General Info | FM Alexander | Research | British Medical Journal Video

General Information

People use the Alexander Technique to:

• Improve posture
• Improve performance and prevent injury in music, dance, drama and sport
• Enhance business and presentation skills
• Develop ease and elegance in movement
• Enhance voice projection
• Support pregnancy and childbirth
• Change conditions that stop them enjoying a happy, healthy life.

The Technique helps people across the world to naturally overcome:

• Muscle tension and stiffness of joints
• Back, neck, and shoulder pain
• Postural problems
• Physical, mental and emotional stress
• Headaches and migraines
• Anxiety/Depression
• Fatigue
• Sports injuries
• RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)
• Scoliosis / Sciatica
• Chronic pain
• Osteoarthritis
• Rhuemitism
• Insomnia
• Breathing and vocal problems
• High blood pressure
• Whiplash
• Weight loss
• Panic attacks

Alexander Lessons quieten and calm the nervous system, teaching the pupil how to manage life's demands and upsets, and achieve clarity, freedom and poise in everyday life. The Technique promotes self-healing for mind and body, and is an essential lifestyle education in today's urban environment.

How will the technique work?

The technique works by helping you to identify and prevent the harmful postural habits that may be the cause of stress and pain. It tackles the source of the problem rather than just treating the symptoms.

You will learn to release tension and rediscover balance of mind and body.

With an increased awareness you can:

• Be poised, without stiffness
• Move gracefully, with less effort
• Be alert and focused, with less strain
• Breathe and speak more easily
• Be calm and confident
• Restore your natural health, poise and vitality

Frederick Matthias Alexander
1869 – 1955

From one man’s problem to a worldwide solution

FM, as he came to be known, was a young and promising actor. Faced with a vocal problem which risked ending his career - his voice would become increasingly hoarse during performances, until he could barely produce any sound at all. He consulted doctors, but they were unable to diagnose any specific disease or cause of the hoarseness. He reasoned, that this might be the result of something he was doing to himself.

Observing himself in mirrors over a period of 8 – 10 years, he discovered that in everything he did, whether speaking, moving or thinking affected his entire neuromuscular system from head to toe.

Gradually, as others noticed his improved health and performance, he began to show his technique to those who came to him for help.

Recognition

In London, Alexander's reputation grew rapidly. One of his earliest acquaintances and pupils was Sir Henry Irving, considered the greatest Shakespearean actor of his time. Many doctors, including Peter MacDonald, later to become chairman of the BMA, endorsed his work and sent patients to him. In 1939, a group of physicians wrote to the British Medical Journal urging that Alexander’s principles be included in medical training. Eminent thinkers who went to Alexander included George Bernard Shaw and Aldous Huxley. A number of scientists also endorsed his method, recognising that Alexander’s practical observations were consistent with scientific discoveries in neurology and physiology. The most eminent of these was Sir Charles Sherrington, today considered the father of modern neurology. With its wide application, Alexander’s technique drew people from all walks of life, including politics (Sir Stafford Cripps and Lord Lytton), religion (William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury), education (Esther Lawrence, principal of the Froebel Institute) and business (Joseph Rowntree).

Famous people who have studied the Alexander Technique include:

Paul McCartney, Sting, William Hurt, Keanu Reeves, Hillary Swank, Paul Newman, Jeremy Irons, Joel Gray, Mary Steenbergen, Julie Andrews, Patrick Stewart, Kevin Kline, Joanne Woodward, John Cleese, John Houseman, Robin Williams, James Earl Jones, Judy Dench, Ben Kingsley, Professor Niko Tinbergen (Winner of Nobel Prize in Medicine), Frederick Perls (Originator of Gestalt Therapy), Moshe Feldenkrais (Originator of the Feldenkrais Method), John Dewey, Dr. Andrew Weil, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

RESEARCH

Research into the Alexander Technique

In August 2008 the British Medical Journal published the results of a large randomised control trial comparing the effects of Alexander Technique lessons with massage and GP prescribed exercise. Based on rigorous scientific data, the results confirmed the long-term benefit of learning Alexander Technique for chronic and recurrent back-pain sufferers. Patients who followed the series of 24 AT lessons benefited the most and showed considerable improvements in function, quality of life and a reduction in the number of days they suffered pain. Furthermore it was shown that one year after the trial started, the average number of activities limited by back pain had fallen by 42 per cent, and the number of days in pain was only three a month compared with 21 days in the control group, proving that even after lessons had finished patients were able to carry on using what they had learnt to help themselves. The clinical trial confirmed that the Alexander Technique is more effective than other more traditional approaches to back pain.

You can also download the full PDF report by clicking on this link.

British Medical Journal Alexander Video: