Body Learning: 40th anniversary edition: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique

In order to allow his reasoned direction to dominate habit, Alexander concluded that he must give up all thought of the end for which he was working and focus instead on the steps leading to that end (the ‘means-whereby’).

very useful procedure for freeing yourself from unnecessary tension. It is called the ‘balanced resting state procedure’

He knew that the balanced relationship of his head, neck and torso would organize the rest of the system and that this balanced relationship could only be achieved by indirect means. Instead of going directly for his end (speaking the sentence), Alexander first had to stop and inhibit his habitual response.

One of the aims of an Alexander lesson is to give the pupil the experience of a balanced working of the Primary Control. This is not an end in itself but rather a preparation for activity. I know from my own experience that when this balanced Use is maintained in movement the quality of action changes. Movement becomes lighter and easier, breathing

Alexander employed the word Use to describe the process of control over all those actions that he seemed to have the potential to control.

So, what is the Alexander Technique? The best formal definition is that offered by Dr Frank Jones, former director of the Tufts University Institute for Psychological Research. He described the Technique as ‘a means for changing stereotyped response patterns by the inhibition of certain postural sets’.1 He also described it as ‘a method for expandi

Alexander liked to say, ‘You can do as I do if you do what I did.’

Tonight when you brush your teeth, or the next time you pick up a pen to write, observe the way you distribute your energy. Is it really necessary to tense your neck and interfere with your breathing in order to do these things? If you do not notice anything unusual, you should refer to the chapter on Unreliable Sensory Appreciation (here).

Alexander worked out a plan. First, he would inhibit his immediate response to speak the sentence, thereby stopping at its source the habitual uncoordinated direction. Second, he would consciously practise projecting the directions necessary for his improved Use of himself. Specifically, he would think of letting his neck be free and his head go fo