What is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is about us in our everyday activities. It helps us to recognise the excessive muscle tension which creeps into everything we do and which leads to pain, fatigue and many other problems. It is not an exercise or relaxation class that we enjoy and then walk away from.
The Technique brings our attention to the fact that we are responsible for our 'selves'.
Many of our reactions to life and its pressures are harmful to us. Once we begin to become aware of these habitual reactions, we have the chance to stop them and to find better ways of responding. It is very simple really but difficult because we are so used to doing things in the usual way and we don't even realise how we do them.
If we look at the way we sit for example, there is much to see just in that ‘simple’ procedure. Many of us collapse into a slump. That’s an obvious one but over a period of time, this compressed state can lead to poor breathing, bad circulation, indigestion, and backache. It can also affect the functioning of the vital organs in the torso, because they are forced to function in cramped conditions.
So we begin to observe how we perform simple everyday movements and then stop that habitual process. With gentle guidance we can learn a way of ‘using’ ourselves better, allowing the body to re-find its natural alignment and freedom of movement.
We know it’s there because when we were children we moved freely and easily, letting the joints work without stiffening up, the breath flow naturally and having a sense of control which as we grow up we begin to lose. That can come back; we can regain poise and co-ordination and through awareness of oneself become more in control.
