In Man’s Supreme Inheritance by F.M.Alexander, (the ‘Alexander’ in the Alexander Technique) writes…”a human being functions as a whole and can only be functionally changed as a whole.” (As in holistic). Alexander Technique teachers see this illuminated countless times a day. Pre-Alexander Technique lessons, people often have the mistaken impression that their back pain has nothing to do with their neck, their neck pain has nothing to do with their jaw, their hand pain has nothing to do with their overall tension, and their shallow breathing has nothing to do with their job. In ‘Preoccupation with the Disconnected’, John Dewey, (author, educator, philosopher, Alexander Technique devotee) writes: “The world seems mad in preoccupation what is specific, particular and disconnected in medicine, politics, science, industry and education”. With the glamorization of specialization in Western Medicine, the ‘whole’ person is sometimes ignored.
People commonly come to Alexander Technique lessons because of lower back or neck pain, but the lower back or the neck cannot be treated as if they were separate entities, unrelated to the rest of the person. How you hold your head affects your neck, shoulders, lower back, the rest of your spine, and the rest of you.
For example, as you read this you might become aware that your face is poking towards the screen. Actually it’s your neck jutting out, and down, towards the screen. Your face is just going along for the ride. As the neck pokes forward, it’s probably taking the upper back and shoulders with it so that you’re forming a ‘C’ curve compressing your entire spine. Since the nerves emanate from the spine shortening the neck or lower back can affect the limbs and the organs as well. If your neck and shoulders are doing the work of your back, they’re bound to overwork, or they overwork so they get bound. One of the many reasons the Alexander Technique works is because it is holistic.
Please feel free to comment.
Mark Josefsberg- Alexander Technique NYC
(917) 709-4648
Very nice post! Be sure to check out the main Alexander Technique site at https://alexandertechnique.com to learn more about Alexander and his method.
Alexandertechnique.com is a great site, maintained by my friend Alexander teacher Robert Rickover. He has made his site into ‘the main site’ with his hard work.
Mark
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So true, that the neck and back are one unit and that each influences the other.