Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique works on a principle; that the way we use our minds and bodies as a whole affects the way we function in terms of health and happiness. Very few human beings use themselves well, especially with the pressures of modern-day life. Consequently, many people suffer from pain or underperformance in their own particular skills. The Alexander Technique is a practical and problem-solving method of re-educating the way we use our ourselves. It is a marvellous tool for making small, safe, subtle changes that lead to exponential improvement in terms of our comfort and quality of life.

It works by helping one to identify and prevent habitual responses to stimuli that contribute to, or may be the cause of, stress, pain and under-performance. One learns to inhibit these responses to stimuli and to rechannel one's energies to greater effect, thus preventing pain (the body's warning system) and helping one to perform better. We learn new and constructive choices about the way we think and how we move or stay still. It teaches us to be more aware and how to use this attention by choosing our reactions in different and perhaps stressful situations.

Almost anyone can rediscover freedom and ease in movement by learning to become aware of, and then gradually to prevent the habits of tension and reaction that interfere with or distort natural and healthy patterns of coordination.

Learning the Alexander Technique is like learning any skill, such as playing a musical instrument or playing golf; one needs an expert teacher to teach the new skills so that they can be incorporated into one's own practice and understanding. This is the real value of the Alexander Technique; you become able to apply its principles, by yourself, to your daily activities.

 BMJ Clinical trial results published in the British Medical Journal 19 August 2008, show that Alexander Technique lessons provide long-term benefit for chronic back pain sufferers. Of all the approaches tested, 24 Alexander Technique lessons proved to be most beneficial.

To view this article, go to British Medical Journal, then click on Archive, Print Issue Archive, 2008, August 23rd, Research. Tick in the box, then on Full Text.

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The Alexander Principle = Use affects Functioning

This means that your subtle, habitual muscular responses to stimuli in any situation, over a period of years, will affect the way that your body functions in terms of health and happiness.
For example: if you slouch (use) when working at the computer (stimulus) and then need to raise your head (response) in order to see the screen, the resultant pressure down your spine may eventually cause RSI in your back or your shoulders or your arms.


STIMULUS
People and events in one's life stimulate a response in one's body. Every thought produces a response, however small.
MUSCULAR RESPONSE
The muscular response might involve unnecessary contraction that becomes habitual.
UNCONSCIOUS HABIT
People are unaware of these habits that develop.
PAIN OR UNDERPERFORMANCE
After several years the misuse caused by these habits results in pain or underperformance.


FOR THOSE IN PAIN

Do you suffer from occupational pain, whether from your job or your leisure activities?

LEARN how to take responsibility for your own back pain
neck pain
headaches
RSI
voice problems
hip and knee pain
sciatica
ME
Aches and pains during pregnancy
Stress, anxiety and depression
You can recover from and manage most conditions relating to muscles and joints.

LEARN how to improve your skills in sports
public speaking
playing a musical instrument
performing in any sphere
Become the envy of your colleagues!

LEARN a philosophy of life that will help you to manage many of life's challenges.

FIND a sense of well-being and peace of mind.

Or JUST COME ALONG TO BE PAMPERED.

Angela East LRAM, ARAM, MSTAT is an international performer on the cello with baroque ensemble Red Priest. She is a qualified practitioner of the Alexander Technique and can help many people, particularly musicians. She has brought her own occupational pain to an end and has improved her platform presence to the extent that members of the audience frequently comment on it.

Contact: Angela East 0208 769 4158, 07970 387252
eastangela@gmail.com
www.angelaeast.co.uk

Day - Evening - Weekend appointments in Coulsdon/Chipstead (in your own home), Streatham or Balham