The Alexander Technique is named after its founder Frederick Matthias Alexander, an Australian reciter and actor. Due to career pressures he lost his voice young at age. Doctors predicted that his voice would no longer be suitable for the stage and he did not want to accept this. F.M. Alexander investigated other options on his own movement patterns over many years. He discovered that the use of his voice had to be in correlation with his posture.

In general he concluded that the way we take care of ourselves influences the quality and success of our actions.

In his method he connected mental directions with body movements. The Alexander Technique would then often act as pre-technique to other body-based methods such as Feldenkrais, Trager-Method, Rolfing and other similar approaches.

F. M. Alexander taught in Australia, London and in the USA. Well-known actors, scientists, authors and musicians such as Bernard Shaw, Aldous Huxley or John Dewey were his students.

Eight years before his death, he suffered from a stroke and became a hemiplegic. Through the implementation of his principles F.M. Alexander recovered and rejuvenated himself back to full health and he kept teaching until his death.