The Alexander Technique

Harmful habits such as slouching and slumping take their toll on our bodies. Massage can play an integral part in restoring natural balance but without postural awareness then problems are very likely to re-emerge.

The Alexander Technique is claimed to be an intelligent way of solving body problems, some directly associated with posture, others less so. We tend to blame body problems on the actvities we do (such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and RSI on computer work) but quite often it is how we do the task that causes the problems, not the activity itself.

According to Alexander Technique teachers, the Alexander Technique can help us become aware of balance, posture and co-ordination whilst performing such everyday tasks.

The Alexander Technique takes its name from Fredrick Alexander who originated it during 1891-1901 to combat a recurring throat and voice problem.

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The basic premise of the Technique is that when the neck muscles do not overwork, the head balances lightly on top of the spine. The relationship between the head and spine is of supreme significance and how we manage that relationship is critical for the rest of the body. Our neuromuscular system is designed to work is parallel with gravity (rather than against it). Delicate poise of the head enables the body's anti-gravity response. An oppositional force in the torso guides us upward and encourages the spine to lengthen rather than compress as we move around performing our daily tasks. Rather than slouching or holding ourselves locked in a rigid position, we can learn to mobilise this support system and use it wherever we go and whatever we do. This brings into consciousness tensions throughout our body that have previously gone unnoticed and it is these tensions that are very often the root cause of many common problems.

The Alexander Technique involves examining posture, breathing, balance and co-ordination. Practitioners of the Technique claim that it not so much something that is learned, rather something that is unlearned to strip away harmful habits and heighten self-awareness. Many people who practice the Technique can experience a general feeling of lightness throughout their bodies and describe the feeling as 'walking on air'.

The Alexander Technique has broad applications and is required to be studied in schools of acting, music, dance, etc. It's remedially used for gaining full recovery of balance and ease of motion and, to unlearn and avoid repetitive stress. It is taught by a student's motion being guided by the teacher with specialised hands-on modeling, usually with a light touch during a repeated action. The teacher can give subtle indications that the student follows. Depending on the postural and motion deficiencies, structural posture may or may not improve but freedom of movement will almost certainly improve during a lesson.

For personal practice of the Alexander Technique, teachers generally recommend twenty to forty private lessons/classes. Most students are slow to reliably and consistently sustain the effects of lessons on their own, because it's sometime difficult to influence what cannot yet be perceived. In difficult cases, our habits seem to rely on defensive self-preservation. However, most people get the help they need to make significant changes within a few weeks or months.

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If you wish to consult an Inner West Alexander Technique practitioner then Penelope Carr has been teaching the Alexander Technique for the past 20 years at her Rozelle clinic.
Since 1997 Penelope has been training new teachers as the assistant director of the Sydney Alexander School and she runs regular workshops in NSW and Queensland for physiotherapists, musicians and young performers, teachers of dressage and people from all walks of life who want to move with ease and grace.

Penelope Carr
46 Alfred Street,
Rozelle, 2039
Phone: 98104347
Email: penelope@alexandertechniqueconsultant.com

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