Psychophysical Unity | Mind + Body
In the Alexander Technique, the mind and body are viewed as one connected unit. Embodied wholeness is approached from a practical and common sense perspective. Learning the Technique, means learning about your whole self in action.
The Force of Habit | Use + Function
Habits are essential, but often miscalibrated. Whatever we do, however we move, it becomes easy to move in the same way the next time. We create a feedback loop in which the busiest patterns survive and continually reinforce themselves. Learning how the force of habit affects your day-to-day function is central to the Alexander Technique.
Head, Spine, Pelvis | Primary Control
An appropriate, ever-changing relationship between the head, spine, and pelvis is the hallmark of the Alexander Technique - moving from standing tall to a full squat and everything in between. Most lessons center on building awareness around this relationship in activity and rest.
Inhibition: Hold your Horses
The practice of inhibition is about finding the pause button. Inhibition is a tool for consciously deciding not to rush in and react in habitually. Hitting the pause button leaves space for something else.
Direction: Closing the Gap
That something else is direction. Learning how to direct ourselves, how to think in activity, closes the gap between what we think is happening and what's actually happening. It's consciously creating links between your intentions and your movement, ultimately taking some control of the neuromuscular system.
“It has to be experienced to be understood... imagine trying to explain music to someone who has never heard it”