Alexander Technique
F. Matthias Alexander was an Australian actor who kept losing his voice during performances. Doctors found nothing wrong. Alexander spent years observing himself in mirrors, discovering that he habitually pulled his head back and down when speaking. This compression affected his entire body and strangled his voice. When he learned to prevent this pattern, his voice problems disappeared.
The technique he developed addresses the “use of the self” — how we organize our bodies for action. Everyone develops habits of posture and movement. Most are invisible to us because they feel normal. Alexander proposed that faulty habits cause much suffering attributed to other causes.
The key insight is that you can’t directly fix posture by trying harder. Telling yourself to sit up straight activates more effort, often more tension. Instead, the technique works through inhibition — learning to pause and not react habitually. In that pause, a different possibility emerges.
“Let the neck be free, to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen” — the “directions” aren’t instructions to do something but intentions to stop doing the wrong thing. The body knows how to organize efficiently. The problem is interference from habit.
Teachers work with students in everyday activities: sitting, standing, walking, reaching. The teacher’s hands provide information about the student’s patterns and guide toward different coordination. This isn’t manipulation — it’s communication. The student learns to recognize tension and choose to release it.
A typical lesson might explore rising from a chair. Most people thrust forward, tense the neck, fix the breath. The teacher helps the student discover what isn’t necessary in this movement. The chair-rise becomes an experiment in doing less.
Scientific evidence for the technique is growing. A major study (ATEAM, 2008) found Alexander Technique lessons more effective than massage or exercise for chronic back pain. The benefits persisted long after lessons ended because students learned to maintain improved use themselves.
The technique attracts performers. Musicians at conservatories study it to prevent injury and improve expressiveness. Actors use it to find physical presence. The principle applies broadly: whatever you do, how you do it affects the outcome. Improved use improves everything.
Go Deeper
Books
- The Use of the Self by F.M. Alexander — Alexander’s own account of discovering the technique through mirror observation. The primary source.
- Body Learning by Michael Gelb — Accessible introduction for the curious reader.
- The Alexander Technique Manual by Richard Brennan — Practical guide with illustrations.
Essays
- The ATEAM study (2008) in the British Medical Journal — Rigorous evidence that lessons reduce chronic back pain more effectively than standard care.
Films
- Judi Dench: A Passion for Trees (BBC, 2017) — The actress discusses how Alexander Technique transformed her stage presence and helped manage performance anxiety.
Related: [[movement]], [[feldenkrais]], [[proprioception]], [[shoshin]]