Frederick Matthias Alexander's world famous Technique
The Alexander Technique has been taught and practised for over a hundred years, helping thousands of people to walk tall, reduce the impact of stress and pain and to perform at their best. It offers a practical and intelligent self-help approach to improving mental and physical well-being.
The Alexander Technique is a skill that can be learnt by everyone. It can also help athletes with performance, models, dancers and actors with poise, singers and actors with vocal quality and musicians with flexibility and musical expression.
Reported in the British Medical Journal, a highly acclaimed study showed that the Alexander Technique has significant, long-term benefits for lower back pain 1. Since the study was published the Alexander Technique has gained wide support throughout the medical community - being increasingly recommended by doctos and included in the NICE Guidelines for Chronic Lower Back Pain.
As well as back pain and other musculoskeletal difficulties, the Alexander Technique can help to reduce stress and anxiety, lessen muscular tension, improve posture and enhance presentation and vocal skills. The Technique is a unique learning method that brings greater awareness to everything we do.
Lessons are one-to-one and teachers use verbal instruction and hands-on guidance to help people change poor habits and to develop natural coordination and flexibility.
American Alexander teacher and scholar Frank Pierce Jones wrote in "Freedom to Change": "Habitual tensions that have grown up over a long period of time limit development and prevent the free expression of personality".
The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) was founded in the UK in 1958. It is the oldest and largest professional body of Alexander Technique teachers. www.stat.org.uk
1. Little P, Lewith G, Webley F, Evans M, Beattie A, Middleton K. et al. Randomised controlled trial of Alexander Technique lessons, exercise, nad massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain. 19 August 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a884. BMJ 2008;337:a884
Interesting quote, very relevant to the Alexander Technique:
"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do
to change; until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds."
R.D. Laing
News about the ATeam Randomized controlled trial of Alexander Lessons:
An end to back pain! "Lessons in the Alexander Technique have long-term benefits for chronic back pain sufferers".
New Clinical Research British Medical Journal 19 August 2008
Significant long-term benefit from Alexander Technique lessons for low back pain has been demonstrated by a major study
published by the British Medical Journal on 19th August 2008
Scientific randomized controlled trial of
Alexander Technique lessons,
Exercise And Massage (ATEAM)
for chronic and recurrent back pain
579 patients with chronic or recurrent low back pain; 144 were randomised to normal care, 147 to massage,
144 to six Alexander technique lessons, and 144 to 24 Alexander technique lessons;
half of each of these groups were randomised to exercise prescription.
Click below link to read the full report :