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The Alexander Technique is a system of
re-education that teaches us how to use ourselves in accordance with our design.
Sue qualified as an
Alexander Teacher in 1993.She has a great deal of experience of working
with individual pupils and groups. She specialises in working with
children and has an international reputation as a pioneer in this area.
Her web site www.ed2k.org.uk has more
information about this.
Sue also specialises in work
with riders and their horses.
In workshop one you will
experience some Alexander work and a simple way of beginning to introduce
this into your life. The Alexander Technique can only be introduced in a
workshop situation. To learn it more thoroughly you will need to take individual
lessons.
Why do we need the Alexander Technique?
Use affects functioning. If we use ourselves well we function well if we use ourselves badly we function badly. Our use is directly responsible for the quality of everything that we do.
The head is designed to balance freely on the top of the spine. If we do not interfere with this mechanism we are poised and well balanced, our muscular and skeletal systems are usually well aligned and efficient and all the other systems of the body are allowed to function to their optimum efficiency. Unfortunately, and particularly in more technologically advanced societies, it usually happens that we
do interfere with the balancing mechanism of the head (Alexander referred to this mechanism as "the primary control ").
The effects of such interference vary from individual to individual but usually it means that the spine becomes to some degree distorted and therefore shortened. Any shortening of the spine causes a related collapsing of the torso and consequent degraded functioning of all bodily
systems. In the short term this usually means that we are not doing things as well as we could. In the longer term bad use can lead to a variety of connected symptoms e.g.: back, neck and shoulder pain, sciatic pain, breathing problems, digestive problems and feelings of loss of control and depression.
How does the Alexander Technique change things?
Using the Technique we can learn how to use ourselves well again. At the same time we are learning how to
consciously control our use - this is not something that we are naturally able to do. Essentially we learn how to release the large muscles of the neck in order to allow the head to again balance freely on the top of the spine. We then learn how to make this happen during our daily lives. The effects of this tend to be that we become taller and more poised and feel freer, looser and less stressed.
How Does It Work?
As a pupil you learn to appreciate the practical implications of thought and its effect on muscle activity. A teacher's hands encourage a specific quality of muscle tone. Together with words of instruction, this helps to release inappropriate
tension and allows the body to become better aligned and
balanced. You may feel lighter, looser and taller. At first all of this will probably regress but, over a period of time, you will learn to create the conditions for change
yourself.
Apart from short introductory courses for groups the Alexander Technique is taught individually.
Is The Alexander Technique New?
F. M. Alexander was born in Tasmania in 1869 and he died in London in 1955. By this time he had built up a significant teaching practice and had trained several pupils as teachers of the Technique. Some of these teachers are still alive and well and
teaching the Alexander Technique in London and around the world.
The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique -
STAT- was established in 1958 and is the internationally recognised representative body. The Society has over 1660 members world-wide and around 760 teaching members in the UK. They are professionally qualified and adhere to a
published code of ethics. Monitoring and developing standards of training are important
aspects of the Society's work. All it's members have completed a three-year, full-time training course and have reached a standard approved by the Society. A full list of teachers in the UK is available from STAT via the post or
on their
web site.
More sites dealing with the Alexander Technique can also be found in the directory of
related links. Including some info on finding a teacher in other parts of the world.
To read more about Sue Merry's
work with children and the Alexander Technique or to buy her book you
can link to her site dedicated to this at www.ed2k.org.uk
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