THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Awareness - Inhibition - Direction

Everyone maintains a certain body tension and without it his or her body would collapse. F. M. Alexander found that stress from modern life impairs and weakens one’s sensory perception. Thus, the ability to differentiate how much pressure and strain is actually appropriate gets lost.  Many of us perform daily activities in disproportion to our energy input. One learns from the Alexander Technique how to detect inappropriate models of movement and behavior. When movement habits become conscious, one has the choice of whether to maintain it, strengthen it or let it go.


With the principles of the Alexander Technique AWARENESS - INHIBITION - DIRECTION one can change posture and movement processes to be better supported in life.

Awareness is the ability to observe one’s personal movement and thinking patterns.

Inhibition is the ability to give oneself a pause from a habitually performed movement. It offers the brain the possibility to find better support in order to break old habits and patterns.

Direction through mental instructions allows the body to find its natural alignment. This is why people have an unconscious impulse to “balance their head with their spine” and to allow their head to remain forward rather than be pushed backwards. For this reason, coordination will be easier and improved.

The Alexander Technique is not about holding a particular position, it is about the development of a positive, self-practiced physical well-being.