What is the Alexander Technique? Take Two!
“What is the Alexander Technique?” is a question I am often asked, so a few weeks ago I wrote a blog giving fifteen simple, one-sentence descriptions of the Alexander Technique. I’ve been posting these, and others, on my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages to help people understand in a simple way what the Alexander Technique is about. As a follow up to my initial blog, here are ten more that I’ve come up with, or collected, since then.
- Alexander Technique is a simple, intelligent way to relieve the pain and stress caused by everyday misuse of your body.
- Alexander Technique provides a way to be present and mindful whatever you are doing.
- Alexander Technique is a unique and thoughtful way to solve harmful habits of tension, compression and reaction.
- Alexander Technique provides a natural way to relieve and prevent pain.
- Alexander Technique is a way to reduce strain and muscular tension, and prevent injury.
- Alexander Technique is a way to improve posture and body mechanics by letting go of unnecessary tension.
- Alexander Technique is a way to enhance your performance – at work, at home, on stage or at the gym.
- Alexander Technique is a way to manage stress.
- Alexander Technique is a way to improve confidence and self-control in all that you do.
- Alexander Technique is a way to enjoy greater mind/body awareness.
I believe there is something very useful about attempting to distill an idea to its essence – stating something very simply and succinctly. It might not tell you everything, but it gives you an idea of what something is about. If you don’t know much about the Alexander Technique, did you find reading these helpful in giving you an idea of what the Alexander Technique is about? And which one/s particularly piqued your interest?
If you’re familiar with the Alexander Technique, which do you most identify with? Or do you have a simple way you like to describe the Alexander Technique to others?
As always, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Alexander Technique – it’s how to refresh outdated muscle memories.
Alexander Technique is a bunch of interesting mind/body principles about how human response works to carry intention into action; it also has a practical awareness discipline that shows how your own movement quality can ease up.
Here’s a page that may help people to come up with their own definitions…if they have had some experiences with A.T. already…
http://franis.org/Alexander/Alexander_Technique_defined_by_you.html
Those are great, Franis. Thanks for sharing, and for the link!
All very useful under a variety of circumstances, thanks!
How about:
Alexander Technique is a way of learning to move mindfully through life.
Alexander Technique teaches one how to respond to the stress of everyday living with ease, balance, and poise, by reducing excess tension and pain in all types of movement activities.
Or, I have always liked Joan Arnold’s definition: Alexander Technique is an intelligent way to solve body problems.
Love them, Amy! Thanks so much for adding to my collection!
Brandon Straw writes: means whereby, to solve body problems, refresh outdated muscle memories. The revolution comes when you stop telling everyone how good it is and tell them the means whereby it may happen. Your wish [is] to sell. That’s not AT.
Good point, that A.T. is a revolution. So let’s have a go:
A.T. works by learning self-observation, experimenting with productive questions about the practical origins of movement response and involves judging for relative effortlessness instead of what feels familiar.
I just described the process of learning A.T in one sentence. Did you learn anything in that sound-byte? Maybe not, because learning involves new experiences. Words are frozen meanings; you must imagine that you know what I’m talking about as anyone needs to translate to re-create the meaning of what a communicator is saying. Context is needed for learning new meanings; sometimes this context must be shown, demonstrated or enacted and not talked about.
My wish is to educate and I actually spend most of my time attempting to write about A.T. for no pay. Sound-byte definitions can spin into misunderstandings and we’re all tired of advertising. Education involves strategically creating a new experience; this is challenging with words that describe movement. With words, writers are left with selecting examples universal enough for people to make a discovery, despite the risk of being wrong. Complex human defenses are designed to avoid untried solutions, to the nth degree of self-deception. Learning is frustrating until you “get it.” How do you recognize what you’re getting – if you’ve never seen it before or recognized its value? Being shown by hands-on coaching is a short-cut to surprising proofs, so that’s why everyone who teaches A.T. recommends hands-on lessons.
Did I provide a satisfying answer to your concern? A.T. teachers would like to convince people to invest the time to become educated. Turn your time into value by finding an A.T. teacher and negotiating a trade, if you don’t have money.