"...where the human machinery is concerned
Nature does not work in parts, but treats everything as a
whole."
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The following description of the theory, concepts and
principles of the Alexander Technique is taken from Alexander's four
books: Man's Supreme Inheritance (MSI), Constructive Conscious
Control of the Individual (CCCI), The Use of the Self (USE),
and The Universal Constant in Living (UCL), excerpted from the work
of the Professional Development Committee of Alexander Technique
International.
I. The Theory of the Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique is an indirect method of improving human
use and functioning. Practice of the Technique promotes a continually
improving coordination, support, flexibility, balance, and ease of
movement.
F.M. Alexander believed that humans evolved in an
environment that did not change very much for thousands of years. Humans,
like other animals, used unconscious instinct to direct their movements.
Using unconscious, unreasoned, instinctive* responses worked, because
change happened very slowly, and humans had plenty of time to evolve and
adapt to changes. However, as humans developed different cultures and
civilizations, change began happening much more rapidly. Unfortunately,
humans still used instinctive, unreasoned responses that were suited to a
different and more slowly changing environment. Alexander believed that
relying on these instinctive responses in new situations is the cause of
many if not all of the problems facing civilized peoples.
Alexander
developed his Technique when trying to solve persistent vocal problems
that threatened his career as an actor. He observed himself in the context
of his own life and discovered the following important
concepts:
II. Concepts Important to the Alexander Technique
Primary Control: Alexander discovered that moving his
head in a way he described as "pulling back of the head," resulted in a
shortening of his stature, and a worsening of the quality of his
functioning. He also discovered that allowing his head to move freely in a
direction he described as "forward and up" from the top of his spine
resulted in a lengthening of his stature and an improvement in the quality
of his functioning. He labeled this discovery "primary control," because
this relationship of neck, head and torso was of primary importance in
determining the quality of his functioning, and in organizing his
reactions into a well coordinated whole. Alexander writes:
"...there is a primary control of the use of the self, which
governs the working of all the mechanisms and so renders the control of
the complex human organism comparatively simple." (USE, p. 59) "This
primary control...depends upon a certain use of the head and neck in
relation to the use of the rest of the body..." (USE, p.
60).
Psycho-Physical Unity: Alexander discovered that if he
made a change in one part of his body, that change affected the rest of
his body as well. He also discovered that there is no division between
"mind" and "body" but that we are indivisible wholes. He
writes:
"...the unity of the human organism is indivisible...[such
that]...any change in a part means a change in the whole, and the parts of
the human organism are knit so closely into a unity that any attempt to
make a fundamental change in the working of a part is bound to alter the
use and adjustment of the whole." (USE, p. 45) "[E]very act is a reaction
to a stimulus received through the sensory mechanisms, [and] no act can be
described as wholly "mental" or wholly "physical." (USE, p.
43)
The Universal Constant: Alexander discovered that how he
used himself affected how he functioned. He misused himself badly, and as
a result had health problems, including trouble with his voice. When he
stopped using himself badly, the functioning of his voice improved, as did
his overall health. He realized that there was a fundamental relationship
between the manner in which he used himself and the general functioning of
his whole self that influenced all his activity for either good or ill. He
further realized that this relationship between use and functioning is a
constant, that is, a person's functioning will continually improve or
worsen depending on how they use themselves. He writes:
"A good
manner of use of the self exerts an influence for good upon general
functioning which is not only continuous, but also grows stronger as time
goes on, becoming....a constant influence tending always to raise the
standard of functioning and improve the manner of reaction. A bad manner
of use, on the other hand, continuously exerts an influence for ill
tending to lower the standard of general functioning, thus becoming a
constant influence tending always to interfere with every functional
activity...and harmfully affecting the manner of every reaction." (UCL,
p..8-9) "...our manner of use is a constant influence for good or ill
upon our general functioning." UCL, p.12) (italics
Alexander's)
Faulty Sensory Appreciation: While Alexander
was experimenting, trying to discover a better way to use his voice, he
would decide to move in a certain way. He would use his feelings (what he
called sensory appreciation) to know if he had actually moved in the way
he had decided to move. However, when he checked in a mirror, he found out
that what he felt he was doing in his body was not what he actually was
doing. He realized that he could not rely on feelings alone for accurate
information about change. Alexander writes:
"Almost all civilized
human creatures have developed a condition in which the sensory
appreciation (feeling) is more or less imperfect and deceptive, and it
naturally follows that it cannot be relied upon in re-education,
readjustment and co-ordination, or in our attempts to put right something
we know to be wrong with our psycho-physical selves." (CCCI, p.
