Create A New Action

Mostly, we go about our days thinking and noticing very little about our movement - we do what feels natural until something bothers us. Then, we squirm around a bit until the uncomfortable feeling passes.

Sometimes though, we want or need to change our movement. The thing is that movement is largely an unconscious process full of habits, old perceptions, and challenges of balance and tensions. So in reality, a lifetime of habits doesn’t change overnight.

Still, there are many ways to change movement and get some kind of result. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But to create a completely new expression of movement is a real art.

What your brain/ central nervous system does all the time:

  1. First, before we move, we unconsciously predict and sense: Ourselves, our movement to come, and the environment we move in.

  2. Then, we move, and perceive our senses to see if they match what we thought would happen.

  3. If what we sense doesn't match our prediction, then a new movement may have happened and our brain and nervous system learns.

Example:

  1. You go to grab a carton of milk from the fridge. Your brain predicts it’s full and will require some more muscle tension to lift it up.

  2. Turns out the carton was empty and wham! you lifted the carton way to fast with too much tension and hit the roof of the fridge. You now sense that this was too much power for how much you actually sense the carton weighs.

  3. Your prediction didn’t match your senses so now your brain and nervous systems learns - and you use the appropriate amount of muscle tension to move the carton of milk smoothly out of the fridge.

A completely new movement is different that what we thought would happen. It’s a sensation that is different than our prediction. Otherwise it's something we already know, and it's not really new. So to create a truly new movement or action we have to be wrong about what we think will happen; wrong about what the movement will feel like.

The game is catch yourself making the guess unconsciously, then to make a decision to pause the guess… and let a new movement (or pattern of movement) show up on it's own.

Photo by Andrey Larin

Movement vs. Skill

When you learn the Alexander Technique, or become more advanced and apply it to 'work' on your coordination, the focus is often on specific movements; such as lifting an arm, or moving from sitting to standing.

It's easy to forget that the outcome of working with these specific movements is to:

  1. Put the movements all together to do a skill

  2. Apply the alexander technique in a broader way to influence an overall pattern of movements (a skill)

 
Photo by Mark Jefferson Paraan
 

It can be easy to get lost working on the 'therapeutic' or 'cognitive' aspects within a specific activity; forgetting that the outcome still needs to make something happen (i.e do the skill).

Other students get lost in the overall pattern of movements (the skill), not taking enough care to refine the movement within the skill they want to improve.

Because of this, it can be helpful to get clear on what the difference is between a movement and a (motor) skill.

Movements are learned first

Movements are behavioural characteristics of specific limbs or parts

Movements are the building blocks of skills

Skills are voluntary goal-directed movements

Skills need head, torso, and/or limb movement to achieve an outcome

Different kinds of movements can be used to do the same skill, to achieve an outcome

So which area do you need to focus on today: The movement or the skill?

What movement are you going to apply the Alexander Technique to?

The Alexander Technique uses your movement (and postures) as a framework to enhance awareness and influence over the connection between thought and physical action.

With skill, you learn to use conscious intention as a way to create a positive change in your coordination; towards more ease in movement.

Students most often use their everyday movements (or utilitarian movement) as the main 'framework' to apply the technique to. This is great, because for the majority of your day we're usually just running the same old patterns of movement, posture (and behaviour); so to make even a small consistent change in everyday movement can really add up in your favour.

That said, the times when I've made the biggest leaps in my practice (and thus improvements in how I feel and move) have been when I also applied the Alexander Technique to more physically dynamic movements such as running, swimming, various types of exercise such as body weight training or yoga, hiking, sports, etc..  Usually for about 3-6 focused months for a single activity at a time.

Often, I find students shy away from applying the Alexander Technique to more dynamic activities for fear of 'doing it wrong'; but in doing so they miss out on the opportunity to discover how to 'do it right'. If done with learning and Alexander Technique principles as the primary focus, then 'the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward' seems to apply.

The Alexander Technique was created with movement in mind, and is designed so that all your movements and activities become a playground for self-understanding, exploration, and development.

So what do you want to apply it to? 

What movements are you going to grow your practice and self through?

Alexander Technique Key Terms Reference Sheet

Here's download link for a 2 page reference sheet on key Alexander Technique principles/ jargon.

Most of these are not ‘scientific’ terms. Instead, they are terms that have been used within the Alexander Technique community for years to speed up communicating the ideas and concepts to students.

Alexander Technique Principles... are ingredients that make up the Alexander Technique.  With practice you learn to understand and use them in new and creative ways to create the conditions for new movement and actions to show up. Have fun, and when lost, come back to principles.

Heads-up, this particular reference sheet has way too much info on it. It's recommend for students who have taken at least 10 lessons in the Alexander Technique, have some handle on what these terms mean from an experiential viewpoint. If you haven't had a chance to do these things yet there is other information on the blog that may be a better use of your time. If you have, enjoy!
 

Alexander Technique Research: Mini-Collection

Here's a collection of some research on the Alexander Technique.

Understanding the science behind the Alexander Technique is a real passion of mine, but if this seems to you like the most boring thing ever, no worries! Check out other posts blog, and feel free to get in touch about something you're curious about. If this is your cup of tea though, I hope this helps you better connect with some of what's out there. Read on and enjoy!

