An Introduction to the Technique

BACKGROUND

F.M. Alexander, was an actor of some renown in Australia/New Zealand.  In the mid 1890’s he began to lose his voice in the midst of a performance. His discoveries grew out of a need to understand why his voice was failing him during critical moments in his performances. His explorations led him to the conclusion that the way he was using his body was affecting the way it was functioning.

ABOUT THE TECHNIQUE         

“The Alexander Technique is a psychophysical method that teaches conscious awareness and control of the self” (AmSAT 2002). The Technique teaches a method for habit change which improves overall functioning by re-educating and re-awakening ones kinesthetic sense. Improving ones sensory appreciation allows an individual to more accurately assess their movement habits and behavior.   

            The work requires hands-on guidance and verbal feedback from a skilled teacher to augment and accelerate the learning process. Students cultivate three essential skills:

 

First, they learn to expand their awareness in order to discover how subconscious habits of tension and mal-coordination (misuse) can have a harmful impact on the way they move and function. “The aim is to increase the pupil’s awareness of himself as a whole until he can detect the interference in the head-neck relationship” (Jones 1949).

 

Secondly, by cultivating the awareness of their head, neck, and back relationship, students can learn to inhibit any tendency they have to alter the reflex balance of their head. Alexander’s process of inhibition is his major contribution to humankind. Inhibition is the act of refusing to respond to some stimulus. Through inhibition a student can learn to ‘get out of their own way’ by learning not to do what they habitually do. This is not a repression, as Freud might say, but rather, a renewal of balance between the desire to do (volition) and the ability to check that desire (inhibition). In Alexander’s second book, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, he said that “volition is used to name what we intend to do, and inhibition [names] what we refuse to do, that is, to name what we wish to hold in check, what we wish to prevent”. 

 

“Thirdly, through awareness and inhibition students learn to direct their body towards more easeful and efficient use. Through the direction process one learns “to orient their body in space as they move” (AmSAT 2002). The goal is to continuously renew our primary balance as we move through space. This requires that we learn to stop focusing on specific ends and rather learn to approach our specific objectives by engaging in the moment-to-moment process that we move through while pursuing our goals.

Over time, the utilization of these skills -- awareness, inhibition and direction, leads to: improvement of conditions created by habits of mal-coordination; greater self-understanding and control of subconscious habit; and enhanced ability to learn and perform complex motor skills (AmSAT 2002).

The Books of F. Matthias Alexander: Man’s Supreme Inheritance, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, The Use of the Self, The Universal Constant in Living. 1997 New York: NY IRDEAT

ABOUT CERTIFIED ALEXANDER TEACHERS

From The American Center for the Alexander Technique website:

The Profession

Teachers of the Alexander Technique participate in a stimulating process of physical, psychological, and intellectual growth. The technique is taught primarily in private lessons. The one-to-one relationship maximizes individual attention and the hands-on experience.

In addition to establishing private teaching practices, many teach at such internationally respected institutions as The Juilliard School, The Mannes College of Music, The Aspen Music Festival, Sarah Lawrence College and New York University. Many also conduct a wide variety of group classes and workshops throughout the country and abroad.

The Training

The certification program is a three year, 1600 hour course. Classes are conducted on weekday mornings from September through June. Graduates receive certification from both ACAT and AmSAT, the American Society for the Alexander Technique.