About the Alexander Technique
What is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique helps people develop greater awareness about the patterns that shape their lives including daily habits, postural behaviour and responses to the many stimuli that we encounter in the course of living. Learning the Alexander Technique involves doing simple everyday movements while receiving verbal and hands-on guidance from a qualified teacher.
The Alexander Technique is named after F.M. Alexander (1869-1955) who developed and subsequently taught this method to people from various walks of life including educators, actors, musicians, writers, school children, etc. Alexander asserted that people largely ‘use’ themselves according to patterns operating at a subconscious level. Many of these are learnt patterns shaped by the internal and external stimuli that we encounter in our daily lives including our environment, social interactions, work, education, etc. Most people do not think about these until they encounter problems in their health and life. Indeed, when we look at our world today, people dealing with issues of stress and tension–whether it is back (or other kinds of) pain, trouble sleeping, anxiety, to mention a few–are all around us. We may even count ourselves in this mix.
Most approaches to these conditions offer solutions that are fragmentary and aimed at the specific problem area. The Alexander Technique is developed on an approach of improving general coordination. It emphasises that processes of living are neither exclusively physical nor mental and offers an opportunity for lifelong learning towards understanding and developing our primary instrument—our self.
The operational ideas of F.M. Alexander’s work can be listed as the following*:
Use and functioning
The whole person
Primary Control
Unreliable sensory appreciation
Inhibition
Direction
Ends and means
The approach is based on unlearning and undoing deeply held habits that interfere with the good use of our whole self. Students are guided through simple everyday activities–how they sit, stand, walk, lie down–with the aim of understanding and gradually improving the deep inner alignment of their body/mind.
*Michael J. Gelb, Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique
Who is it for?
The Alexander Technique is a skill that helps bring balance to the activities of our daily lives. It is taught in several parts of the world and people choose to learn it for a variety of reasons. Being interested in the ideas of the Alexander Technique is a wonderful place to begin!
In certain cases, people come to the Alexander Technique toseek help for specific conditions in their lives.
Performers benefit from Alexander Technique lessons due to a general improvement in their coordination. In countries like the USA and UK, it is common for Alexander Technique to be part of the curriculum in performing arts programmes. Musicians, actors, dancers, sportspersons, and others who are trained to use their bodies in highly specialised ways find that learning the Alexander Technique is a foundation that helps maintain balance and openness in their coordination.
In our times, one of the biggest causes for chronic health conditions is a sedentary lifestyle. People with chronic pain issues turn to the Alexander Technique as a complementary therapy to conventional approaches to bring about a change in their condition.
The Alexander Technique helps people learn about their unique habits and the gentle, hands-on, approach of working on overall coordination can be beneficial to many.
How can I start learning the Alexander Technique?
