Alexander Technique

Alexander Technique the Movement Specialists,
 

The Alexander Technique ("AT") is a century old method of improving posture, balance and coordination.  Alexander teachers use gentle manipulation and verbal instruction to cultivate an alignment of head neck and spine and to reduce muscle tension. 

It is both a pleasurable and life-changing experience.  Students report a sense of "lightness" and ease of function. 

The Alexander Technique is clinically proven to reduce the cause of back pain.  A recent study by the British Medical Association (funded by NHS Research and Development Fund and Medical Research Council) found that AT has a beneficial effect on patients suffering from chronic or recurrent back pain.  The trial assessed benefits provided by three modalities: Alexander Technique lessons, classical massage and normal GP care with aerobic exercise.  A year later, the approach with the most beneficial long term effect was the Alexander Technique with an 85% reduction in back pain.  (See BMJ  2008; 337:a884).

Alexander Technique is a functional approach to movement and pain. Rather than treat symptoms, the Technique goes one step back and provides an individual analysis of a student's actual movement patterns.  It is often how we do something that creates the problem, not the activity itself.

Essential to the work is the head/neck relationship. When the neck muscles do not overwork, the head balances on top of the spine, creating upward length and a lack of compression.  If the head is compressed down on the spine, the entire body is affected by excess muscle tension and effort.   

 One can not "undo" muscle tension by "doing more".  One must learn to do less, and ultimately the best way to do less is to direct your body by your thoughts.  The Alexander Technique opens up new perceptions of the boundaries of the mind/body connection.

The Alexander Technique has application to all movement from the ordinary activities of daily living to more skilled pursuits of performance, the arts and/or sports.   One can apply AT to how you sit at your computer, how you wash the dishes, how you play your sport,  sing or play an instrument....   As an added bonus,  in the process, one's appearance improves.  There is a softening of muscle tension and improved skeletal alignment.  In short, the Alexander Technique can help anyone improve their life.  As one of my students has said, "with the Alexander Technique, I can actually get better as I get older". Nan Prener.  

   Victoria Quesada Moore, certified teacher of the Alexander Technique