Alexander Technique

 

 What is the Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a gentle yet effective approach, perhaps most commonly known for its ability in assisting ailments such as back and neck pain, muscle and joint issues, stress and so on. The other major field where it is used is for enhancing performance in activities such as drama, music and sport. 
The Alexander Technique helps you to increase self-awareness and develop optimal ways of looking after yourself, using principles that are effective in relieving any unnecessary effort or strain (which much of the time we don’t realise is there) as well as promoting overall well-being.

An Alexander Technique teacher can help you to see how you can you recognise and release patterns of tension and regain appropriate balance of tone in your body to enable you to use yourself with increased awareness & freedom of choice.  Rather than focusing only on the symptoms of our ailments, in an Alexander session the aim is to take into account any underlying issues that may be contributing to the problem.

How does it work?      

The Technique is not a therapy designed to 'cure' but a teaching method which offers you a means – by awareness in activity - to raise your general standard of health, body balance and co-ordination and then maintain it for the rest of your life. In this way the Technique is a 'Way of Being or Living' not just exercises which are done say once a day.

As your habits of 'use' improve, ie you learn to prevent strenuous mis-use that can in the long term be harmful.  A simple method is used that will help improve the functioning, mobility, and vitality of the whole person.  You will be able to prevent further problems occurring (rather than waiting until you develop sympoms) and your body is given the maximum opportunity to restore itself to good health. 

                                                                         

 Some History                         

 F M Alexander (1869-1954), an Australian actor with a promising career, found that he frequently lost his voice during performances. When doctors could not help him, he embarked on a process of self-discovery to determine the cause. His problems arose from bad postural habits that were difficult to change. He created a way of saying no to habit, allowing other possibilities to become available. He also realized that his discovery was universal - anyone could use it and apply it to all situations. Alexander moved to England and taught his technique widely during the first half of the twentieth century, later training others to teach it.

Who can benefit?               

Over time, the repeated stress and tension of everyday life can leave the muscles ‘fixed’ and unresponsive. But you don't actually have to be suffering form any problems to benefit from Alexander lessons!

By opening the vertebrae of your spine you will benefit the funtioning of your body organs as all the organs are linked via nerves to the spine.  As well as the obvious advantages of improved cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive functions, increased blood and cerebro-spinal fluid circulation, suppotting yourself well in in optimum posture confers not-so-obvious psycho-emotional benefits. Low self esteem can often go hand in hand with poor posture, and negative thoughts can quite literally pull you down. By reversing the effect through postural self-adjustment, you also reverse the psycho-emotional cause and it is harder to feel other than confident and positive when you are standing tall and supported by a broad back and a free and open spine.

Applying the Technique can also improve the quality of your performance whatever that may be and is widely used in most drama schools and many music colleges around the world for this purpose.  Of course it can also be beneficial to apply to any skill or hobby you may have.

 

Most music and drama colleges include lessons in the Alexander Technique as part of their curriculum. Because the Alexander Technique improves balance, co-ordination and flexibility; applying it to the things that you enjoy like swimming, dancing, art, sports of all kinds or computers means that you will be more successful in those pursuits. Many famous people use the Technique to improve their performance; John Cleese, Joanna Lumley, Sting, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ruby Wax to name but a few.

                                                

Here are some of the benefits that people report during and after having Alexander lessons:

It can alleviate problems such as: