My
teacher Alexander Sergeevich Stalmatski, was appointed by Professor
Buteyko to be his first official representative to the Western world.
“Sasha”,
as he was mostly known, was much more than a deliverer of mere information -
instead a powerful teacher imbued with vast experience and a gift to transmit
deep insights.
In
retrospect, it is easy to understand why Professor Buteyko chose Sasha to be
his official representative. Apart from working alongside Professor Buteyko for
some fourteen years - Sasha embodied the method with a burning intensity. As
far as the integrity of Buteyko's Method and the esteem in which its founder
was held, there would be no compromise. In letters of endorsement, Dr. Buteyko
called Sasha “the practitioner of highest qualification”.
Sasha
built the bedrock of extraordinary results for thousands of chronically ill
people in
In a
world that places information above understanding - Sasha was unusual. On the
one hand there was piercing logic - and on the other hand finely tuned
instinct, built upon experience.
For
some ten years, he patiently instructed and guided me through the
complications, paradoxes and the nuances of teaching Buteyko’s Method. It was
not until I had taught several thousand students, did I begin to apprehend the
depth of my ignorance and appreciate his knowledge and relentless compassion.
Some
aspiring practitioners found Sasha difficult, abrasive and even intimidating -
but these characteristics served to bring gravitas and a sense of reality, to
what was required to achieve optimal results. Only a handful of the dozens of
practitiners he taught attained his approval - according to him, they did
not personally practice the method with sufficient diligence and therefore
could not progress beyond teaching it for simple conditions.
I
shall remain in deep gratitude for the privilege to have Alexander Sergeevich
Stalmatski as my friend and teacher.
Christopher
P. Drake