online: 1 october 2005
modified: 1 october 2005

20 september 2005 Walter Carrington


14:55: after service of thanksgiving for the life of Walter Carrington, teacher of the Alexander Technique. He was 90 years old and died peacefully in his sleep on 7th August... there were about 400 people in the church and at the reception afterwards...

I knew Walter Carrington from his books and by receiving lessons from him in recent years. My last lesson was on June 30th when he was as lively as ever - this time teaching me how to let my muscles reach their proper length. He always spoke with great accuracy but with the simplest words. He left one with an increased awareness of 'the act of living' as he called it. I shall miss his lessons, his conversation and his presence.

A great spirit has left us but his influence remains in many lives.

(from my letter to his son, Matthew Carrington)

...on my way back to the tube station i felt the need to sit down... so i did, sitting on a discarded wooden box on the pavement... and in a minute or two someone phoned me to say 'when your body says stop, then stop!'*...

...now i am resting and taking soup and tea in Holland Park before returning to the process of preparing for moving in 2 days... I felt stressed by these events but this visit to city forest has enabled me to recover... and i am now feeling calm and able to continue....



*Inhibiting one's impulse to (mistaken) muscular actions or habits is the first step in the Alexander Technique.


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