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
I have been doing the Alexander Technique for ~2 years now... and am a lighter and faster runner than I was 10 years ago!
At about the age of 45, I began to experience severe pain in both of my knees. I was told I had damaged the cartilage, initially caused by the use of a kicking strap on a sailing dinghy, and made worse by many years of beagling, and to stop beagling or risk ending up in a wheelchair. A few years later a friend suggested the Alexander Technique. At first I was very sceptical, but had also reached the stage where I was ready to try virtually any means to solve the problem. A few weeks after my first lesson, I had gone out beagling, but only walking.
I was looking for some way to help manage my lower back problems without relying on pain relief medication. I have found my one-to-one AT sessions extremely helpful and have learnt to identify and avoid postures and actions that contribute to back pain. I now know how to relax and properly rest my back and neck. In my experience, AT is a whole body technique which can help one to be more self-aware and to understand how to move with less tension and consequently, with less effort. Hurray for AT!
During a recent traumatic period I was able to maintain physical wellness, and through that, mental wellness at a time when I could have gone downhill rapidly. The Alexander Technique gives you the control and 'power' to deal with anything physical that life throws at you.
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.
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:
