Frederick Matthias Alexander The Alexander Technique was developed by Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) over the course of his life in Tasmania, Australia and England. It is a practical method for self-improvement. Through a series of lessons with a teacher, students of the Technique learn to observe and change the way they "use" themselves as they engage in the activities of living, and through consistent application are able to greatly improve their general function. Alexander observed that the ways we respond to the world, or engage in virtually any activity, are largely determined by subconscious patterns of habit. He observed that most of these habitual responses are self-conflictive and destructive to the integrated function of the whole self. Alexander discovered that human movement was organized around a central principle: our upright stature. Our upright stature, in turn, is organized around a group of reflexes Alexander called "the primary control." These reflexes operate in the relationship of the head, neck and back, and create the basic conditions of our upright balance and poise. They enable us to move according to our design and potential. Alexander believed that this upright poise was a part of our birthright. He saw it as a species-defining endowment of evolution (as Darwin did), and something that normal children possess in their first years. He observed, however, that it was generally lost or compromised in the adolescent and adult due to the pressures of life, particularly the unique pressures of our culture. Through a long observation of human function, he established a set of principles identifying how our poise operates within us, and how it can be restored. To his great surprise, Alexander discovered early on that this was not just a physical matter. He found that he could not change a habit of movement without changing his thinking, and also, that his thinking was inextricable from his movement. In short, he found that his freedom to choose how he behaved in his life related to his general manner of use. Underlying the principles Alexander established was a core belief in our capacity for conscious awareness. He believed that we could become aware of our conditioned responses to the world, and learn to choose other, more enlightened responses. He knew that in the end, effective change in any individual must be brought about by that individual. This is why the Alexander Technique is not a therapy or treatment, but a process of education. The Alexander Technique is difficult to define succinctly without being either overly general or overly reductive. It is helpful to describe it in a variety of ways that reflect upon each other and illuminate something of the whole. It is a study of integrated function, or energies used in concert rather than conflict. It is a technique for restoring the optimal conditions of balance, coordination and ease in the self, according to the intrinsic design of the organism. It is a technique for learning to use the most appropriate energy for any given task. It is a method of observing oneself in any action or process, and of ceasing to do those things that are not useful, while directing oneself to those things that are. It is a technique for learning to redirect one's responses to stimuli from subconscious habitual patterns into conscious choice. It is also useful to touch upon a few things that the Alexander Technique is not. It is not: a therapy a cure or remedy of any kind alternative medicine a healing art a religion or cult a system of exercises. People come to the Alexander Technique for a wide range of reasons. Often it is because of pain: a sore back or an injury that has not responded well to other treatments. Often it is someone who is looking for an increase in performance skills. Athletes, actors, dancers, musicians, and singers probably form the largest group of students of the Technique. Others are interested in personal transformation. (For these three categories of students, we are indebted Michael Gelb in his excellent book, Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique, Henry Holt and Co., Inc., 1987.) It is a basic part of the curriculum at all the major performing arts conservatories in the U.S. and England, including: The Juilliard School (in the Music, Dance and Acting Departments); NYU Graduate Acting; Yale; RADA, etc. Well-known people from many fields have studied the Technique. A few of these are: Aldous Huxley, George Bernard Shaw, Sir Stafford Cripps (Chancellor of the Exchequer), Sir Henry Irving, Beerbohm Tree, Lady Tree and Viola Tree, William Temple, (Archbishop of Canterbury), Nicholas Tinbergen (Nobel Laureate for Medicine and Physiology), John Dewey, Joanne Woodward, Kevin Klein, William Hurt, Julie Andrews, Kenneth Branagh, Jeremy Irons, John Hurt, James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave, and Sir Adrian Boult (conductor). Students learn the Technique through one-to-one lessons with a qualified teacher. This setting is optimal because each person's patterns of use are highly individual, as is their capacity to observe and bring about changes in the self. The teacher uses explanation and guiding touch to give the student experience of his/her use: the amount of tension one brings to simple tasks; the ease or effort; the habitual ways one tends to take actions. At first the lessons focus on basic movements such as sitting in a chair or standing up from one, walking, or bending the knees. Through repeated observation and experience, the student begins to become aware of habitual dysfunctions in his/her use, and learns not to engage those habits. From this basis of "non-doing" of the habitual pattern, the pupil is then able, with the teacher's guidance, to redirect his/her use in ways that are more integrated within the whole self. The student becomes lighter, freer, more coordinated. With practice over time, the wonderful natural poise of the self is restored, with many related benefits. An improved manner of use can prevent or alleviate many conditions associated with excessive or chronic tensions or with collapse in postural function. Some of these conditions are joint and muscle problems, backaches and headaches, breathing disorders, anxieties and stress disorders. Students of the Technique become more balanced, alert, relaxed and confident. They are better able to rely upon an internal poise even in difficult circumstances. They acquire an enhanced ability to learn and to perform complex motor skills. The number of lessons a student undertakes depends upon their needs and goals. Since the Technique is about the student learning to change long-standing habits, improvement depends upon active participation and sustained commitment by the student. A course of 30 to 40 half-hour lessons can provide a good foundation for sustained self-development. Although the Technique is sometimes offered in group classes, the benefits of the work are less potent than in individual lessons. Ultimately, the Alexander Technique is about flourishing. It offers the possibility of optimal well-being and fully realized potential. Please feel free to call us for further information. For contact information, go to the "Ask Us" page of the website. Or try our "Links" to other websites. There are numerous books and articles on the Technique, including four books by Alexander. These are: Man's Supreme Inheritance, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, The Use of the Self, and The Universal Constant in Living. For a complete list of books, go to our "Links" page and contact AmSat Books through The American Society for the Alexander Technique. However, it should be said that much of what is essential to understanding the Technique must be experienced, and cannot be learned through reading anymore than one could learn to play golf or to ride a horse through reading. << Back to Previous Page Top of Page Continue to Next Page >>