Alexander Technique

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Definition

The Alexander technique is a somatic method for improving physical and mental functioning. Excessive tension, which Frederick Alexander, the originator, recognized as both physical and mental, restricts movement and creates pressure in the joints, the spine, the breathing mechanism, and other organs. The goal of the technique is to restore freedom and expression to the body and clear thinking to the mind.

Description

Frederick Matthias Alexander was born in 1869 in Tasmania, Australia. He became an actor and Shakespearean reciter, and early in his career he began to suffer from strain on his vocal chords. He sought medical attention for chronic hoarseness, but after treatment with a recommended prescription and extensive periods of rest, his problem persisted.

Alexander realized that his hoarseness began about an hour into a dramatic performance and reasoned that it was something he did in the process of reciting that caused him to lose his voice. Returning to his medical doctor, Alexander told him of his observation. When the doctor admitted that he didn't know what Alexander was doing to injure his vocal chords, Alexander decided to try and find out for himself.

Thus began a decade of self-observation and discovery. Using as many as three mirrors to observe himself in the act of reciting, normal speaking, and later standing, walking, and sitting, Alexander managed to improve his coordination and to overcome his vocal problems. One of his most startling discoveries was that in order to change the way he used his body he had to change the way he was thinking, redirecting his thoughts in such a way that he did not produce unnecessary tension when he attempted speech or movement. After making this discovery at the end of the nineteenth century, Alexander became a pioneer in body-mind medicine.

At first, performers and dancers sought guidance from Alexander to overcome physical complaints and to improve the expression and spontaneity of their performances. Soon a great number of people sought help from his teaching for a variety of physical and mental disorders.

The Alexander technique is primarily taught oneon-one in private lessons. Introductory workshops or workshops for special applications of the technique (e.g., workshops for musicians) are also common. Private lessons range from a half-hour to an hour in length, and are taught in a series. The number of lessons varies according to the severity of the student's difficulties with coordination or to the extent of the student's interest in pursuing the improvements made possible by continued study. The cost of lessons ranges from $40-80 per hour. Insurance coverage is not widely available, but discounts are available for participants in some complementary care insurance plans. Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts for health care cover Alexander technique lessons if they are prescribed by a physician.

In lessons teachers guide students through simple movements (while students are dressed in comfortable clothing) and use their hands to help students identify and stop destructive patterns of tension. Tensing arises from mental processes as well as physical, so discussions of personal reactions or behavior are likely to arise in the course of a lesson.

The technique helps students move with ease and improved coordination. At the beginning of a movement (the lessons are a series of movements), most people pull back their heads, raise their shoulders toward their ears, over-arch their lower backs, tighten their legs, and otherwise produce excessive tension in their bodies. Alexander referred to this as misuse of the body.

At any point in a movement, proper use can be established. If the neck muscles are not over-tensed, the head will carry slightly forward of the spine, simply because it is heavier in the front. When the head is out of balance in the forward direction, it sets off a series of stretch reflexes in the extensor muscles of the back. It is skillful use of these reflexes, along with reflex activity in the feet and legs, the arms and hands, the breathing mechanism, and other parts of the body, that lessons in the technique aim to develop.

Alexander found that optimal functioning of the body was very hard to maintain, even for the short period of time it took to complete a single movement. People, especially adults, have very strong tension habits associated with movement. Chronic misuse of the muscles is common. It may be caused by slouching in front of televisions or video monitors, too much sitting or driving and too little walking, or by tension associated with past traumas and injuries. Stiffening the neck after a whiplash injury or favoring a broken or sprained leg long after it has healed are examples of habitual tension caused by injury.

The first thing a teacher of the Alexander technique does is to increase a student's sensory awareness of this excessive habitual tension, particularly that in the neck and spine. Next the student is taught to inhibit the tension. If the student prepares to sit down, for example, he will tense his muscles in his habitual way. If he is asked to put aside the intention to sit and instead to free his neck and allow less constriction in his muscles, he can begin to change his tense habitual response to sitting.

By leaving the head resting on the spine in its natural free balance, by keeping eyes open and focused, not held in a tense stare, by allowing the shoulders to release, the knees to unlock and the back to lengthen and widen, a student greatly reduces strain. In Alexander lessons students learn to direct themselves this way in activity and become skilled in fluid, coordinated movement.

— Sandra Bain Cushman

Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) was an Australian actor and Shakespearean reciter who suffered persistent loss of voice during performance. Although the treatments prescribed by his doctor, combined with rest, succeeded in restoring his voice, this was only a temporary solution. The problem returned as soon as he went back on the stage. Alexander put it to his doctor that the cause must lie in the way he was using his voice, in something that he was doing. Although the doctor agreed, he couldn't say what was wrong. Alexander decided, therefore, to find out for himself.

