The Alexander Technique teaches you how to be mindful and aware of excess muscular tension and the movement habits that are potentially harmful to you and which may have been in place for many years. With the help of a teacher you will learn to avoid these habits and to move with greater ease.
During lessons you increase your awareness of how you are using yourself, you learn to pause and let things happen differently and then to apply this during your daily activities.
You will learn to respond thoughtfully and calmly to stimuli in a variety of situations, helping you to be more effective and better able to cope with stress.
F.M. Alexander
F.M. Alexander (1869-1955) wrote four books about his discoveries based on personal observation, initiated by his need to prevent himself losing his voice when reciting. At the start of his fourth book “The Universal Constant in Living” is the following statement:
“Few of us hitherto have given consideration to the question of the extent to which we are individually responsible for the ills that our flesh is heir to, this, because we have not come to a realization of the faulty and often harmful manner in which we use ourselves in our daily activities….”
Teaching people to ‘use’ themselves better was his life’s work.
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