USE YOUR SELF WELL
IT’S A CHOICE
AWAKEN THE CHOICE WITHIN
WHY STUDY THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE:
KNOW THY SELF
Personal growth, human potential, call it what you will, F.M. Alexander was interested in the improvement of the individual. The Alexander Technique teaches through observation and gentle guidance that we can gain conscious control of our reactions to stress and of our interference with the coordination of our innate poise. We can stop the interference. We can reorganize our selves towards improved use. Our functioning can improve and life becomes the pleasant process of living, learning, growing, and engaging with others.
PAIN IS A MOTIVATOR
“The Alexander Technique enables people to get better faster and stay better longer. Its practitioners stress unification in an era of increasing specialization. This is undoubtedly the best way to take care of the back and alleviate pain.”
Jack Stern, MD, PhD, Neurosurgeon
POSTURE IS A MOTIVATOR
One finds oneself slumping at a desk. The husband/wife/mother says to “straighten up.” However, one can’t seem to maintain “good posture.” Poise is the benefit of the well-organized human being.
STRESS IS A MOTIVATOR
One simple definition of stress: more stimuli than the neuromuscular system can easily process in any given moment. The Alexander Technique promotes a way to calm the system.
“Human activity is primarily a process of reacting unceasingly to stimuli received from within or without the self.”
F.M. Alexander
The Use of the Self, 1932
THE ARTS ARE A MOTIVATOR
Actors desire a stage presence and an ability to be “in” character without their own ingrained physical habit patterns interfering.
Athletes know their bodies. And, as importantly, they need to know their minds. How they think influences their performance. The Alexander Technique offers this connection.
Dancers get great value from studying the Alexander Technique by learning how to organize for movement.
Musicians spend long hours in private and orchestral rehearsals. Often they can be over-using their smaller muscle groups without the support of the larger muscle groups. The whole self needs to work together easily for excessive repetitive use to be managed well. And, since oxygen flow is vital to replenishing the muscles, what the musician is doing with his breath is of utmost concern.
Singers have understandable concern regarding access to their breath. They want to be able to freely express themselves and to have their breath available to support their sound. Mr. Alexander was considered a Specialist in Respiration as early as 1905 and his insights in how to stop interfering with our breathing continue to be relevant today. How we use our selves definitely affects our breathing. Pamela’s in depth study of breathing allows her to share with singers an understanding of their breathing coordination.
Whether you come to the Alexander Technique to enhance your performance skills or for better posture, less backache, less tension in your daily life, you can benefit from having lessons.