Alexander Technique

Published in InterAction 66, Winter 2008 The Alexander Technique is about learning lifelong skills for self care that help people recognise, understand and avoid poor habits affecting postural tone and muscle coordination, says the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT). Leigh Fenton takes a closer look. Firstly, it is important to stress that the Alexander Technique is a teaching method, as the Princes Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) explains: It isnt a therapy but a taught way of using the mind and body. Practitioners of the Alexander Technique are not therapists, they are teachers. By learning not to continue causing problems, your improvement is in your own hands and not someone elses. Lessons in the Technique are intended to help heighten the students awareness of their balance, posture and coordination, and point out the non- optimal ways in which you could be moving or holding yourself. The development of better poise and balance may mean that you can respond to problems more rationally and make decisions more calmly, continue the FIH. You learn to be more conscious in everything you do, whether at work, in everyday activities such as driving or cooking, or in sport or the performing arts. STAT explains that the Technique teaches the skilful use of self: how we move, how we stay still, how we breathe, how we learn, how we organise our awareness and focus of attention and above all, how we choose our reactions in increasingly demanding situations. It is a subtle and thoughtful discipline that works through re-establishing the natural relationship between the head, the neck and the back the core of the body that supports the strength of the limbs and which provides the structural environment for breathing and for the internal organs. By improving the relationship between the head, neck and back and the consideration of the way in which a person uses their body, STAT says the Technique helps you to get stronger: You become both more relaxed and more alert, aches and pains fade, you feel calm, confident and self-reliant, you have more stamina, you think more clearly, you recover from injury more quickly, you cope with stress better.

What does it involve?

The Alexander Technique is neither medical nor psychotherapeutic, as the Alexander Technique International (ATI) explain: It is not done to a client for the purpose of restoring mental or physical health. Rather, it is an educational process by which people learn to observe themselves and stop interfering with their own natural, best use. They describe an Alexander Technique teacher as combining verbal explanations and gentle touch to enable students to experience themselves released, connected and supported. The teachers hands-on contact combined with verbal instruction helps students continue inhibiting their habitual response to a stimulus. This allows students to consciously direct themselves in new ways. Lessons can vary in length, from 30- 45 minutes and in frequency, although weekly lessons are generally recommended. STAT describes a classic Alexander Technique resting position of lying down on your back on a firm surface, resting your head on a book or something similar (approx 3-7cm thick) with your feet flat on the surface. This stretches your back out and places it in its most supported, restful position. This is very important for the optimum wellbeing of body and mind. It will help you to use your body better and give you time to be aware of yourself. The Professional Association of Alexander Teachers (PAAT) say that in lessons, the teacher will work with you so that you can bring about an improvement in your balance and coordination, that is, giving you the experience of sitting and standing using less muscular effort than you are in the habit of using. As you experience being upright with less effort in thelesson, you start noticing at other times how you pull yourself out of shape and you can let go. Gradually you recognise that you create such unnecessary tension in response to particular stimuli in your life, and then you can learn to change the way you respond.

What is it used for?

The Technique can be taught for a variety of conditions such as: headaches, neck and shoulder pain, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, joint and muscle problems, breathing problems, unnecessary fatigue, loss of voice and bad posture. The FIH stress that teachers do not offer a cure, but can help people with these conditions if they are caused or worsened by that persons learned way of doing things. People come for Alexander Technique for as many different reasons as there are people explain PAAT. The intention is to alleviate problems or learn to cope with them better through putting the Technique into practice in peoples daily life.

What about M.E.?

The ATI suggests that As an additional process for those with M.E. the Technique should give benefit if used regularly, although they stress, It is not a quick fix for any condition. Health benefits are indirect but can be significant. It was shown recently in a British Medical Journal report to give the best benefits to those with back pain. The Technique is a system of learning how to improve the way you use your body. It helps to change poor habit patterns and involves paying conscious attention to each movement.

Lessons will generally give people improved coordination and balance. It helps people improve their overall way of moving and gives many indirect benefits.

What do readers think?

No-one we spoke to had had any problems with the Technique. I have had great benefit from the Alexander Technique, it has been a very powerful non-invasive aid to my learning to live with M.E., says Helen. I find it very gentle and subtle. Its not like getting manipulated or fixed, rather its a way of re-learning better use of my body and opening up in many ways so that my movement is freer and I am not tightening or holding tension if in pain. She adds, No two therapists are the same so dont be put off if you dont click with a teacher or it feels like nothing is happening. Its a case of finding the right practitioner for you. Anne-Marie also found it very useful: A more efficient posture seemed to make it easier to do stuff like standing and generally supporting my body when my muscle tone was very low. I wouldnt call it a cure, but definitely a help. David has had M.E. for 12 years and tried the Technique a few years ago, attending six group sessions over six weeks: I found it really helpful and would love to have carried on with some one-to-one sessions but couldnt afford it. I have however done some Tai Chi and Qi Gong since then and the principles of body posture in these are very similar to those in the Alexander Technique. What I find interesting is the idea that posture affects mood and feelings and by changing posture you can change your mood. Karen enjoyed learning the Technique so much that she trained as a teacher of it. Describing the way in which people use more muscles and therefore more energy than needed in general activities, she says: When you have Alexander Technique lessons you learn how to stop doing the unnecessary stuff and learn how to work only as much as you absolutely need in order to lift an arm, bend a leg, walk, sit, talk etc. Every little action becomes less strenuous because it needs less muscle power. You learn a set of ideas and learn how to apply them to your moving. Then you go away and use these ideas in your normal life. Its not a bottle of pills, its a tool to use, and the more you use it the more benefit you get out of it. Ive been doing the Technique now for 11 years. I use it every day and the worse my M.E. is, the more I rely on it.

How do I find a practitioner?

There are four Alexander Technique organisations in the UK who provide more information about the technique and have details of where to find a teacher in your area. Alexander Technique International Tel: 01727 760067 Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique Tel: 0845 230 7828 Interactive Teaching Method Association Professional Association of Alexander Teachers Tel: 01743 356274 The Princes Foundation for Integrated Health produces a guide to complementary healthcare, which includes information about the Technique. Go to this website and type Alexander Technique into the search facility to download the information. View a pdf of this article
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