Over a period of years, beginning in about 1892, Alexander made careful observations of himself and experimented with the way in which he spoke. He did this with nothing more elaborate than a simple arrangement of mirrors. He discovered a pattern of habits which were putting a strain on his larynx and which were responsible for his vocal problems. Through his efforts to change his habits and restore his voice to its proper functioning, he discovered a great deal about human co-ordination and created the method which is taught today as the Alexander Technique.

The particular habits which were the source of Alexander's problem included the tendency to pull his head back and down upon his spine, depress his larynx, and gasp in air through the mouth. These habits were not difficult to discover, though he had not noticed them before. What was really difficult however, was to change them. His repeated failures forced him to reconsider some common and basic assumptions about how the human organism works.

One such assumption was the idea that specific habits can be dealt with separately. Alexander discovered, to the contrary, that specific habits are inseparable from the whole. The way he used his head, neck, larynx, and his breathing were all tied up with everything else he was doing. He found that the solution was to change the way he co-ordinated his action as a whole. When he improved the quality of his co-ordination, the specific habits improved as a consequence. This illustrates the principle of psycho-physical unity, which is central to the Alexander Technique. The individual always acts as a whole, which includes all mental and physical processes.

Alexander also had to reconsider his reliance on the sense of feeling. For he saw that at critical moments he was not doing what he felt he was doing. Even though he felt he was speaking without pulling back his head, the mirror showed otherwise. He had discovered unreliable sensory appreciation. He learned that to change his habits he had to rely on reasoning, for the sense of feeling only enables the repetition of familiar, habitual actions. It could not guide him into a new experience. In the Alexander Technique, you maintain a series of thoughts to direct your co-ordination, rather than relying on the sense of feeling.

The Alexander Technique is a method you can use to change your habitual patterns of co-ordination. It is a skill which you can apply in any circumstance. The first step is inhibition, which is the refusal to act immediately. The second step is direction, which involves thinking of the optimum pattern of co-ordination. This optimum pattern consists of a certain relationship between head, neck, back, and limbs, which is referred to as the primary control. The third step is to make a conscious choice, whether to go ahead with the original intention, do nothing at all, or do something different. These procedures must be unpacked and expanded with the help of a teacher in order for them to be accurately understood.

The improvements in Alexander's voice, and in his health in general, were striking. He was soon in great demand to teach his technique to other actors and singers. As they learned to correct their habits of co-ordination on a general basis, they too experienced greater control in performance and an improvement in functioning in all areas. Poor co-ordination and the chronic strain it entails is associated with problems as diverse as backache, migraine, arthritis, digestive disturbances, circulatory disturbances, breathing disorders, acne, eczema, insomnia, anxiety, neurosis, and depression. When he saw that improvements in co-ordination led to corresponding improvements in health, that use determines functioning, Alexander realized that he had discovered something more important than vocal development, and gave up the stage to devote himself to teaching full time. In 1904 Alexander came to London, armed with letters of introduction from prominent Sydney doctors and specialists who urged him to seek wider recognition. Later he also took his technique to the U. S. Between 1914 and 1924 he spent half of his time there and half of his time in London.

The Alexander Technique is fundamentally educative, in that people learn to improve the way in which they use themselves in any activity. They learn a skill which gives them greater control over themselves. Yet, as Alexander discovered with his first pupils, it is very difficult for people to put this into practice with only a verbal explanation. He evolved a way of putting his hands on people to guide them away from their fixed habits and into a better co-ordination. This use of the hands is often misunderstood. It is not therapeutic, but is instructive for the student who is learning to put the technique into practice. Alexander also discovered that individual attention was of utmost importance. Lessons in the Alexander Technique are given on a one to one basis.

The Alexander Technique is often grouped with alternative therapies. However, it is neither a therapy, nor is it alternative. It is founded on the same scientific process of investigation as any orthodox practice. It is based on the evidence, not yet fully appreciated by modern medicine, that our psycho-physical habits in the daily activities of life play a significant part in determining our state of health and performance.

The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique in London, and affiliated societies in other countries, oversee and certify the training of teachers, who must undergo a 3-year practical training programme. Teachers are increasingly accepted in scientific and medical circles, for even though the technique represents an approach to human problems which is new and challenging, it does not conflict with any established anatomical or physiological principles. When Nikolaas Timbergen won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1973 he devoted a portion of his oration to praise the value of Alexander's technique, and to confirm its scientific standing.

— Tasha Miller, David Langstroth

Bibliography

• Alexander, F. M. (1985 [1932]). The use of the self. Gollancz, London.
• Barlow, W. (1973). The Alexander Principle. Gollancz, London

See also mind-body interaction; movement, control of.

