About the Alexander Technique
An Education in the Use of Ourselves
Sitting, standing, walking. Activities we do every day. But do we ever think about how we do them? We learned to move our body when we were children; as adults, we no longer pay it much attention. But unconscious habits of tension and mal-coordination, often learned during childhood or caused by over use and injury, continue to affect us throughout our lives.
How we have learned to move is as important a key to our physical and emotional health as getting exercise and eating a balanced diet. Tension habits can prevent us from being able to learn new skills, play a role in causing musculo-skeletal pain and injury, and even prevent us from fully realizing our talents. You may jog many miles each week yet suffer from chronic back pain or knee pain. You may exercise regularly at a gym or practice yoga, yet be unable to sit comfortably through a meeting. Musicians and athletes may practice long hours, yet find themselves unable to perform as well as they would like. Many more of us become stiff and hunched over as we age, and find it increasingly difficult to relax or get to sleep at the end of a busy day.
Remaining healthy and fit requires more than just exercising to strengthen our muscles and heart. It requires that we learn to prevent our tension patterns and habits of mal-coordination, and then learn to restore a more balanced and coordinated use of ourselves in everything we do.
The Alexander Technique is an educational method that gives us the tools to do just this. It teaches us how to change and improve our psycho-motor coordination in whatever we do. It offers us important insights about our unconscious habits, how to prevent them, and how to maintain our musculoskeletal health. Distinct from exercise, massage, or therapy, the Alexander Technique opens a new door into understanding how our tensions are triggered and how we can think and move more easily than we’d ever imagined. In a series of lessons we can learn to sit without slouching, to walk without feeling heavy and tired, to play an instrument or engage in sports without strain and injury. By teaching us to develop our conscious awareness and innate physical intelligence, the Alexander Technique offers an invaluable and unique education in the use of ourselves.