Alexander Technique
was developed to re-educate a person’s sense of the self in motion and in stillness (kinesthesia) and to reintroduce the freedom to CHOOSE to move more easily given the task at hand.
Habits of use give rise to a range of health problems.
Most of us are unconscious of the many physical habits of the body that have developed over time. We lack a clear perception of how we move and respond to the daily demands of living. We only know that we hurt, or that things have become more difficult. We tend to attribute this difficulty and the accompanying pain to age, to stress, to lack of exercise, to our jobs and so on.
But the Alexander Technique takes a different view. It suggests that we suffer because our habits of thought and movement result in fatigue, irritated emotions, pain, stiffness, joint inflammation and injury.
Alexander Technique can help to identify and reverse these harmful patterns. It takes an educational approach to developing kinesthesia, or the awareness of how we use ourselves as we go through life.
An Alexander Technique teacher not only enhances your awareness of how you think, move, react (how you “use” your body), but also helps you discover new methods of use that are easier and more enjoyable. Over time, a student of Alexander Technique will find greater ease in daily tasks (both mental and physical), greater support and tone throughout the body and increased poise and presence.
Who can benefit from the Alexander Technique?
Musicians find improved use of their instruments and extended playing lives. Actors find freer expression in the voice and body. Dancers note increased amplitude of movement, lessened daily wear and speedier rehabilitations. Office workers develop enhanced presentation skills, clearer strategic thinking. Manufacturing workers see reduced work-related injuries. Homemakers, athletes and those who perform manual labor tasks find release from lower back pain and reduced fatigue.
The Technique can be applied more broadly and bring benefits to anyone who seeks more ease, freedom, range of motion and depth of feeling or thought in the activities of daily living.
If you experience discomfort while exercising or playing sports, working on a computer, bending over a cell phone, sitting for extended periods of time, studying documents, reading …. Alexander Technique can help.
If you experience inner impatience that results in confused thinking or reduces your ability to listen; if you come up against a fear of trying new things; if you find it difficult to sit still or to stop repetitive worrying; if you have performance anxiety … Alexander Technique can help.
If you wish to find a way to step out of your own habits and find new ways to approach how you walk, stand, sit, speak in public, make a sales pitch, handle a job interview …. Alexander Technique can help.
It is said that you take yourself with you wherever you go. It makes sense to invest in exploring your habits and their effects – for better or worse – on your daily life. Why not ask “Is this how I really wish to continue to respond to life? Is there an easier, freer, more beautiful way to do this?” The Alexander Technique provides a great way to explore these questions.
How was the Alexander Technique discovered?
Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) set out to forge a living as an actor. However, he found he was continually losing his voice. When advice from medical experts failed to alleviate his continued laryngitis, he began to wonder what it was that he was doing to cause this issue. He found, by observing himself in mirrors while speaking, a tendency to pull his head back and depress his larynx while speaking. He saw that if he eliminated this pull back, he could alleviate his voice loss. Voila, he thought!
However, after returning to his acting engagements, he again lost his voice. What had gone wrong? He found that his perception of himself was faulty. He THOUGHT he was speaking without the pull back, but in fact – it was still there. To correct this faulty perception, he undertook constant observation and study of himself. Through trial and error and much patience, he found he could re-educate himself and develop his sixth sense – his kinesthesia, or his awareness of himself as he moved through the world.
He discovered that how he THOUGHT about himself had an equal effect on his manner of use as the specific OBSERVABLE patterns of movement themselves. Liberation from habitual patterns required both efforts. His Technique developed from these observations.
