Alexander Technique

 

In Alexander Technique lessons, teachers work the whole body to help eliminate harmful postural habits and revive natural poise.  But when the client arrives for their session, it is usual that they have a specific ailment or reason for coming, be it neck tension, aching knees, general stiffness, or to reduce stress.  If the client complains of aching knees, it is very unlikely that much of the session will be devoted to their knees, as this condition is only a small (albeit painful) symptom of an overall condition in their whole body.  In almost every case they will work on their neck tension, head balance and overall posture as much as the specific area in question. 

 

This is because every part of us is actually not a separate bit, but an extension or part of the 'whole'. We are not a collection of parts.  We only name them to help identification, but in reality the muscles, tendons and ligament of our posture all interconnect, overlay and are pretty much inseparable.  And if we did manage to separate them.....and this is the main point......they would be completely useless without the support and integration with the whole.

 

Our body and mind works as a whole.  Take any task you like and see if you can identify it as either entirely physical or mental.  Is skiing a purely physical task, or horse riding, walking or writing a letter? Our musculature couldn't operate without the control and guidance of our brain which in turn fires the muscle spindles and circulates oxygenated blood.  And is calculating an arithmetical problem a purely mental activity? We couldn't do that without sufficient blood pumped from our heart and loaded with fresh oxygen from our breathing lungs.  All activities are both mental and physical; without either we die.  Our emotions are just as inextricably connected to every cell in our body.