What is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique helps us to deal with the demands of modern life and enables us to work on the relationship between what we do and how we do it. Our approach to many physical activities is generally unconscious and can become harmful over a period of time. Through a gradual process of re-education we can become more self-aware and learn to recognise and change harmful habits.
When should I use Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique helps with:
- Back pain
- Aching joints
- High blood pressure
- Breathing difficulties
- Digestive problems
- Osteoporosis
- Stress
- Arthritis
- Headaches
- Fibromyalgia
- Asthma
- RSI
Lessons
During a lesson you will work together with the teacher to explore your approach to daily tasks. This will help you to und old patterns, reduce muscular tension and improve your posture. You can then approach movement in a more co-ordinated way with greater poise and balance.
In the first lesson, the technique and how lessons work will be explained in greater detail and the reasons for your seeking treatment will be discussed. Any medical conditions will be noted and any form of exercise that you undertake will be assessed.
How do we know it works?
Clinical trials have proved the efficacy of the Alexander Technique with a variety of conditions. The Technique was compared to other interventions and proven to ease back pain (BMI 23 August 208). Patients with persistent lower back pain were referred by their doctors to an experienced teacher and the trial found that “The Alexander Technique can beat chronic back pain”.
Who is it for?
Everyone can benefit from the Technique and increasingly in our holistic age people are becoming more aware of the need to take care of themselves before a problem develops. The work we do can cause strained muscles, stiff joints or repetitive strain injury, and people will take a series of lessons as a preventative measure. Actors, singers, dancers and sportspeople all recognise the importance of the technique to their performance.