Alexander Technique · Somatic Practice
A trauma-sensitive, neuroscience-informed approach to embodiment — bridging movement, breath, contemplative practice, and deep ecology into a pedagogy of pleasure.
Begin the Journey
About
Grounded in deep study of embodiment practices, dance, improvisation, meditation, breathwork, trauma work, contemplative traditions, deep ecology, social justice work and addiction recovery, Constance facilitates a path to wholeness.
She has been studying and teaching movement practices her whole life — as a horse trainer and dressage trainer, as a modern dancer, and as an Alexander Technique teacher since 2001. She is a co-founder of Desert Movement Arts, an intergenerational collective based in Coachella Valley, CA.
Constance has explored many forms of dance, including serious study of Hawkins, Cunningham, and Corvino techniques. She danced with Westwind, an international folk-dance ensemble, and spent time with Irish step and ceili dance. More recently, improvisation and co-creation with the movers, musicians, and artists of Desert Movement Arts has brought performances to the desert for the last eight years.
Especially in this era of disconnection, connecting and learning from the desert, the dunes, the meadow, the mountain, and the water bring us closer to wholeness.
Certifications
Alexander Technique Teacher since 2001
Trauma-Sensitive Embodiment
Neuroscience-Informed Movement
Academic Teaching
Academy of Art University
University of Redlands
ACT — San Francisco
Collective
Co-Founder, Desert Movement Arts
Coachella Valley, CA
Specialities
Equestrian & Dressage Training
Somatic Exploration
Ecological Movement Practice
Current Pursuit
Currently enrolled at Pacifica University studying Jungian Psychoanalysis, toward licensure as an MFTP.
What We Offer
01
The foundational practice — a method of conscious awareness and mindful use of the self. Through gentle hands-on guidance and verbal instruction, you learn to release habitual tension patterns and rediscover ease of movement in everything you do.
02
A note on resilience and climate change. In an era of ecological uncertainty, improvisational movement practice becomes a form of adaptive intelligence — learning to respond, not react, to what is present. We cultivate the body's innate capacity to meet change with presence and creativity.
03
The history and vision of Desert Movement Arts — a collective rooted in the Coachella Valley and dedicated to somatic practice in dialogue with the desert landscape. Founded by Constance Clare-Newman, DMA brings together movement, ecology, and community in one of the world's most compelling natural environments.
04
Bridging dance, mindful movement, functional anatomy, play, sensory awareness, spiritual practice, and eco-connection. A pedagogy of pleasure — where the cultural norm of working hard at improvement is relinquished for slow enjoyment and healing.
05
A rare integration of Alexander Technique and classical horsemanship. Constance brings decades of experience as a horse trainer and dressage trainer to help riders find balance, softness, and true partnership with their horses through somatic awareness.
06
Especially in this era of disconnection, learning from the desert, dunes, meadow, mountain, and water brings us closer to wholeness. Sessions can be held outdoors, co-evolving with the natural world and deepening our relationship with self and environment. A nature-based Practice connects us to a larger context, ever reminding us to strengthen resiliency in times of climate change.
Individual Sessions
Private
$120
60 minutes
One-on-one in-person session in Palm Springs or Provincetown. Hands-on guidance through conscious movement re-patterning, postural awareness, and release of habitual tension. Ideal for performers, riders, and anyone seeking ease in daily life.
Virtual
$95
60 minutes
Full Alexander Technique sessions available via Zoom for those who cannot meet in person. Verbal guidance, movement observation, and somatic exploration — available worldwide from anywhere.
Intensive
Varies
Multi-day
Systemic Constellations and somatic retreat experiences offered seasonally. Group work, facilitated intensives, and collaborative explorations for practitioners, dancers, and those called to deepen embodied presence.
Voices
"Working with Constance has fundamentally changed how I inhabit my body. The Alexander Technique, in her hands, is not a correction — it is a homecoming."
— Performer, San Francisco
"Her ability to hold both the somatic and the systemic simultaneously is extraordinary. I left the retreat feeling more whole than I have in years."
— Constellation Practitioner
"Constance brought the Alexander Technique to my riding in a way no trainer ever had. My horse and I found a softness together that I didn't know was possible."
— Dressage Rider, Coachella Valley
"The pedagogy of pleasure she teaches is radical and necessary. To learn through enjoyment rather than effort — this has changed my entire relationship to practice."
— Movement Teacher, Los Angeles
Fall · Winter · Spring
California · Coachella Valley
Home base of Desert Movement Arts, Constance teaches in the Coachella Valley from fall through spring. The desert landscape itself becomes part of the practice — its expansiveness, heat, and silence a teacher in their own right.
Summer
Massachusetts · Cape Cod
Constance spends summers in Provincetown, one of the country's great gathering places for artists, performers, and seekers. Sessions available in person through the summer season, with the ocean as backdrop.
Sessions available worldwide via Zoom — no matter where you are, the work is possible.
Whether you're new to the Alexander Technique, a practitioner seeking continuing education, or a rider curious about somatic horsemanship — reach out. All inquiries are welcome.