What is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is a somatic practice that stems from the research initiated by F.M. Alexander. His discoveries were later organized into stages and supported by clear principles, forming what we now call the Alexander Technique.
Alexander’s goal was to avoid misusing his body while reciting Shakespeare. He noticed that his head would habitually tilt back and down, shortening his torso and interfering with his larynx, breathing, and natural postural support. He realized he needed to stop trying to mechanically control his body and instead allow it to do what it naturally does when free from habit.
There are multiple ways to define the Alexander Technique—some definitions focus more on the physical and postural aspects, while others highlight the connection between intention and action. Regardless of the definition, this work always includes a factor that encourages awareness of what is happening while it happens and also promotes clarity in decision-making regarding how to carry out an activity. Psychophysical re-education is a central, transversal element of this practice.
Based on the description above, we can venture to propose the following definition:
The Alexander Technique is an educational method
that generates and refines knowledge
of the dynamic functioning
of the human organism,
in action.
The educational model developed by Alexander provides a means for cultivating awareness of how we do what we intend to do. This is achieved through principles and premises that can be applied to everyday, professional, or artistic experiences where the human organism is used integrally. The method takes an integrative and holistic perspective to understand the functioning of the body as an instrument. It promotes this understanding by incorporating physical, sensory, and cognitive information. This approach remains revolutionary because, historically, humans have tended to isolate body parts, systems, and mechanisms to understand how the body works—examples include anatomy, therapy, and physical training, which often focuses on separate parts of the human structure.
What initially motivated F.M. Alexander to begin his research was the need to resolve a personal problem. This led him to develop a method for studying the active/living human design through an integrative lens—incorporating physical, cognitive, and sensory aspects—while being respectful of the body's evolutionary and anatomical knowledge, and responsible in its application, aiming for conscious, gradual development rather than immediate results. Alexander’s work does not propose divisions; rather, it encourages multifactorial integration to support the efficient functioning of the neuromusculoskeletal system as a whole.
This led him to develop a method for studying the active/living human design through an integrative, respectful and responsible lens incorporating physical, evolutionary, cognitive, anatomical and sensory aspects, aiming for conscious, gradual development rather than a direct way to results.
The Technique originates from Alexander's scientific inquiry, through which he solved his vocal-respiratory issue. In the early years of his study, Alexander shared his discoveries with fellow performers, but soon realized the work could benefit anyone with respiratory difficulties. As his work gained recognition in medical fields, some health professionals began referring their patients to Alexander, initiating the application of the method in broader contexts. Today, the Alexander Technique is a somatic practice used in medical fields for rehabilitation and for conditions like Parkinson’s disease. It is also applied in primary education systems and artistic training institutions worldwide.
To understand the method, it’s necessary to consider at least three stages that work simultaneously: Observation, Inhibition, and Direction. These stages are described in great detail in Alexander’s writings, especially in the first chapter of The Use of the Self, titled The Evolution of a Technique.
Observation
This stage describes the initial process of gathering information about the present moment, and what the individual intends to do. The information gathered may involve sensory, structural, systemic, cognitive, or belief-related factors.
In this process, an Alexander Technique teacher evaluates the present conditions—situational, structural, muscular, sensory, etc.—to create a strategy that promotes integral and efficient use of the student’s entire organism. It's worth noting that environmental and personal conditions are constantly changing, making it necessary to return to this stage consciously to incorporate new information, broaden perception, and make informed decisions about what to do next.
This stage cultivates curiosity and maintains an updated awareness of one's surroundings. It invites us to perceive how sensations and thoughts play important roles in the functioning of the body as a whole, and how they can either support or interfere with our intentions.
Inhibition
In traditional terms, the process of Inhibition seeks to interrupt the direct line between stimulus and response—or between intention and action—in order to free the individual from habitual, repetitive patterns and discover new options for responding based on present conditions.
In the words of teacher Frank Pierce Jones:
"Inhibition means delaying the immediate (learned or instinctive) response to a stimulus until that response can be carried out in a way that better suits the well-being of the whole organism." (Pierce Jones, 1997)
This stage is significant because it encourages a sense of self-responsibility. If the previous stage involves gathering information about what is happening, this stage asks: what will I do with that information? It requires a conscious decision about how to take the next step, allowing for a spontaneous yet responsible response to the surrounding stimuli. Through this process, individuals can begin to free themselves from automatic responses—or at least initiate the journey toward doing so—preventing a return to unconscious habits.
Direction
To support intentional choice, Alexander established a set of instructions or guiding thoughts that promote the appropriate and integrative use of the organism. This stage encompasses the "means whereby"—a concept Alexander developed to describe the process by which a person becomes consciously capable of achieving desired outcomes while avoiding habitual, misaligned responses.
These guiding thoughts—also referred to as Directions—are based on the design and functioning of the human body. Alexander noticed that consciously altering the relationship between his head and spine produced a total response that could either help or hinder his overall coordination. The primary aim of these guiding thoughts is to coordinate the axial skeleton and support its functioning so that the rest of the body can organize itself and remain adaptable to changing conditions.
The Directions suggested by Alexander are:
Let the neck be free
So that
The head can go forward and up
So that
The back can lengthen and widen (Brennan, 2011)
These Directions are meant to allow overall coordination to happen, rather than force it through mechanical repetition.
Incorporating Directions promotes conscious use of the body and often changes the existing conditions—thereby starting the whole process again. New conditions bring about new information to observe, new decisions to make, and new directions to apply to support desired outcomes and proper body function.
The stages described—Observation, Inhibition, and Direction—make up the core method of the Alexander Technique and are also part of the principles Alexander developed.
By examining the three stages of the method, it becomes clear that its main objective is to generate the conditions so that desired results become inevitable. To create these conditions, one must always attend to the means whereby—the how of doing or learning to do something. Above all, the method cautions against going directly for results, as doing so diverts attention from the present moment and leads to habitual, unconscious reactions. The primary focus is to reach one’s goals or desired actions by being consciously attentive to how one does what one does since this inevitably shapes the outcome.