A technique that corrects established defects of posture, particularly those related to the back when lying, sitting, standing, or walking. According to its deviser, the Australian therapist F.M. Alexander, the technique promotes relaxation and can help eliminate aches, pains, and other disorders associated with muscle tension and poor posture.

Definition

The Alexander technique is a somatic method for improving physical and mental functioning. Excessive tension, which Frederick Alexander, the originator, recognized as both physical and mental, restricts movement and creates pressure in the joints, the spine, the breathing mechanism, and other organs. The goal of the technique is to restore freedom and expression to the body and clear thinking to the mind.

Origins

Frederick Matthias Alexander was born in 1869 in Tasmania, Australia. He became an actor and Shakespearean reciter, and early in his career he began to suffer from strain on his vocal chords. He sought medical attention for chronic hoarseness, but after treatment with a recommended prescription and extensive periods of rest, his problem persisted.

Alexander realized that his hoarseness began about an hour into a dramatic performance and reasoned that it was something he did in the process of reciting that caused him to lose his voice. Returning to his medical doctor, Alexander told him of his observation. When the doctor admitted that he didn't know what Alexander was doing to injure his vocal chords, Alexander decided to try and find out for himself.

Thus began a decade of self-observation and discovery. Using as many as three mirrors to observe himself in the act of reciting, normal speaking, and later standing, walking, and sitting, Alexander managed to improve his coordination and to overcome his vocal problems. One of his most startling discoveries was that in order to change the way he used his body he had to change the way he was thinking, redirecting his thoughts in such a way that he did not produce unnecessary tension when he attempted speech or movement. After making this discovery at the end of the nineteenth century, Alexander became a pioneer in body-mind medicine.

At first, performers and dancers sought guidance from Alexander to overcome physical complaints and to improve the expression and spontaneity of their performances. Soon a great number of people sought help from his teaching for a variety of physical and mental disorders.

Benefits

Because the Alexander technique helps students improve overall functioning, both mental and physical, it offers a wide range of benefits. Nikolaas Tinbergen, in his 1973 Nobel lecture, hailed the "striking improvements in such diverse things as high blood pressure, breathing, depth of sleep, overall cheerfulness and mental alertness, resilience against outside pressures, and the refined skill of playing a musical instrument." He went on to quote a list of other conditions helped by the Alexander technique: "rheumatism, including various forms of arthritis, then respiratory troubles, and even potentially lethal asthma; following in their wake, circulation defects, which may lead to high blood pressure and also to some dangerous heart conditions; gastrointestinal disorders of many types, various gynecological conditions, sexual failures, migraines and depressive states."

Literature in the 1980s and 1990s went on to include improvements in back pain, chronic pain, postural problems, repetitive strain injury, benefits during pregnancy and childbirth, help in applying physical therapy and rehabilitative exercises, improvements in strain caused by computer use, improvements in the posture and performance of school children, and improvements in vocal and dramatic performance among the benefits offered by the technique.

Description

The Alexander technique is primarily taught one-onone in private lessons. Introductory workshops or workshops for special applications of the technique (e.g., workshops for musicians) are also common. Private lessons range from a half-hour to an hour in length, and are taught in a series. The number of lessons varies according to the severity of the student's difficulties with coordination or to the extent of the student's interest in pursuing the improvements made possible by continued study. The cost of lessons ranges from $40-80 per hour. Insurance coverage is not widely available, but discounts are available for participants in some complementary care insurance plans. Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts for health care cover Alexander technique lessons if they are prescribed by a physician.

In lessons teachers guide students through simple movements (while students are dressed in comfortable clothing) and use their hands to help students identify and stop destructive patterns of tension. Tensing arises from mental processes as well as physical, so discussions of personal reactions or behavior are likely to arise in the course of a lesson.

The technique helps students move with ease and improved coordination. At the beginning of a movement (the lessons are a series of movements), most people pull back their heads, raise their shoulders toward their ears, over-arch their lower backs, tighten their legs, and otherwise produce excessive tension in their bodies. Alexander referred to this as misuse of the body.

At any point in a movement, proper use can be established. If the neck muscles are not over-tensed, the head will carry slightly forward of the spine, simply because it is heavier in the front. When the head is out of balance in the forward direction, it sets off a series of stretch reflexes in the extensor muscles of the back. It is skillful use of these reflexes, along with reflex activity in the feet and legs, the arms and hands, the breathing mechanism, and other parts of the body, that lessons in the technique aim to develop.

Alexander found that optimal functioning of the body was very hard to maintain, even for the short period of time it took to complete a single movement. People, especially adults, have very strong tension habits associated with movement. Chronic misuse of the muscles is common. It may be caused by slouching in front of televisions or video monitors, too much sitting or driving and too little walking, or by tension associated with past traumas and injuries. Stiffening the neck after a whiplash injury or favoring a broken or sprained leg long after it has healed are examples of habitual tension caused by injury.