150)
Alexander explains how faulty sensory appreciation can
develop:
"We get into the habit of performing a certain act in a
certain way, and we experience a certain feeling in connection with it
which we recognize as "right." The act and the particular feeling
associated with it become one in our recognition." (CCCI, pp. 131-132,
italics Alexander's)
In addition, Alexander believed that if our
sensory appreciation is faulty our judgment will be faulty also. He
writes:
"...[O]ur judgment is based on experience, [and] we must
also see that where this experience is incorrect and deceptive, the
resulting judgment is bound to be misleading and out of touch with
reality. We have to recognize, therefore, that our sensory
peculiarities are the foundation of what we think of as our
opinions...." CCCI, p. 146, italics
Alexander's)
End-Gaining: During his experimentation,
Alexander discovered that he had a very strong desire to go immediately
for whatever end he had in mind, using his habitual, unconscious
responses, instead of considering a better way (means-whereby) he could
achieve his end. He called this desire "end-gaining," and contrasted it
with using the best means whereby to gain his end. He writes:
[Many
people employ a direct procedure when endeavouring to gain a desired end].
"This direct procedure is associated with dependence upon sub-conscious
guidance and control, leading, in cases where a condition of
mal-co-ordination is present, to an unsatisfactory use of the mechanisms
and to an increase in the defects and peculiarities already existing."
(CCCI, p. 10, ftn.)
III. Alexander Technique
Principles
From the above concepts, Alexander derived two
principles. We call them the Principle of Prevention on a General Basis
(Inhibition and Conscious Direction) and the Principle of Indirect Action
(Conscious Direction/Means Whereby Principle) .
Principle of
Prevention on a General Basis (Inhibition and Conscious Direction)
During his experimenting, Alexander discovered that the first
step to improving his use, and therefore his functioning, when using his
voice, was to prevent himself from making his habitual response to the
idea of speaking. Alexander used the word "inhibition" to describe this
principle of stopping himself from reacting in an unconscious, habitual
way. He further discovered that he could prevent himself from reacting
unconsciously if he consciously projected directions that did not allow
him to react in his habitual way. Preventing himself from reacting in an
habitual (and in his case harmful) way allowed any activity he performed
to have a beneficial effect on his overall functioning. Alexander
writes:
[The principle of prevention is] "...concerned primarily
with non-doing in the fundamental sense of what we should not do in the
use of ourselves in our daily activities; in other words, with preventing
that habitual misuse of the psycho-physical mechanisms which renders these
activities a constant source of harm to the organism." (UCL, p. 130) "The
preventive messages projected serve to stop off the misdirection
associated with harmful habitual use of ourselves in the performance of an
act...." (UCL, p. 111)
Principle of Indirect Action (Conscious
Direction/Means Whereby Principle)
Alexander also found that he
end-gained, that is, he went directly for his end (in his case, speaking).
He responded in an unreasoned, habitual way, and relied on the feelings
associated with this habitual response to decide if he had done what he
wanted to do. As he experimented, however, he developed a new procedure to
use. It first involved observing himself to see what he was actually
doing; then reasoning out the best means he could use to improve what he
was doing; and finally it involved consciously putting the new means into
effect. He writes that he must
"analyse the conditions of use
present; select (reason out) the means whereby a more satisfactory use
could be brought about; [and] project consciously the directions
required for putting these means into effect." (USE p. 25) (italics
Alexander's).
This new procedure was an indirect way to gain his
end. It involved conscious, reasoned analysis, and a conscious directing
of himself. Alexander writes:
"The "means-whereby"
principle...involves a reasoning consideration of the causes of the
conditions present, and an indirect instead of a direct procedure on the
part of the person endeavouring to gain the desired "end." (CCCI, p. 10,
ftn) " "Means-whereby"...indicate[s] the reasoned means to the gaining of
an end...includ[ing] the inhibition of the habitual use of the mechanisms
of the organism, and the conscious projection of new directions necessary
to the performance of the different acts involved in a new and more
satisfactory use of these mechanisms." (USE, p. 27, ftn). Direction
"...indicate[s] the process involved in projecting messages from the brain
to the mechanisms and in conducting the energy necessary to the use of
these mechanisms." (USE, p. 20, ftn).
*It is important to note that
Alexander used the word "instinctive" as synonomous with automatic,
habitual and unconscious. In modern biology the term "instinctive" is
reserved for those behaviors deemed neurologically predetermined and
inborn.
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