Sterling Swann graduated with honors from Vassar College in 1974 and received post-graduate training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). Having had asthma as a child, he was drawn to the study of Breathing Coordination in 1979. In 1983 Sterling was certified as an Alexander Technique Instructor and opened his practice in New York City.
From 1990-95 he was on the staff of Gramercy Park Sports Medicine, and since 1991 has taught at Sarah Lawrence College. His course, Breathing Coordination for the Performer, draws exclusively on Stough Institute teaching materials.