INITIAL ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE LESSONS

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Initial Alexander Technique (IAT) (Not to be confused with "Alexander Technique") is a technique of using self-observation (usually film) and bio-mechanical principles to diagnose and correct mis-usages of the body. Students learn to see how misuse contributes to problems of pain, injury, fatigue, or underperformance in acts requiring skillful coordination. To the extent that they are caused by misuse of the body, the student is enabled to recover from and prevent the recurrence of these problems.

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What is "misuse"

The IAT model of posture is built on the principle that the fascial system (comprised of tendons, ligaments and fascia), needs to be kept adequately stretched to function properly. Because fascia is elastic and cannot contract like a muscle, it must be stretched if it is to provide mechanical support. "Misuse" means moving in a way that does not adequately stretch the fascial system, without the mechanical support of which, people tire very easily.

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Examples of misuse include recognizable "bad postures" like slumping at a computer, but also include the common conceptions of "good posture" like standing with your back and head against a wall.

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The common conception of "good posture" is not built on sound mechanical principles, but rather comes from

1. An assumption that relatively healthy people already have, and are examples of "good posture"

2. An idea of balancing the skeleton so that it could remain upright without any muscles or connective tissues

 

In the IAT, it is assumed that "good posture" doesn't exist naturally in humans, and thus cannot be reasoned out by copying the posture of relatively healthy people. In fact, most people have likely never seen a person with "good posture" according to the IAT. There are some examples that come close in performing arts circles, like Fred Astaire, Bruce Lee, and James Stewart, because certain techniques in acting and martial arts are similar to those in IAT.

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Rather, the IAT model is built on the idea that

1. If there are enormous elastic tissues in the body that only produce mechanical support when stretched, they should be stretched. (They are not stretched in the common conception of "good posture")

2. There should not be a bend in the airways that obstructs breathing (this bend is present in the common conception of "good posture")

3. A person following a correct model will not need to resort to inefficient ways of carrying their weight (like leaning their head on one fist while reading a book)

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Learning and Implementing the Model

In IAT lessons, students learn a geometric model of how a person should look (meaning the relative positions of arms, legs, and parts of the torso) when they are adequately stretching the fascial system. They then, on video, create movements with their own arms, legs, and torso in an attempt to imitate this model.

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You will get some benefit from adhering to this model during the lessons.

You will get more benefit if you adhere to it for one hour a day.

You will get even more benefit from it if you adhere to it for most of the day.

That being said, you do not need to adhere to this model all of the time.

 You can move your body in different ways to act, dance, or play music (I do improv comedy, which often requires doing very strange postures with my body)

Moving with your fascia adequately stretched is a valuable skill, and if you learn to use it at will, you will gain more control over your movement, and be less susceptible to pain and injury.

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Why do you need a video?

If you never use a video, you will never realize how badly you need a video. A video gives you objective feedback about whether or not you have moved a given body part in a given direction. You can feel you have moved one part while you're really moving another. Feelings do not always accurately tell you what are doing with your body. If they did, football players would always catch the ball, and I wouldn't accidentally talk to people with a grimace on my face.

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This sounds too intimidating

The internet is full of advertisements offering exercises, supplements, and stretches that will magic your problems away. You might even feel better after using them, even if that feeling is just from you hoping you have found a solution.

Why then, would you bother learning a complicated model, taking the time to film yourself, and carrying yourself in a way that is at first unfamiliar, and will leave you somewhat sore because your muscles and fascias aren't used to it? 

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Because it works

While this model has not been proven with a peer-reviewed, double blinded study, the truth is that the benefits of most pain-management methods are modest to non-existent. These methods mostly rely on exercises targeting muscles, and claim that the "best posture is the next posture" because people who fit the common description of "good posture" do not have significantly less pain. The common idea of "good posture" doesn't reduce pain because is not actually all that good.

 

There is, however, a significant body of evidence implying that the fascial system plays an essential role in mechanically supporting the body, and that the IAT model of posture would help the fascial system provide that support. Evidence that lessons in IAT actually help are still largely anecdotal.

Here's my anecdote:

 I used to have a level of back pain and vocal fatigue that made my work as a musician nearly impossible. Now I don't. I have less aches and pains in my 30's than I did in my 20's.​

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You can book a first free lesson by sending me an email or

filling out the contact form below.

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Currently, the best online resource for learning about IAT on your own is Isaac Rust's youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@delsartealexandermasoeroyo9147

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