We know how it goes. You are mindlessly walking a treadmill after an exhausting day at work. You really want to keep in shape, take the edge off your stresses, feel better. But your workouts are just plain boring.

You're comfortable. It's easy. But you're not seeing results. Maybe an old injury prevents you from pushing yourself. Maybe you don't know how to get ahead. Maybe you just need some inspiration.

This spring and summer, we are focused on fitness. From our blog which will chronicle our media designer's half marathon training to introducing the "Beyond Fitness" classes, we want to give you the boost you need to get to the next level. 

Are you ready to get to the other side of your fitness routine? See below for details on how to get started.

Amanda is originally from Austin, Texas. She is a classically trained French horn player, and is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (BMus in Horn Performance), and Northwestern University (MMus, also in Horn Performance).

Throughout her musical training, Amanda maintained a keen interest in ergonomics and issues related to body usage in musicians. She was a serious student of yoga; received therapeutic massage regularly; studied classical dance both for enjoyment and to improve her kinesthetic awareness; and took private lessons in the Alexander Technique. She found all of these things to be helpful, but was always searching for something that would address her needs more holistically. In 1998, she received an Aston-Patterning session as a result of a performance related shoulder injury, and immediately recognized that the work was of immense potential value for musicians- not only for injury recovery, but also for injury prevention and the optimization of musical potential. With the ultimate goal of introducing the work to other performing artists, Amanda began her studies in Aston-Patterning in 2000 and became a Certified Aston-Patterning Practitioner in 2004.
 

Amanda has held Aston-Patterning workshops for musicians in numerous venues, including summer music festivals and university schools of music. In 2014, she gave presentations on Aston-Patterning at the Free to Play conference on Music and Medicine at the University of South Florida, and at the International Symposium of the Performing Arts Medicine Association in Aspen, Colorado. This coming August, she will be leading Aston-Patterning workshops for horn players at the 47^th annual symposium of the International Horn Society in Los Angeles.
 

Amanda is very grateful for the opportunity to study with Judith Aston, a masterful teacher with the rare ability to teach her students how to:

Judith’s teachings are unique in that they can work within the belief system of each individual client; we are increasing their awareness and giving them options, not creating more rules for them to follow. This pragmatism, coupled with the paradigm’s approach to movement coaching and ergonomics, makes it a particularly powerful modality for clients with activity-driven interests where dogma surrounding the activity (e.g.: “this is the only way to run/hold a cello/swing a golf club”) and previous elite training might otherwise make them resistant to changing their ergonomic and body usage patterns.

Another strength of this work is its ability to function within the belief patterns, interests, and life/work experiences of each Aston practitioner, as has been demonstrated by the wide ranging points of view in these monthly practitioner spotlights. It is invigorating to participate in a system that teaches you how, rather than what, to think, and that supports such a wide range of applications.

Amanda owns and operates the Illinois Center for Aston-Patterning, with offices in Chicago and Champaign-Urbana, where her work is primarily focused on the needs of performing artists and other activity-driven clients. She very much enjoys interacting with other practitioners, and can be reached via her website, AlignedForPerformance.com

With the incredible advances in technology, it's hard not to take advantage of remote learning possibilities. Judith Aston is available for consultation, movement coaching, and bodywork questions using Skype. If you need advice regarding a client, had a recent injury you are stuck on rehabilitating or just need some help with body maintenance, schedule an hour session with Judith today.