Educational process restores natural movement
A better way to change poor posture
Parents often tell their children to stop slouching or to sit up straight; so dutifully, they square their shoulders or push themselves upright in their chair. That behavior simply rearranges the tensions in their body. A better way of changing poor posture, movement, and coordination or poise is to learn the Alexander Technique. This educational process helps people identify what they are doing to interfere with natural movement and then learn how to overcome poor habits.
"When an Alexander teacher is confronted with clients who slouch, he or she would first get them to notice what they do to slouch. Once people notice what they are doing they can figure out how not to do it," says Robert Rickover, MEng, MA, a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique in Lincoln, NE. To help people learn, the teacher provides guidance with his or her hands to redirect the muscles as well as verbal instruction.
An Alexander teacher’s goal is to help people learn how to use their body efficiently and effectively because many ailments, such as back pain, can be caused by inefficient use of the body. In addition to easing backaches, the Alexander Technique can ease neck pain, joint problems, headaches, repetitive strain injury syndrome, and voice strain.
There are two groups of people who seek out teachers of the Alexander Technique. The first group consists of performers such as dancers, singers, and actors because the way they use their body directly affects the quality of their work. In fact, F.M. Alexander, a Shakespearean actor from Australia, developed the technique.
"A tense musician will not produce as good a quality sound as one who is not tense," says Rickover. The second group consists of people who are in some sort of pain.
When new students come in to The Art of Learning Center in Berkeley, CA, for a lesson in the Alexander Technique, Jerry Sontag, center director and a certified instructor, asks what their interests and problems are. "About half have a particular physical problem, and the other half are performing artists who might want to sing better," he explains.
The teacher observes clients in various position, such as sitting, standing, and walking, and from those observations, helps them identify tension-related mistakes and how they might change their coordination for improvement. Over a period of time, students learn how to consciously change and that creates a new habit. "It allows for an increased interest in what they are actually doing and how they are doing it," says Sontag. If students don’t apply the lessons on their own, they won’t be very valuable. (For information on what students need to know about the Alexander Technique to know if it is right for them, see article on p. 81.)
Selection of teacher key
A 45-minute lesson can range from $30-$70 and usually requires about 25 lessons to be effective. To get the most for their money, people should select a teacher who is certified. Certification requires participation in a three-year program with 1,600 hours of hands-on work. Teachers who belong to the American Society for the Alexander Technique based in Florence, MA, or Alexander Technique International in Cambridge, MA, have met the required training standards.
These two organizations have lists of qualified teachers, as would the American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique in Florence, MA. (For contact information see sources, below.)
While it is difficult to judge a teacher in the beginning, the student at least should feel comfortable working with him or her. "Not every teacher is the best teacher for every student; all have different styles of teaching. If several teachers are in the area, I would suggest having lessons from two or three before selecting one," says Rickover.
If a person happens to live in an area where there are no teachers, it’s best to attend a residential workshop or spend a week at a place where there is a teacher and take an intense series of lessons. The technique cannot be learned from a video or a book. "You need someone with a trained eye and trained hands to show you what they are talking about. What the teacher is doing is asking the students to reorganize themselves a bit," says Rickover.
Although most Alexander teaching is done on a one-to-one basis, there is a growing number of teachers who work with classes and these group lessons can be a cost-effective way to learn, according to Rickover. When the teacher is working with a student, the others in the class can observe what is going on and ask themselves what relevance it has to them.
A lot of people think the Alexander Technique is about holding positions with positions that they have to master. Often, they try to link it to something they know such as yoga, but the technique is not a set of exercises or positions.
"In our society, we tend to emphasize quantity, wanting to know how much weight a person lifted or how many laps they swam. There is not much emphasis on how the person was functioning when he or she did those things. The Alexander Technique doesn’t address quantity but quality of movement," says Rickover. n
For more information about the Alexander Technique, contact:
• Robert Rickover, MEng, MA, Certified Teacher, Alexander Technique, 2434 Ryons St., Lincoln, NE 68502. Telephone: (402) 475-4433. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.alexandertechnique.com.
• Jerry Sontag, Director, The Art of Learning Center, 2547 8th St., Studio 39, Berkeley, CA 94710. (510) 486-1317. E-mail: [email protected].
• Alexander Technique International, 1692 Massachusetts Ave., Third Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Telephone: (888) 668-8996 or (617) 497-2242. Web: www.ATI-net.com.
• American Society for the Alexander Technique, P.O. Box 60008, Florence, MA 01062. Telephone: (800) 473-0620 or (413) 584-2359. Web: www.alexandertech.com.
• American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, 30 N. Maple St., Florence, MA 01062. Telephone: (800) 473-0620. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.alexandertech.org.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content