Alexander Technique
What Is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is a method for improving posture, movement, and overall body awareness. It was developed by F. Matthias Alexander, an Australian actor, in the early 1900s. The technique emphasizes the relationship between the head, neck, and spine and how it affects overall movement and balance.
The Alexander Technique involves learning to release unnecessary tension in the body and improve overall alignment and balance. It emphasizes the use of the whole body, rather than just isolated muscles or parts, to move efficiently and with less effort. This can help reduce stress and strain on the body, improve breathing and circulation, and enhance overall wellbeing.
The technique is usually taught through one-on-one sessions with a certified Alexander Technique teacher, who uses a combination of verbal guidance and gentle touch to help the student become more aware of their posture and movement patterns. The teacher may also guide the student through specific exercises or movements designed to improve their overall coordination and balance.
The Alexander Technique has been used to help alleviate chronic pain, improve posture and movement in athletes and performers, and enhance overall wellbeing in people of all ages and backgrounds. It’s a non-invasive, holistic approach to improving overall body awareness and function.
This technique states that a good posture helps the overall body experience a feeling of lightness that helps move the neck, head, and back without restriction and keeps the spine aligned, thereby allowing for maximum movement and flexibility.
The Alexander Technique can help regain a good posture by learning new ways of sitting, standing, breathing, and moving.
These new ways of movement ensure that there is minimum pressure on the body and all its muscles, boosting the overall efficiency and performance throughout the day.
The technique requires understanding the freedom of movement and a self-realization of how this freedom may be achieved.
This realization comes from figuring out ways that we interfere in this movement on a routine basis and adopting preventive measures to stop such an interference.
This self-realization is automatically translated into a self-healing system for one’s body, thereby yielding actual results in the form of ease of movement and greater efficiency.
Does the Alexander Technique Help Fix Posture?
The Alexander Technique definitely helps with the underlying problem. The technique is not specifically designed for posture, but it has had an impact on posture for all those who have adopted it.
The Alexander Technique begins by creating an awareness of what the human body, i.e., your own body, is actually doing.
The technique has been developed to change one’s thoughts and to redirect these thoughts into making better and improved choices regarding movement and reaction rather than relying on a posture corrector or other devices.
Once the recognition of being out of balance is made, the technique enables the individual to learn a manageable and sustainable way to restore it.
In this particular stage, you can get relief from neck and shoulder tension. The relationship between the head, neck and spine is, thus, restored.
As a result, movement-related tensions and discomforts disappear.
Once a natural poise is achieved, the body and mind find stability, balance, and fluidity. The body feels good and works better than it used to with a new and improved posture.