline about AT and the recapture of “about an inch and a half of height” has been in print for several decades now.

I’m 5’8” but at my full “Alexandrian” length, people factually taller than I am think I’m taller than they, due to the “up energy” conducted. They’re scrunching/hunching/collapsing down, and I’m going up. Strange how perceptions go! But if you think about a taller tree in some decline, and a smaller tree on its way up…”

Limb-lengthening can add inches to a person’s stature. But its risks have made it controversial.