The Alexander Principle
In our culture today the connection between physical and emotional problems is gaining currency.
Surprisingly, one tried and tested answer to coping with the stresses of life is by using a hands-on
approach that straightens up the body. This method can help in balancing moods, changing
behavioural patterns, and managing life's challenges.
Various theories have proposed the spine as the centre of most physical and mental complaints.
The best known of these is the Alexander Technique, formulated and developed by Frederick
Matthias Alexander, a Tasmanian actor (1869-1955). He suffered from respiratory problems as a
child, which later affected his voice and career in the theatre. He tried many remedies without
success and eventually began a process of self-observation to try to find a way of curing himself.
Alexander realised that the voice problem was a result of muscular tension in his whole body and
that his thought patterns also had a great part in contributing to the tension that had become an
ingrained habit. Alexander studied his posture with the aid of mirrors to see how this was affected
when he recited and as a result could see that his body alignment was incorrect. He gradually
taught himself to correct his posture and found that he had cured his voice problem. He spent the
rest of his working life studying the relationship between the ways we use our bodies and their
efficient functioning, and went on to pass the technique to others. He eventually opened a clinic to
help people to learn about their own use of posture.
In our culture today the connection between physical and emotional problems is gaining currency.
Surprisingly, one tried and tested answer to coping with the stresses of life is by using a hands-on
approach that straightens up the body. This method can help in balancing moods, changing
behavioural patterns, and managing life's challenges.
Various theories have proposed the spine as the centre of most physical and mental complaints.
The best known of these is the Alexander Technique, formulated and developed by Frederick
Matthias Alexander, a Tasmanian actor (1869-1955). He suffered from respiratory problems as a
child, which later affected his voice and career in the theatre. He tried many remedies without
success and eventually began a process of self-observation to try to find a way of curing himself.
Alexander realised that the voice problem was a result of muscular tension in his whole body and
that his thought patterns also had a great part in contributing to the tension that had become an
ingrained habit. Alexander studied his posture with the aid of mirrors to see how this was affected
when he recited and as a result could see that his body alignment was incorrect. He gradually
taught himself to correct his posture and found that he had cured his voice problem. He spent the
rest of his working life studying the relationship between the ways we use our bodies and their
efficient functioning, and went on to pass the technique to others. He eventually opened a clinic to
help people to learn about their own use of posture.
At the same time as learning to access the natural relationship between your head, neck and
back, you will develop conscious and reasoned body awareness, spatial awareness and
behavioural awareness. Hence long held patterns of movement, posture, breathing and muscular
tension will be released, and habits that, for example, may have affected your learning abilities
and psychological stress reactions, are reassessed.
Learning gradually to refine and to utilise an improved relationship between your head, neck and
back is powerfully health giving. Good habits of diet and exercise are well understood in their
capacity literally to "change what we are"; the long-term effects of good habits of the "use of the
self" are less well known, but no less life changing. You get stronger, you become both more
relaxed and more alert, aches and pains fade, you feel calm, confident and self-reliant, you have
more stamina, you think more clearly, you recover from injury more quickly, you cope with stress
better.
The Alexander Technique teaches the skilful "use of the self": how you move, how you stay still,
how you breathe, how you learn, how you organise your awareness and focus of attention and,
above all, how you choose your reactions in increasingly demanding situations.
How Does it Work
From the above you will have realised that the Alexander Technique is a way of re-educating your
body towards balance and alignment. In individual lessons, a qualified teacher will help you to
recognise faulty muscular use and poor posture through gentle touch and guidance. There will be
an emphasis on lengthening and widening your back, and freeing your spine to achieve a more
co-ordinated movement.
With the aid of the teacher's hands, you will learn to release and lengthen muscles that have been
shortened over time because of stress and misuse. But how can stopping unnecessary muscular
tension heal emotional wounds? Unconscious experiences, such as unhealed traumas,
unexpressed feelings, and painful memories can be pushed into your body where they are not
free to be dealt with in your mind. These tensions might turn into physical symptoms and
ailments, but can also lead to mental illness, such as depression and anxiety.
We are often unaware of habits that cause us stress and interfere with our ability to respond
effectively to the stimuli in our daily lives. So how can we change our habits so that we can
respond more effectively and achieve better functioning? Alexander taught that how you use your
body has an extraordinary effect on your ability to accurately perceive and react to the world
around you, as well as affecting your emotional and physical health. That fundamental problem is
addressed and dealt with in the Alexander Technique, a method that has been recognised for one
hundred years as a unique and remarkably effective technique of mind - body re-education.
The Alexander Technique can enhance personal performance across the whole spectrum of
human activity, from elite athletic or artistic performance to the management of disability, pain,
illness or injury. Although the effortless upright posture of small children is in sharp contrast to
that of most adults, it is possible for practically anyone to rediscover freedom and ease in
movement by learning to become aware of, and then learning gradually to strip away, the habits
of movement, tension and reaction that interfere with, distort or obscure natural and healthy
patterns of coordination.
back, you will develop conscious and reasoned body awareness, spatial awareness and
behavioural awareness. Hence long held patterns of movement, posture, breathing and muscular
tension will be released, and habits that, for example, may have affected your learning abilities
and psychological stress reactions, are reassessed.
