F. M. Alexander

For a while I was very interested in the Alexander Technique and have had many lessons from two teachers. I even began writing a book which reviewed the literature of the Technique which I will post here in it's unfinished state. Many more books have been published since, but I had hoped to point people towards Alexander's own writing anyway. His views on our habits really make sense and in fact are reinfroced for me by my studies in other areas esp Buddhism.

What is the Alexander Technique?

From my unfinished reading guide to the Alexander Technique...

'Man's supreme inheritance' is the ability to inhibit habitual control of our actions and substitute conscious reasoned control. "By and through consciousness and the application of a reasoning intelligence, man may rise above the powers of all disease and physical disability". Heady stuff! Alexander had been teaching his technique to others for about 17 years when he wrote this book, and six of those years were spent in London. He had even then an enormous number of examples of the success of his method of re-education. The difference is that Alexander, through his books and his teachings, showed us the practical steps we can take to make the dream come true.

The thesis goes something like this: in prehistoric times we were well served by instinctive or habitual control of our actions. Change was always at a slow pace and we had plenty of time to adapt to any new situations. In the modern world the pace of change is much faster (even around the turn of the century - how much more so now). Our habitual control is no longer adequate, and more often leads us astray into patterns of use that are harmful, causing disease and deformity. All forms of physical culture utilising our habitual guidance only serve to accentuate this effect. Alexander argues that the sub-conscious is merely the complete set of habits.

As we have progressed along the road of civilisation, we have learned to inhibit our habits of thought and our desires. This is an evolutionary step - we are no longer natural animals. Any separation of the mind and body is completely arbitrary and in practice the two cannot be separated. What we need to do now is bring our habitual control of our whole organism (mind and body together as one) under conscious control. Alexander contends, and has demonstrated, that any act using voluntary muscle can be controlled - any unconscious habit can be elevated to consciousness and controlled.

While consciousness is the gift that sets us apart from the other animals, it is also a burden to us - we must employ it in every sphere or else we go wrong.