The first thing a teacher of the Alexander technique does is to increase a student's sensory awareness of this excessive habitual tension, particularly that in the neck and spine. Next the student is taught to inhibit the tension. If the student prepares to sit down, for example, he will tense his muscles in his habitual way. If he is asked to put aside the intention to sit and instead to free his neck and allow less constriction in his muscles, he can begin to change his tense habitual response to sitting.

By leaving the head resting on the spine in its natural free balance, by keeping eyes open and focused, not held in a tense stare, by allowing the shoulders to release, the knees to unlock and the back to lengthen and widen, a student greatly reduces strain. In Alexander lessons students learn to direct themselves this way in activity and become skilled in fluid, coordinated movement.

Precautions

Side Effects

The focus of the Alexander technique is educational. Teachers use their hands simply to gently guide students in movement. Therefore, both contraindications and potential physiological side effects are kept to a minimum. No forceful treatment of soft tissue or bony structure is attempted, so damage to tissues, even in the case of errors in teaching, is unlikely.

As students' sensory awareness develops in the course of Alexander lessons, they become more acutely aware of chronic tension patterns. As students learn to release excessive tension in their muscles and to sustain this release in daily activity, they may experience tightness or soreness in the connective tissue. This is caused by the connective tissue adapting to the lengthened and released muscles and the expanded range of movement in the joints.

Occasionally students may get light-headed during a lesson as contracted muscles release and effect the circulatory or respiratory functioning.

Forceful contraction of muscles and rigid postures often indicate suppression of emotion. As muscles release during or after an Alexander lesson, students may experience strong surges of emotion or sudden changes in mood. In some cases, somatic memories surface, bringing to consciousness past injury or trauma. This can cause extreme anxiety, and referrals may be made by the teacher for counseling.

Research & General Acceptance

Alexander became well known among the intellectual, artistic, and medical communities in London, England during the first half of the twentieth century. Among Alexander's supporters were John Dewey, Aldous Huxley, Bernard Shaw, and renowned scientists Raymond Dart, G.E. Coghill, Charles Sherrington, and Nikolaas Tinbergen.

Researchers continue to study the effects and applications of the technique in the fields of education, preventive medicine, and rehabilitation. The Alexander technique has proven an effective treatment for reducing stress, for improving posture and performance in school-children, for relieving chronic pain, and for improving psychological functioning. The technique has been found to be as effective as beta-blocker medications in controlling stress responses in professional musicians, to enhance respiratory function in normal adults, and to mediate the effects of scoliosis in adolescents and adults.

Training & Certification

Before his death in 1955, F.M. Alexander formed the Society for Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) in London, England. The Society is responsible for upholding the standards for teachers of the technique. In the late 1980s, due to rapid growth of the Alexander teaching profession, STAT authorized replication of its certification body in many countries worldwide.

The American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) oversees the profession in the United States. Teachers are board certified according STAT standards. They must receive 1600 hours of training over three years at an AmSAT approved training program. Alexander Technique International (ATI), a second organization for teachers in the United States, has varied standards for teacher certification.

Resources

Books

Caplan, Deborah. Back Trouble - A new approach to prevention and recovery based on the Alexander Technique. Triad Communications: 1987.

Dimon, Theodore. THE UNDIVIDED SELF: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress. North Atlantic Books: 1999.

Jones, Frank Pierce. Freedom To Change - The Development and Science of the Alexander Technique. Mouritz: 1997, imported (First published 1976 as Body Awareness in Action.)

Periodicals

Stern, Judith C. "The Alexander Technique: An Approach to Pain Control." Lifeline (Summer 1992).

Tinbergen, Nikolaas. "Ethology and Stress Diseases." England Science 185 (1974):20-27.

Organizations

American Society for the Alexander Technique, 401 East Market Street (P.O. Box 835) Charlottesville, VA 22902 USA. (800) 473-0620; or (804) 295-2840. Fax: 804-295-3947. alexandertec@earthlink.net.

Alexander Technique International, 1692 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. (888) 321-0856. Fax: 617-497-2615. ati@ati-net.com.

Other

Alexander Technique Resource Guide. (includes list of teachers) AmSAT Books, (800) 473-0620 or (804) 295-2840.

Nielsen, Michael. "A Study of Stress Amongst Professional Musicians." STAT Books London, 1994.

Reiser, Samuel. "Stress Reduction and Optimal Psychological Functioning." Lecture given at Sixth International Montreaus Congress on Stress, 1994.

[Article by: Sandra Bain Cushman]

A technique that corrects established defects of posture, particularly with regard to the back when lying, sitting, standing, or walking. According to its deviser, the Australian therapist F. M. Alexander, the technique promotes relaxation, and can help eliminate aches, pains, and other disorders associated with muscle tension and poor posture.

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