Learning gradually to refine and to utilise an improved relationship between your head, neck and
back is powerfully health giving. Good habits of diet and exercise are well understood in their
capacity literally to "change what we are"; the long-term effects of good habits of the "use of the
self" are less well known, but no less life changing. You get stronger, you become both more
relaxed and more alert, aches and pains fade, you feel calm, confident and self-reliant, you have
more stamina, you think more clearly, you recover from injury more quickly, you cope with stress
better.
The Alexander Technique teaches the skilful "use of the self": how you move, how you stay still,
how you breathe, how you learn, how you organise your awareness and focus of attention and,
above all, how you choose your reactions in increasingly demanding situations.
How Does it Work
From the above you will have realised that the Alexander Technique is a way of re-educating your
body towards balance and alignment. In individual lessons, a qualified teacher will help you to
recognise faulty muscular use and poor posture through gentle touch and guidance. There will be
an emphasis on lengthening and widening your back, and freeing your spine to achieve a more
co-ordinated movement.
With the aid of the teacher's hands, you will learn to release and lengthen muscles that have been
shortened over time because of stress and misuse. But how can stopping unnecessary muscular
tension heal emotional wounds? Unconscious experiences, such as unhealed traumas,
unexpressed feelings, and painful memories can be pushed into your body where they are not
free to be dealt with in your mind. These tensions might turn into physical symptoms and
ailments, but can also lead to mental illness, such as depression and anxiety.
We are often unaware of habits that cause us stress and interfere with our ability to respond
effectively to the stimuli in our daily lives. So how can we change our habits so that we can
respond more effectively and achieve better functioning? Alexander taught that how you use your
body has an extraordinary effect on your ability to accurately perceive and react to the world
around you, as well as affecting your emotional and physical health. That fundamental problem is
addressed and dealt with in the Alexander Technique, a method that has been recognised for one
hundred years as a unique and remarkably effective technique of mind - body re-education.
The Alexander Technique can enhance personal performance across the whole spectrum of
human activity, from elite athletic or artistic performance to the management of disability, pain,
illness or injury. Although the effortless upright posture of small children is in sharp contrast to
that of most adults, it is possible for practically anyone to rediscover freedom and ease in
movement by learning to become aware of, and then learning gradually to strip away, the habits
of movement, tension and reaction that interfere with, distort or obscure natural and healthy
patterns of coordination.
| © Copyright 2008 - Active Recovery - All Rights Reserved. The Gaia Centre for Holistic Therapy, 17 Frederick Street, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3BH email: admin@gaiaholistics.co.uk Tel: 01509 551513 |
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The Alexander Technique
Verόnica Bellόn
Gaia Alexander Practitioners:
| Good Posture - Bad Posture |
So What is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is a subtle, but essentially, a
practical problem-solving discipline. It works through
re-establishing the natural relationship between your head,
neck and back - the "core" of your body that supports the
strength of your limbs and which provides the structural
environment for breathing and for your internal organs.
This natural working of the head - neck - back relationship
can best be seen to be working powerfully, beautifully, and
effortlessly in small children.
Through his studies, Alexander realised that every
individual has the freedom to choose his or her own
posture. His studies showed that although young children
exhibit good posture, most people soon opt for an "easy"
slumping pose that requires little effort to maintain.
Unfortunately, in most cases this involves severe distortion
of the neck vertebrae, either forward, backward or
sideways, which leads in turn to related distortion
throughout the body. Very quickly the "easy" position
becomes the norm. Bone and muscle distortion aggravate
one another, and contribute to respiratory and circulatory
troubles, pain, inflammation, hypertension, etc. For full
mental and physical health, you may need to be
re-educated to use your bones and muscles correctly, so
that they are well balanced, in movement and in rest,
around your spinal cord.
The Alexander Technique is a subtle, but essentially, a
practical problem-solving discipline. It works through
re-establishing the natural relationship between your head,
neck and back - the "core" of your body that supports the
strength of your limbs and which provides the structural
environment for breathing and for your internal organs.
This natural working of the head - neck - back relationship
can best be seen to be working powerfully, beautifully, and
effortlessly in small children.
Through his studies, Alexander realised that every
individual has the freedom to choose his or her own
posture. His studies showed that although young children
exhibit good posture, most people soon opt for an "easy"
slumping pose that requires little effort to maintain.
Unfortunately, in most cases this involves severe distortion
of the neck vertebrae, either forward, backward or
sideways, which leads in turn to related distortion
throughout the body. Very quickly the "easy" position
becomes the norm. Bone and muscle distortion aggravate
one another, and contribute to respiratory and circulatory
troubles, pain, inflammation, hypertension, etc. For full
mental and physical health, you may need to be
re-educated to use your bones and muscles correctly, so
that they are well balanced, in movement and in rest,
around your spinal cord.
| Ideal position of the vertebrae in the neck (a). Figures b and c show the effects of craning forward and over-straightening respectively. |
