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1.
RECOGNIZE THE POWER OF HABIT
In
the course of time, our reactions to our surroundings and the
pressures of daily living give rise to automatic and inappropriate
movements which can cause problems of varying degrees –
pains in and damage to: our backs, knees, necks and so on. In
order to change this situation, we need to put in place a process
of recognition of our condition and its gradual change. That is
what is taught by the Alexander Technique practitioner – who
for this reason is called a teacher.
BACK
2.
INACCURATE FEELING OF SELF
Our
habitual inappropriate movements eventually also result in our
feeling that a bad movement is correct. Though
his lengthy researches, Alexander discovered that the way we feel
our body can be quite far from the reality. For example, he
thought that his head was leaning forwards but when he studied
himself in the mirrors, he realised that in actual fact it tended
to lean backwards!
Try
putting your arm straight up into the air without looking at it
and look in the mirror – the probability is that it is
not straight at all –
yet we feel it is straight!
The
mirror, our eyes and the teacher (the practitioner), act as our
guide instead of our inaccurate feelings. By watching ourselves in
the mirror and with the aid of the teacher’s hands, we can
improve our movements and our mistaken reactions.
BACK
3.
STOP AND RETHINK
By
studying ourselves, it is possible to re-educate the body to move
correctly before it reacts. We then prevent the automatic
movements and bad habits and begin to move in such a way as to
create the right relationship between the the neck, the head and
the back. This enables the body to move in a freer and more
balanced way and with less effort.
The
ability to stop and suspend one’s reactions to a stimulus is
known as “inhibition”. This is the possibility of the
freedom of one’s thought to decide not to react
automatically, but to suspend one’s movement and to arrange
the body in a better and more balanced manner.
Stopping
is a refined and swift process and the suspension of movement will
be profitable only if a further process will take place
simultaneously. This brings us to the next point.
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4.
GIVING CORRECT DIRECTIONS
This
is the interference in the process of reactions and instinctive
movements by giving directions with the help of the words: “let
the neck be free, let the head lead – forwards and upwards,
and let the back be straight and wide.” This is done in two
ways:
a.
the giving of conscious directions by the teacher and the pupil;
b.
with the guiding hands of a proficient teacher.
During
his investigations, Alexander became aware of the relationships
between the neck, the head, the back and the limbs. If these
relationships are correct, the organism is more healthy. They also
determine the quality of our use of ourselves in all that do.
Alexander called this system of relationships “Primary
Control”.
When
we contract our neck, our head is forced “into” our
bodies, and the length of body is reduced. Our arms and legs
retract into our body too. This condition results in improper
functioning of all the psycho-physical systems in that inaccurate
directions are given by the brain to the body. However, by giving
different directions which prevent the neck contracting we allow
the neck to be free, the head to lead -forwards and upwards –
the back to expand sideways and upwards, and our legs and arms to
stretch thus freeing the joints to act freely and in a balanced
way. The Alexander teacher first gives these directions to the
pupil and gradually enables the pupil to take control and to give
the correct directions himself or herself.
Alexander
found that the most effective way to achieve this objective is to
stop (inhibit) our automatic reactions and instead to activate the
psycho-physical system by taking over the primary control (the
relationship between the neck, the head and the back) by directing
ourselves to “let the neck be free so that the head can move
forwards and upwards and the back spread out”. The teacher
gives the directions verbally and also guides the pupil with his
or her hands.
BACK
5.
"DOING" AND “NOT DOING” (the objective –
the means on the way)
This
consists in putting the emphasis on the process of directing the
body and properly organising ourselves to prevent automatic
reactions. The important thing is the process on the way to
achieving the objective and not achieving the objective. Alexander
called this indirect change by the name: “the means on the
way” or in other words, Alexander technique shows us how to
achieve our objectives in a better and more balanced way.
The
treatment is given in lessons during which the teacher works with
his or her hands on the pupil. The teacher directs the pupils body
and teaches him or her to carry out daily activities in a balanced
way guided by the rules giving directions. In the same way that a
violinist tunes his violin before plays, the teacher “tunes”
the pupil so that he or she can produce the “right notes”
with his or her body.
Lessons
are usually on a one to one basis. The skill required from the
teacher requires him or her to be aware of the situation of each
individual pupil and to work with him or her on the basis of those
needs and not on the basis of some fixed rules.
The
system is educational in its approach and stresses the need for a
continual change of thinking in the movements of our body. It
teaches balanced and right use of the body both to children and
adults. The standard of our functioning improves immediately and
that has a positive effect at all levels: back problems, neck
problems, joints, breathing, tiredness, sore throats and much
more.
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