The Alexander Technique teaches you the skills to help you move well and live better, in all that you do.
How the Alexander Technique can help me with:
What is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is a skill for self-development teaching you to change long-standing habits that cause unnecessary tension in everything you do.
Whatever your age or ability, the Technique can help boost your performance in any activity and relieve the pain and stress caused by postural habits, like slouching or rounded shoulders.
Working with your teacher, you will learn to recognise your usual reactions to the stresses of life. You will find out how you have been contributing to your problems, how to prevent them and regain control.
Alexander Technique can help you with the following problems:
- Back, neck and joint pain
- Muscle tension and stiffness
- Poor posture
- Breathing and vocal problems
- Anxiety and stress-related conditions
The Alexander Technique has improved my posture so I’m more upright and seeing the top of buildings I’d never noticed for 20 years. It’s also helped with lower back pain and tightness in my upper back and neck. During the 6 months I’ve been learning the Technique I’ve had virtually no football injuries, and friends say I look younger. This has made a radical difference.
I have been taking lessons for a few years now. Right from the first lesson my chronic back pain improved and I was moving more smoothly. After a lesson I always feel lighter, more positive and more confident. The Alexander Technique has helped me to realise that I have a choice about how I use my body. This awareness has spread to other areas of my life and I now feel more in control of myself and my life.
The advice and coaching from my Alexander teacher during training for a London to Paris bike ride transformed my experience immeasurably and I am pleased to say that I was really able to enjoy the event without suffering as many of my co-participants did. I would urge anyone who is considering any physical challenge and is interested in, or, practising AT to seek some specific AT tips and advice.
The Alexander Technique helped me release tension which I was previously unaware that I had, in particular when standing at the tee. In the past my mind would have been elsewhere and my thoughts made me more tense. Applying the Technique I discovered relaxing the jaw, feeling my socks in my shoes, sensing the ground beneath my feet and just being there really helped. My drive distance improved and I cut 5 shots in one game.
I would not say I am a fan of the technique – I am a disciple. For many years I suffered with chronic neck pain following a horse riding accident. When my HR manager recommended the Alexander Technique I was intrigued. Her father, a stroke victim, had experienced an incredible recovery from practising the Technique – to the point where he no longer needed a walking stick. After the first lesson I felt a dramatic difference; my neck felt long and free like a giraffe.
What are the core principles of the Alexander Technique?
- How you move, sit and stand affect how well you function.
- The mind and body work together intimately as one, each constantly influencing the other.
- Becoming more mindful of the way you go about your daily activities is necessary to make changes and gain benefit.
- The relationship of the head, neck and spine is fundamental to your ability to function optimally.
Conditions such as backache, neck and shoulder pain, as well as other sorts of long-term musculoskeletal pain are often the result of misusing our body over a long period of time, such as moving inefficiently and standing or sitting with our weight unevenly distributed. The aim of the Alexander Technique is to help you "unlearn" these old habits and achieve a balanced, more naturally aligned body, and we have the evidence to support it.
Go to Alexander Technique research
Who we are
The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) is the largest professional association of Alexander Technique Teachers worldwide, established in 1958 by teachers trained by FM Alexander.
We are responsible for maintaining professional standards of our members and for the promotion of the Alexander Technique. Only teaching members of STAT are eligible to use our stamp of approval, identifying them as fully trained Alexander Technique teachers who abide by the Society's Rules and Regulations.
When looking for a teacher, look out for this seal of approval:
Diversity, inclusion and anti-discrimination
STAT supports the fundamental human rights and dignity of all people.
We do not discriminate nor condone any expression of discrimination against any person on the basis of age, colour, disability, gender expression, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, creed, sex or sexual orientation and economic status.
