Skinner Releasing Technique and release technique

Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical · Joan Skinner · 1960 · Illinois, USA

What it is

SRT is a dance and movement practice developed by Joan Skinner (1924–2021). She danced with the Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham companies, ruptured a spinal disc on tour, and then studied the Alexander Technique for about two years. She also names her childhood teacher Cora Bell Hunter, a…

Format

• Typical course length for a client. An introductory series of about 15 classes is the published unit. Session length and frequency vary by teacher and are set by the teacher, not prescribed here.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Format. SRT is taught in group classes, usually in a studio and often starting on the floor, with the teacher speaking imagery, plus music and sound. There are "no demonstrations and no exercises". The teacher does not model movements for students to copy; students respond to imagery in their own way. Experienced dancers and beginners study together, and listings describe classes as open to people with or without…
• Children's pedagogy: a separate children's programme exists, with its own teacher training.
• Criteria for moving between levels. The cited sources do not state formal criteria. The series appear to be taken in order, starting with the introductory classes. Ask the certified teacher how they decide readiness.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• sound sensitivity (autism, PTSD hyperarousal, tinnitus).
• perfectionism, or performance anxiety when showing work. Note it gently.
• dissociation, intrusive images, and pressure to "get it right"; stop and ground if they appear.
• overwhelm after longer integrated explorations. Ask about sleep, mood and body sensations in the following days.
• rumination or self-judgement in the writing. Content touching on trauma that needs a therapy space rather than a studio.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.