Most people would agree that relaxing is a good thing. Practising the Alexander Technique enables us to reduce stress and tension, and to generally feel good in ourselves. It’s true to say that people usually feel very relaxed at the end of an Alexander lesson. So why is that Alexander teachers don’t often use the terms ‘relax’ or ‘relaxing’?
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the term ‘relaxed’, except that it can suggest being ‘switched off’, passive or floppy. Yet, if you see someone after an Alexander lesson, they tend to look alert, expansive and more upright.
What’s more, many people actually find it hard to relax. Have you ever been told to, “just relax”, often immediately before something painful is done to you by the dentist or nurse? Or perhaps in a yoga or meditation class you’ve been encouraged to relax? Sometimes, you’re asked to relax one part of yourself, such as your shoulders – but of course we’re not made up of separate body parts, everything is interconnected. It can be hard to make relaxing happen! Usually this is because we’re trying to relax. The Alexander Technique takes a different approach that doesn’t involve trying to do anything.
Relaxation is a temporary, physical or mental state of reduced tension. As welcome as this can be, given the choice, most of us would prefer a general and sustainable – indeed life-long – state of well-being. Well-being is so much more than feeling relaxed. It can include feeling content and in control, having friendship and support from others, and having a sense of purpose in life. Learning and practising the Alexander Technique tends to make us feel more alive and awake, yet calmer and quieter; more at ease yet stronger, more resilient and confident.
How do these positive changes come about?
The Alexander Technique is a practical, self-help method. Through a gentle and subtle combination of hands-on guidance from an Alexander teacher, together with learning how to use our own thinking more effectively, we have a powerful method for change. Alexander lessons are usually centred around simple everyday activities such as walking, standing and sitting. People are often surprised to discover how strongly governed by habit they are in carrying out these activities. With guidance, we can unlearn these habits, finding smoother and less effortful ways of moving. Through practice, we learn to be less reactive and to be able to respond more skilfully when faced with more demanding situations. This brings about a calmer state of being and a greater sense of agency over how we lead our lives.
In Alexander lessons, we learn to use our attention and intention in ways that are more beneficial to us. This includes developing greater self-awareness and thinking differently from our habitual ways, with a more embodied and spatial sense of ourselves. Through continued Alexander lessons and practice, our postural support, coordination and balance improve, making us stronger, more resilient and more fluid in our movement. Hand-in-hand with this process, we begin to let go of unnecessary muscular tension.
For me, well-being means feeling at ease in myself – content, strong and in control – and I get all of this from my Alexander practice. Well-being is, of course, so much more than simply feeling relaxed.