Making light of it

Sunset over Portobello beach One of the things people love about Alexander lessons is when they experience movement and actions as feeling pretty effortless. For most of what we do in life, we unknowingly make more effort than we need to, simply because we get stuck in habitual but less efficient ways of doing things. It can be joyful to experience walking, reaching, lifting etc as being light, smooth, fluid and easy.

As well as being able to move with less effort, I’m also interested in the way that thinking can also seem less effortful. John Dewey, the great American Educationalist and Philosopher described his own experience of the transformative power of learning the Alexander Technique. This included an escape from ‘habits of mind’, enabling greater freedom and flexibility of thought. [1]

I’ve previously talked about the way in which we use the one word ‘thinking’ to cover all sorts of different mental activities. There are many different types of thinking and each has its own quality. Typical ways of thinking have a quality that is very focused, rapid and rather rigid. We’re actively encouraged from a young age to concentrate and to try hard when thinking, so that can easily become our norm. But we’re also capable of lighter thinking that is more open, slower and gentler.

Through the Alexander Technique we can experience a re-calibration of our whole mind-body self, so that we are able to quietly and calmly observe our surroundings and ourselves, staying present and alert. This quality of thinking also tends to be less judgemental and more compassionate – we become more self-aware but not self-critical.

It reminds me of Carl Rogers: ‘When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, “soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner”. I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.’ [2]

Developing a different way of thinking takes time and practice – the sort of embodied practice that is gained through Alexander lessons, and which can seem effortless.

1. Woods, C, Williamson, M, Fox Eades, J (2018). Dewey and the Alexander Technique: Lessons in mind-body learning. In R Heilbronn, C Doddington, & R Higham (Eds.), Dewey and Education in the 21st Century (pp. 83-100). Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.

2. Carl R. Rogers (1995). A way of being. Mariner Books, Boston, USA.

Never too late

Badge with the words 'It's never too late to have a happy childhood'

One of the many joys of teaching the Alexander Technique is meeting people from so many walks of life and who come for many different reasons. When I receive an enquiry about lessons from an older person, they often ask ‘But is it too late for me?’ My reply is that it’s never too late […]

Carers need caring for too

Two people holding hands with care and compassion

More and more people are caring for relatives with dementia and many find it incredibly difficult to make any time for themselves. Carers need a way to self-care to sustain themselves and their sense of identity.   A new study reports on people’s experiences of an Alexander Technique group taster session designed for carers. The […]

Teaching the Alexander Technique to people with back pain: which approach?

Front page of British Medical Journal publication on new back pain study

A new study about the Alexander Technique has just been published in the prestigious British Medical Journal.1 The research was led by a team from the University of Southampton, and follows their earlier large-scale clinical trial that demonstrated the effectiveness of Alexander lessons for people with chronic back pain. This latest research explored the use […]

Keeping safe in Covid times

Depiction of a Covid-19 virion

For me, the Alexander Technique is all about looking after your health, wellbeing and, indeed, your whole self in all its aspects. It also enables us to set more thoughtful goals for our lives and helps us achieve them. The Covid pandemic has brought into even sharper focus the need for us to be doing […]

Learning the Alexander Technique has wide-ranging benefits

Word cloud image listing some of the wide-ranging benefits of learning the Alexander Technique including greater confidence, more optimism and reduced stress

New research has reported many and diverse benefits of learning the Alexander Technique including greater confidence in being able to deal with current and future challenges.1 Until recently, most research on the Alexander Technique has centred on the impact of having Alexander lessons on health-related conditions such as chronic pain or disability, or on musicians’ […]

Can we really change?

Cartoon image of earth with caption There is no Plan-et B!

As COP26 begins today, like very many people I’m wondering what actions will come out of the lengthy discussions and whether these will be enough to avert the ongoing ecological and humanitarian crisis?  What does the Alexander Technique have to offer here? Perhaps there are some similarities in approach between what is needed to respond […]

Life is messy

Cartoon image of Mx Messy to illustrate the blog post that Life is messy

Right or wrong For or against All or nothing Succeed or fail Black or white Now or never Us and them Science or nature Logical or irrational Creative or analytical Strong or weak Healthy or ill Stressed or relaxed Mind or body It is very hard to escape from this ‘either / or’ way of […]

Do I trust myself?

Cartoon of heart with Trust written on it

Do you trust yourself? Or rather, in what ways do you and don’t you trust yourself? Perhaps, for example, you’re a bit lacking in trust in your balance, health, or ability to make difficult decisions? Trust in all aspects of ourselves is something that learning and applying the Alexander Technique can help us build. This […]