Alexander Technique
Alexander Technique in Buckinghamshire
F M Alexander was an Australian actor, born in 1869, who had difficulty with his voice during performances. Medical opinion was unable to help him so he decided to carry out his own investigations. After many hours of self-observation he found he was causing his own problems through his misuse of the body, tensing his neck and tilting his head back each time he went to speak.
He spent years watching his movement patterns in mirrors and trying to establish a new response to the stimulus to speak, and eventually found he needed what he called ‘Primary Control’ – neck and back released to allow the body to be as long and wide as possible, the spine to follow its natural curves, and the head to be balanced freely on the top of the spine. (It is very rare in modern civilisation to see the graceful upright carriage of those who have carried things on their heads since childhood). As long as he could maintain this Primary Control he found not only his speaking improved but he was also able to release many other previously unnoticed tensions throughout his body.
A teacher of the Alexander Technique is not a therapist. Alexander work is more a matter of re-education in the way we use our own bodies. In a lesson the teacher will help the student to pause and think before allowing habitual movement to take place, i.e. as soon as the decision to move is made the brain responds with a ‘get set’ pattern to which it has become accustomed through the years.
With the help of gentle guidance from the teacher’s hands an Alexander student will be taught to notice this pattern, let it go (in Alexander terms this is referred to as Inhibition), and establish release of unnecessary effort and tension before allowing movement to happen. Obviously the co-operation of the student is essential, not only during a lesson but especially in everyday life – the object of Alexander lessons being to encourage a more co-ordinated use of the mind and body throughout all activity.
We all know of people who suffer pain which goes unexplained. No Alexander teacher will claim to be able to cure pain, but he will be able to help the student to notice how the way he is using his own body may possibly be contributing to any problems he may have. For each of us there is an optimum posture and movement pattern which most of us have lost in our hectic scramble through modern life. This loss of optimal body use will lead to a reduction not only in general efficiency and flexibility, but also of ideas and views – we cannot separate the mind from the body. An Alexander teacher will simply help the pupil to return to this optimal state.
There will be no exercises to be performed at specific times – rather a set of mental instructions to be applied to all activity: head balanced freely on top of the spine and the torso lengthened and widened to give optimum capacity to all muscles. Especially important is the freedom of the diaphragm, chest and abdominal muscles to allow the lungs to expand naturally during breathing.
We may not be able to change the world we live in but we can do something about our reaction to it. Obviously we can’t go through life stopping to think about every single movement we make, but the improvement in the way we use our bodies through the application of the Alexander Technique will gradually make itself felt throughout all actions, and will often lead to an overall improvement in general health and wellbeing. This will leave the body more free and graceful and therefore less susceptible to injury, and the mind tranquil and able to face any situation - we must never forget that a free healthy mind and body go together.
Alexander lessons last approximately 40 minutes. There is no specific number of lessons required; it is all a matter of how well you apply the principles in daily life.
And remember – if you want the Alexander Technique to help you, you do need to use it.
Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT)
Linton House
39-51 Highgate Road
London NW5 1RS
Tel: 0845 230 7828
e-mail: office@stat.org.uk
www.stat.org.uk
Alexander Technique Teachers practicing at Orchard Clinic;