Often at the start of an Alexander Technique lesson here in New York City, I’ll ask ‘how did it go this week?’ A few responses: ‘I did the Alexander Technique, but not all the time,’ or, ‘I thought about the Alexander Technique, but not all the time.’ To me, these are honest answers, but does anyone think of the Alexander Technique all the time? Would we want to be thinking about it constantly, and thinking of nothing else? Is that any way to enjoy a movie, a book or a companion?
The Alexander Technique definitely becomes part of life, and new, more beneficial habits are formed. Even without directly thinking about the Alexander Technique, we’ve changed. We begin to have less tension with everything we do. We sit at the computer, stand, walk, bend, play the bassoon and bowl in a different way without the Alexander Technique being in the forefront of our thinking…

When speaking of musculoskeletal problems, those are five of the most depressing, disheartening, unintentionally cruel and very often untrue words a health professional can say….as an Alexander Technique teacher in NYC, part of my job is to help people reverse or prevent damage, and I see back pain, neck pain etc. minimized and eliminated all the time, every day. People get better, and better, and better. The power of the human body (and mind, and spirit) to rejuvenate is well known. People start the healing process the minute they stop hurting themselves. The Alexander Technique teaches you how to stop hurting yourself; how to stop the damage, so you can start getting better…

The Alexander Technique calms you down as it wakes you up. The Alexander Technique lets you know what you already knew but forgot so that you can remember it when you forget it again. It gives some un-namable things names, reinforced by a guiding touch. The Alexander Technique gives you words, strategies and directions to get the feelings you want. It opens you up. All you have to do is think of it. The Alexander Technique has plenty of side effects, only they’re all good ones…

“How can I incorporate the Alexander Technique into my life?” I hear this question, and versions of it, frequently at Alexander Technique lessons. It’s really a great question and gets to the heart of the matter of the benefits of the Alexander Technique.
The Alexander Technique is done as you think about it. If you’re thinking about the principles of the Alexander Technique, you’re doing the technique, or you’re practicing the technique, or you’re performing the technique, or you’re applying the technique, or you’re incorporating the Alexander Technique into your life.
As an Alexander Technique teacher I emphasize awareness of initiating movement; how you start actions like moving your hands, initiating walking, so…

NEW YORK TIMES August 2009

Since touch can be such an important part in the Alexander Technique, this New York Times article is especially apropos. Although not specifically about the Alexander Technique, it has strong relevance. It was printed in the August 11th, 2009 New York Times by Nicholas Bakalar. Please note the last line, referring to touch: “This is a sophisticated differential signaling system that we haven’t previously known about.” Alexander Technique teachers have been using touch to convey ideas, concepts and feelings for well over 100 years. Please enjoy the following article.

Researchers have found experimental evidence that a touch can be worth a thousand words, that fleeting physical contact can express specific emotions — silently, subtly and unmistakably…

Many times people say to me ‘I did ok this week, Alexander Techniquewise, but I caught myself a few times.’ There can be a negative connotation to ‘catching oneself ‘, but there doesn’t have to be. In fact catching yourself slumping or sitting up rigidly straight is really a positive thing. It’s at those moments where you can employ the principles of the Alexander Technique and make positive changes. As you catch yourself, you’re becoming aware; you’re waking up. Additionally…

Asking a prospective teacher ‘how many lessons will I need?’ is a fair question. However, if you ask that to a piano teacher, she might answer: “to do what?” Playing chopsticks is one thing; playing a concerto is another. People ask Alexander Technique teachers that question all the time…

In 1973, Nicholas Tinbergen and two others won the Nobel prize for Physiology-Medicine. He dedicated a good portion of his acceptance speech to F.M. Alexander and the Alexander Technique. He was an Alexander Technique student, as was his wife and daughter. They all took Alexander Technique lessons with different Alexander Technique teachers. What follows is the beginning of the portion of the speech relating to the Alexander Technique:

…My second example of the usefulness of an ethological approach to Medicine has quite a different history. It concerns the work of a very remarkable man, the late F. M. Alexander. His research started some fifty years before the revival of Ethology for which we are now being honoured, yet his procedure was very similar to modern observational methods, and we believe that his achievements and those of his pupils deserve close attention…

Alexander Technique in New York City is a challenge. Applying the Alexander Technique to bike riding in New York City is a bigger challenge! For my first bike (bicycle) ride I chose to be near NYC. This was my first ride in quite a few years. It’s funny how once you’ve learned this skill, it stays with you forever. It’s kind of like riding a bike…anyway it was great to be riding again; supplying my own power, the wind rustling through where my hair used to be…

Yesterday a student told me that he thought it ‘took energy’ to sit or stand using the principles of the Alexander Technique. If he just sat the way he always sat, he said, it took very little effort and felt comfortable. I can’t disagree that it is comfortable to sit, stand, move and walk in our habitual way. A lot of our habits, though comfortable, aren’t beneficial for us. Slumping is one of those habits, and slumping also takes energy because…