F.M. Alexander (1869–1955) originally researched and developed his now world-recognized Technique as a method to prevent the loss of voice he frequently suffered as a public speaker. By studying anatomy, the movement of vertebrates of all species - especially children – he was able to devise a simple and practical method for freeing the body’s innate balance and ease of motion.
It was soon discovered that his method not only helped public speakers, but could enhance performances for singers, actors, musicians, athletes, and dancers by allowing for greater freedom of motion, and a larger degree of breath control.
In How to Learn the Alexander Technique: A Manual for Students (Andover Press,1995) Barbara Conable summarizes Alexander’s principles.
“The purpose of the Alexander Technique is to learn to take optimal advantage of the bony structure (mechanical advantage in Alexander’s words) and involuntary muscular support for voluntary movement.”
There are two major concepts behind the Alexander Technique:
Students learning this concepts quickly discover that primary Control is not something we can consciously assert in our own postures. The trick is to consciously cooperate with the involuntary support. In short: relax and breathe.
Conable summarizes Downward Pull as “the pattern of tension in the whole body that originates with habituated tension in the neck.” It is a chain-reaction.
Many back and joint problems can find their root cause in the habitual effects of Downward Pull on the whole body.
Every motion starts at a joint, and every motion begins with the joint where the head meets the spine.
The head and neck move first, and the spine will ensure that the rest of the body will follow. This pattern is common to all vertebrates, and can be observed in nature. Large-animal trainers understand that the same concept is true of horses and elephants. Pet owners may be more familiar with observations of the head-leading liquid movement of a cat waking from a nap.
To translate the visual into human movement, think of star athletes in motion, or dancers in the midst of movement. They carry the same simple grace, and the same primary movement – the head leads, the spine follows, the rest of the body falls gracefully and effortlessly into action.
Alexander learned much of his technique by studying children. He observed babies crawling and toddlers effortlessly supporting themselves walking around upright without the tension and hindrance of downward pull.