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The Alexander Technique is a process for changing personal patterns of “self-use.” Alexander teachers help their students identify and change harmful habits of posture, movement and thought.
In young children we frequently see an alertness and poise that allows them to sit, stand and move gracefully without strain. Most of us have developed habits which interfere with this natural coordination and functioning, and find ourselves reacting automatically in ways that are frequently harmful and ineffective.
 The integration of the system as a whole is primarily determined by the co-ordination of the head, neck, and back. When we interfere with this subtle co-ordination, we create distortion throughout the whole system and can be said to be “misusing” ourselves.
The result of misuse may be the experience of such symptoms as backache, headache, stiffness, a sense of lethargy, or lack of confidence. Since the mind and body are part of the same system, lack of physical poise can effect our state of mind and our ability to cope with life.
F.M. Alexander discovered this work over 100 years ago as a means of addressing his own habitual misuse, and of eradicating the health problems that his misuse was causing him. Alexander went on to teach his work to a wide range of students, who have found over the past century that this method of education is highly effective for a variety of the complaints that plague our technological society, complaints which technology cannot cure. Alexander explained that the industrial society of his day had moved people away from the natural integration of the head/neck/back relationship, and into a variety of distortions which had become so common as to appear normal. Unfortunately, little has improved in our time. Learning Alexander's work, and restoring the natural integrity of the head/neck/back relationship, which he called "the primary control," is still one of the most effective means of addressing these "life style" problems, and moving the student beyond the habitual discomfort of the "normal," into the ease, freedom, and lightness of the natural. The Alexander Technique has survived, grown, and extended into a new century for one simple reason. It works.
Alexander students typically include those suffering from:
- Back, neck, or joint pain
- Headaches
- Tension, stress, anxiety
- Posture or spinal issues
- Rehabilitation Needs
Many Take Alexander Lessons To Improve Their Performance as:
- Actors, Singers, Dancers
- Athletes, Musicians
- Runners, Swimmers, Riders, Golfers, Walkers
- Conductors, Pilots, Architects, Computer Operators, Dentists, Drivers, Physical Therapists, Psychotherapists, Writers, Surgeons, Teachers, Word Processors, Nurses, and Massage Therapists.
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