The Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique is very effective for back pain. In 2008 a randomised controlled trial was published in British Medical Journal.  The authors of the trial concluded: ‘One to one lessons in the Alexander technique from registered teachers have long term benefits for patients with chronic back pain.’

There has also been research on the Alexander Technique showing ‘significant reductions in neck pain and associated disability’, as well as research showing it is likely to benefit people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.

What happens in a lesson

As an Alexander Technique teacher, I have been trained to use gentle touch to guide students into a better balance. Currently in online lessons I can’t use touch but can help you still very successfully become aware of habits that are interfering with your free, natural poise and breathing.  Every pupil is different and so I will adapt my approach to their individual needs.  However, there are certain things that everyone is likely to do in a lesson.

You are introduced to an active rest position – semi-supine position. You will lie on a firm surface with some books under your head and with the soles of your feet on the ground. I will use gentle touch to move your head, neck, shoulders, arms and legs. Your task is to do nothing (to inhibit your reaction to my hands) and leave yourself alone. I will also verbally guide you how to direct (send messages from your brain to your muscles). When I put hands on you I am at the same time thinking about my own balance and co-ordination, directing my own body to be long, wide and calm. Semi-supine position (with or without the help of a teacher) can be a very calming experience and something you can practise for yourself every day. Lying down every day in this position for about 20 minutes helps to encourage your back to lengthen and widen, your breathing to become easier and for your nervous system to calm down generally.  It’s also a good way to release undue tension.

Part of a lesson will involve chair work. We look at how you sit down and stand up from a chair.  These simple everyday movements can teach us a lot about our habits in general.  For example, most people use far too much effort and have little awareness about how they perform the movement. Quite often, for example, people create a lot of tension in their neck and push unnecessarily with their legs, habits of which they are unaware, or which feel ‘natural’.

Another aspect of sitting is that very often our back gets tired if we sit too long. But after learning the Alexander Technique you may find that it is possible to sit for longer periods without getting tired.

Quite often people think that the Alexander Technique is all about good posture. In one way, yes, it definitely changes how you look and how you feel in your body, but perhaps its biggest influence is on our so-called mental life. Have you ever thought that the way you react to everyday challenges affects you use of yourself as a whole? The Alexander Technique teaches you to become more responsible for your reactions and hence your life in general. Whatever your habitual reactions to the stimulus of everyday life are, it is always possible to change them. So come to a lesson and find out how you can change your whole self (body and mind)!