SOMA GET FIT.

The Alexander Technique

Explorations in alternative methods to heal the body

By Peter Dugrè

This is the time of year when people strive for new beginnings, when people take a good look in the mirror and reflect on what they ought to do differently. While some advise not to look too deeply and not to try to change too much, June Chadwick, certified instructor of the Alexander Technique, would teach a student to forget—or unlearn—all of their old bodily habits, and when it comes to posture and body movement, she would ask for a total transformation.

The Alexander Technique (A.T.) is about posture, but not about standing at attention; it is about increased fitness and wellness, but not about a rigorous exercise regimen; it is about body awareness, but not about harsh criticism of body image.

Although the A.T. is about ease and relaxation, it is an intensive lifelong journey. “Even after being a student and then a teacher for 30 years, I still come to realize new things that I’m doing, areas where I’m putting too much stress on myself, that I could be doing differently,” said Chadwick.

Chadwick teaches A.T. at her home on Toro Canyon and also at the Santa Barbara Polo and Raquet Club during the summer. The technique, although almost unheard of by many in the United States, is more popular in Great Britain, Chadwick’s native country, where Frederick Matthias Alexander, creator of the technique that shares his name, spent much of his life after migrating from Australia.

Alexander began to develop the technique in the 1890s while working as an actor in Australia. He had trouble with voice loss and hoarseness, problems that threatened his livelihood, and he was told that there was no explanation or remedy for his sudden, onset of hoarseness. As an actor, Alexander could not go on without a voice, so he began observing himself with the help of friends to determine what he might be doing to cause his voice problem.

Alexander’s observations led to a simple discovery. He noticed that when he wished to project his voice, his habit was to throw his head back as if trying to yell into the air. Upon observing this habit, he realized that what he was doing actually blocked off his airway and was counter productive to his goal of pushing more air through his vocal chords. When Alexander stopped his old, counter-intuitive habit, his voice woes disappeared.

From that pragmatic approach at rectifying his personal problem, Alexander developed a far more complex system of teaching others how to use their bodies properly.

Chadwick said that some open-minded chiropractors refer clients to her so that she can help them learn what type of body mechanics could help ease tension on their spines and inhibit body motions that cause skeletal injuries in the first place.

“People always say my back hurts or my neck hurts,” said Chadwick, “but what they should say is, ‘what am I doing to hurt my neck and my back?’”

Like Yoga, the A.T. teaches its students to become more aware of their bodies, but according to Chadwick, only the A.T. carries over to everyday life in a way that is specific to individuals to help reduce unnecessary strain on the body.

For instance, Chadwick teaches students how to properly sit at a desk if they do so for a major part of their lives, or how to lift boxes, ride horses or any task that requires repetition and the potential to cause problems in overworked areas. “Eventually, you will know when you’re pulling in or squishing, so the right way will become automatic,” said Chadwick.

The starting point for instruction in the technique is with the head’s relationship to the spine. “The body needs to support the heaviness of the head,” said Chadwick. “Most therapists—nobody really—addresses the relationship of the head to the body, but it weighs 10 to 15 pounds.”

Chadwick explains that the body is actually a fine-tuned machine, designed to work well, if used correctly. And that means realizing that the spine is a like a big spring meant to have that dense head balanced on top of it.

Yet, Chadwick hesitates to call the teachings of the A.T. a way to correct posture, because, she says, posture is too rigid of a term. Always trying to sit up straight actually can cause problems. People try to have correct posture and actually force their bodies into tight positions that may restrict lung motion and scrunch the shoulders and neck, or force the head and butt back and out of their natural alignment with the spine.

In a personal lesson of the A.T., Chadwick quietly observes a student’s way of moving, and with gentle hands-on instruction, makes her students realize when their muscles may be too tight, and when too much strain is being placed on the body. “I think this is about giving people choices they didn’t know that they had,” said Chadwick.

The main goal of the A.T. is easy to embrace: put less stress on the body by making it work less. Chadwick does not particularly agree with high impact workouts that she says tend to harm the body more than help, especially in the long term.

For 2009, perhaps instead of ramping up the workout routine to put stress on the body and cause lasting injury, pursue an easier course of body recognition and reeducation that can provide long term health benefits such as the A.T. The new beginnings can develop from within.

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