A FEW ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE STUDIES

  • Chronic Neck Pain Alexander Technique Lessons or Acupuncture Sessions for Persons With Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Trial (2015)
  • Medical and Health‐Related Conditions Evidence for the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons in medical and health-related conditions: a systematic review (2012)
  • Chronic and Recurrent Back Pain Randomized controlled trial of Alexander technique lessons, exercise, and massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain (2007)
  • Musicians and Performance Anxiety The Alexander Technique and musicians: a systematic review of controlled trials (2014)
  • Parkinson's disease (2015) Lighten UpSpecific Postural Instructions Affect Axial Rigidity and Step Initiation in Patients With Parkinson’s Disease
  • Parkinson's disease Randomized controlled trial of the Alexander technique forIdiopathic Parkinson's disease.Clinical rehabilitation (2002)
  • Parkinson's disease Retention of skills learnt in Alexander technique lessons: 28 people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (2005)

RESEARCH HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

DISCOVERING HOW A.T WORKS

MORE

Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique Research Page and Directory
Above is the website of the UK Alexander Technique governing body. I've linked you right to a nicely organized page that contains a lot of decently up to date research. It also includes some nice writing on the early history of 'science and the Alexander Technique'.

Alexander Studies
Above is a website being developed in collaboration with the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique. It aims to develop a platform for further publication and research opportunities to further understanding the Alexander Technique.

Lack of choice makes strain habitual

Awareness Through Movement is a book by Moshe Feldenkrais. There are many gems in it and deep, fundamental overlap with F.M. Alexander's early writing. Here's a short blurb from Moshe on habit for you to think over:

Lack of choice makes strain habitual (Pg. 84)

'As long as superfluous effort is invested in any action, man must throw up defences, must brace himself to great effort that is neither comfortable, pleasurable, nor desirable.'  

'The lack of choice of whether to make an effort or not turns an action into a habit, and in the end nothing appears more natural than that to which he is accustomed, even if it is opposed to all reason or necessity'.

'Habit makes it easier to persist in any action, and for this reason it is extremely valuable in general. Nevertheless we can easily over indulge in habits until self-criticism is silenced and our ability to discern is diminished, which generally turns us into machines that act without thinking.'

Feldenkrais, M. (1972). Awareness through movement (Vol. 1977). New York: Harper & Row.

 

Free Resource - The Anatomy of Directing

The Anatomy of Directing (30min): 

A nice, short, downloadable free e-book by Ted Dimon, an Alexander Technique teacher from NY.

It has several mini-movement and body mapping experiments an comes with a few pictures. You can read it and test out the experiments in each section a chapter at a time.

I think most is too advanced for brand new students; dependent on your experience/ background/ motivation-level. Still, a useful and worthwhile quick read.

Don't forget to actually try it out and figure out why (or why not) it's working for you. Alexander Technique knowledge without application is not the Alexander Technique.

Much thanks to Ted Dimon for sharing this work,

Some Book Recommendations

I'm not sure if people read books on the Alexander Technique anymore. The truth is that even if they're outdated, there's a tremendous opportunity for students to get ahead by learning from these books. If you're serious about developing a practice, then I recommend you start with the introductory books.

Also, books on the Alexander Technique have the most impact after you've studied for a little while, and are almost always confusing if you're brand new to the technique. If you haven't taken a lesson, then don't both reading a book...go for at least one lesson; it's best communicated experientially (like music).  Student's tell me reading helps with making sense of their experiences. That was (and continues to be) the case for me too. - Mark

Introductory Book(s):

The Alexander Technique: A Skill for Life  By Pedro de Alcantara

Body Learning: An introduction to the Alexander Technique By Michael J. Gelb (*The science/explanations are dated but still a good into read for students).

The Use of the Self By F.M. Alexander

Think, Feel, and Move

We typically take it for granted that we know what we’re doing and thinking all the time so can simply make changes at will. But in reality, most of these processes are habits that run unconsciously on autopilot with much less awareness and clarity of ourselves in action that we believe.

For instance, as you are washing the dishes what are you thinking about? What are you feeling? What are you sensing? How are you moving?

Observations of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and movement (and the connections between these unified processes) can enhances your personal knowledge and accuracy of your experience in action.

Practice like this can help you see reality more clearly - and help you see and understand yourself and your actions more accurately.

To know how exactly you do what you do is a skill that can be developed. One that can lead to a much richer self-representation, and maybe even a much richer life experience.

 

 

Just Right

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Feels good + Simple = Self-motivated change and results

I can't remember where I read this, but it's a great goal for the learning process. The truth that people don't always mention (as anyone knows who's tried), is that changing habits of movement at times be more like:

Feels strange ( 'not normal or habitual') + Confusing (complex habits) = Real life

So how to deal with this?

The key is matching your present state and ability with your level of challenge such that you (at least) start each day in the first one (Feels good + Simple). This removes a large initial obstacle from which you can then ramp up the challenges from there.  Many people have spoken along these lines and I would recommend checking out the following if you're more interested:

Flow - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow

 

As you get going you build skill/confidence and tackle more complex, sometimes strange challenges. In some ways, as you build up and up you gradually turn complex challenges into simple ones.  Furthermore, overtime you train yourself to feel great when performing movements/behaviours that feel un-habitual and often strange.  That's when things really start to happen.

So start in a place that feels good and is simple..then ramp it up.