Somatic influences on my Alexander Technique practice

Abstract

Abstract Studying the Alexander Technique for one’s own use or learning to teach it to others implies a long-term process of disentangling habits whose very nature has led to an unconscious use of the self and an unreliable kinaesthetic sense. When these habits become inefficient or harmful, the Alexander Technique offers an effective course of action for change – normally realized in a series of private lessons between a certified teacher and a student, although some teachers have sought to develop methodologies to facilitate the collective work. This personal narrative relates 27 years of first-person research by a teacher of the Alexander Technique geographically isolated from professional colleagues, who, following his inspiration to research on himself, has developed a unique somatic strategy for continuing to learn on his own while enriching his range of teaching skills, whether in groups or private lessons, integrating lessons learned from a variety of somatic educational techniques.