What is Alexander Technique?
AT is an effective form of neuromuscular (mind-body training) movement re-education that goes directly to the root cause of most chronic muscular pain: the brain and the way in which it senses and organizes the muscles and movement. It works by becoming aware of our thinking and movement patterns that cause muscular tensions and postural problems, stress and anxiety. AT principles create the right conditions where organism’s self-healing mechanism can take over its healing and changing process. The outcome is a better human functioning on every level.
What Happens In a Session?
Embodied work is arguably subtle. It doesn’t involve anything athletic, there are no great yoga moves or magical thinking, and the process is always led by you.
A Typical AT Session Is:
hands-on / online
for an individual
about 45 minutes long
most effective when done weekly for at least 12 weeks
simple everyday movements (sitting, standing, walking etc)
tablework
Number of Sessions
Benefits may be apparent after a single session, however more profound skill might take 12 to 30 sessions to master. After the first session you and I will both get a clearer sense of the length and direction of the work.
Change takes time. To gain most out of it, I recommend committing to a minimum of 3-month package of weekly sessions (12 sessions).
Through the course of your personal process we will both sense when the time comes for you to go off independently. Once you have learned the technique it is yours for life – along with all the benefits of a bodymind which can be deeply relaxed and comfortable in activity.
Who Was Alexander?
Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) was an Australian actor who kept losing his voice while on stage. After being told by all the doctors and specialists that there is no actual medical problem to cure, he realised that he had caused these problems to himself.
The mere act of reciting on stage put a lot of tension on him and his voice. He started to figure out a way to use his voice without hurting it.
This would become the Alexander Technique.
Developing the Technique
Alexander was an open-minded and truly brilliant man.
What he discovered was applicable to cases other than his own, which propelled him to aid people with any issues related to how they were using their body.
The solution seemed to be physical first, because a change in posture was his only visual feedback. But as he progressed much further than working on postural changes, he discovered that the root of everything was person's reactions to stimuli in life.
He learned to become aware of these reactions and prevent them happening. It was never intended to be just a posture training, but an inner change. He soon started to teach people his discoveries and eventually trained his students to teach.
It was never intended to be just a posture training, but an inner change.
In medical science every disease and illness is treated separately. Alexander took the person as a whole and while getting them to function from a more integrated place, symptoms of malfunctioning started to disappear.
His discovery about human functioning is indispensable. He wrote 4 books about his technique and his work has been carried on by others ever since.
