Many people come to the Alexander Technique because of lower back pain. It’s not surprising. Our lives have become very sedentary and most of us will spend many hours a day in service related jobs sitting at desks looking at computers. Working pain free in our stressful world is becoming very difficult. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “Nonspecific chronic low back pain (LBP) remains one the most prevalent, expensive, and poorly treated conditions seen by primary care clinicians.[1]
Everywhere we see “cures” for back pain, ranging from surgery to pills, including exercises, chiropractic treatments, physical therapy, steroid shots, and acupuncture to name a few. No one seems to think about prevention.
Prevention is what the Alexander Technique is all about, because the Technique is the study of how we use ourselves. If we have back pain, there is a good chance that something we are “doing” is causing the pain.
The British Medical Journal conducted a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches and treatments in dealing with chronic back pain. Subjects who took Alexander Technique lessons reported long-term benefits.
Best of all, the cessation of the pain is only a small part of what we achieve when we learn to use ourselves better. Alexander lessons enhance everything we do in our lives because they teach us how to stop putting ourselves wrong.
[1] See
Glucosamine and the Ongoing Enigma of Chronic Low Back Pain, JAMA, 2010;304(1):93-94.
We go up, or ...
By Stella Weigel
In Thinking Aloud [Mornum Time Press, 1994] Walter Carrington describes what was probably the last lesson between Alexander and an old lady who had been a pupil of his for some years. At the end of the lesson, Alexander “patted her on the shoulder and said, “Now, my dear, see that you don’t stiffen your neck, and see that you’ve always got something to look forward to.””
Walter highlighted the sense of loss that a pupil feels once they stop having regular lessons. It also happens when one is studying to become a teacher of Alexander Technique; after 12 weeks of study you face a vacation and the feeling that you have lost everything you have ever learned. However, a break from lessons and study can be a good opportunity for reflection and adjustment, from which future development can occur.
When I read Walter’s account, I am also reminded of how having something to look forward to can sometimes make all the difference in reacquiring that sense of “up,” particularly when we are feeling “down.” It is interesting to consider how accurately these words describe our poise (or lack of it). So, next time you find yourself feeling “down,” consider something which might give you a “lift” or may help you go “up” a little. It could be absolutely anything. We are all so individual, yet we all have that same ability to go “up” or “down.” Therefore we also have the choice.
Guest Blogger, Stella Weigel, is a fifth term Alexander Technique student at The Constructive Teaching Centre, London, the world’s oldest and largest Alexander Technique training school. She had Alexander Technique lessons from 2006-2009 before embarking on her training in April 2009. She lives in the city of London.
We all get stressed. And often, it seems as though this stress is imposed on us from the outside. But the Alexander Technique helps us see that this is not the case. Stress is really not something outside ourselves. It actually is all about how we are reacting to conditions, whether the conditions are created by the outside world, or by ourselves. We create habitual reactions to conditions by the way we think.
Seen from this angle stress can becomes manageable. We can take full responsibility for stress or non-stress because we can manage our reactions. We can learn via Alexander Technique lessons to respond but not react to whatever the stimulus may be. In doing this we can behave in a lucid reasonable manner in the face of what used to be a disruptive negative situation for us.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say that I have a history of conflict and disharmony with someone in my family. He is not stressful. I react with stress. This person may be indeed very difficult but I cannot change him (Lord knows I have tried and so have all the other family members, let’s say). So I have to change myself. I have to focus on my response and refrain from reacting and getting stressed.
I must like who I am when I am with others and if I can’t find any way at all to do that, then I better not be around those people. It is never about them. It always comes back to being responsible for how I myself behave. This is how we build character. And this is the really deeper meaning of the Alexander Technique. And yes, your posture and your attitude toward yourself and others will definitely improve.
Look up in any dictionary (in any language) the word “posture” and the definition is attitude. That means that if you think you have “bad” posture your attitude about yourself and yourself out in the world could be vastly improved with Alexander Technique lessons.
Alexander Technique lessons will help you change deeply within yourself. This isn’t a matter form without content. The Alexander Technique is not about being straight and walking with books piled on your head. Not at all. With lessons, your entire attitude about yourself will improve and you will find that you are more easy going, and a happier person. This will be seen in your posture.
It is fascinating that there is absolutely no split in us at all. None whatsoever. We have believed since the Greeks that we exist in parts: mind, body, spirit. We have only to see a pregnant woman and ask her if she is physically pregnant. Be prepared for a big laugh. She will tell you she is totally pregnant. She is emotionally, physically, financially, mentally, intellectually, spiritually, socially pregnant.
When we see someone with Down’s Syndrome on the street, we can see the total integration as well. This person walks, talks, thinks, moves, eats, sleeps and lives within this syndrome. Is it just his postural stance that gives it away?
Your so-called “posture” screams out a message about your whole person. What message are you sending out?
According to Nemours, asthma affects about 1 or 2 kids out of 10, making it the most common chronic disorder in childhood, currently affecting an estimated 7.0 million children under 18 years. While most common in school age kids, asthma can start at any age — even in a little baby or an adult.
Here we see the balance of the head, neck and torso that F.M. called the "Primary Control."
Over a century ago, F.M. Alexander spoke about some children being “poor breathers” from birth. He went on to say that these children entered life with less than optimal reflexive ease at the head, neck and upper back (The primary control) and needed help in order to overcome this deficit. Here is a story of one of my young students (I will call him Terry (not pictured)), and his AT experience.
Terry’s Story
Terry was about 9 months old, not yet walking when he started taking Alexander Technique lessons. He had presented with asthma from one month or less and had been rushed to the emergency room a few times. His parents were ill with worry about it, but gave him the medicines to control the symptoms and curb the attacks. His mother was a pupil and one day she brought him along, as she had no sitter. I noticed at once that this head/neck relationship was not as free as we’d expect in a child and then she told me about his condition.
I suggested we try “lessons” (I never charge a fee for such young children) and so we started then and there. At first Terry was fussy and didn’t like his head and neck touched but gradually he quieted down and seemed to enjoy it. We noticed a change that day in the depth of his breathing and it was decided he would come 3 times a week so we could see what help if any the Alexander Technique gave him. In less than 6 “lessons” he was able to take half the medicines and didn’t gasp for air or have the sudden onset attacks he had had before. But of course it was only 2 weeks. So we continued on for 6 months this way. He started to crawl and as he did, I worked with his head and neck because his inclination was to stiffen that area as he moved. He caught on quickly and as he went on to standing, getting his balance and finally walking, I went on with the work. By the time he was walking his head neck remained quite free (as it ought to be normally in a child this age) and the asthma was minimal. He was given medicine when pollens and allergens were bad and has not had any violent attacks since his 2nd week of lessons.
Terry is now 2 and a half. His asthma is nearly gone and his doctor is happy that he is “outgrowing it.” Terry and his parents are happier. Terry sleeps well and runs without effort because his breathing is free. If this continues he may not have it at all when he is older.
Many people come to the Alexander Technique because of lower back pain. It’s not surprising. Our lives have become very sedentary and most of us will spend many hours a day in service related jobs sitting at desks looking at computers. Working pain free in our stressful world is becoming very difficult. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “Nonspecific chronic low back pain (LBP) remains one the most prevalent, expensive, and poorly treated conditions seen by primary care clinicians.[1]
