The Alexander Technique

 - - - (Powell 128-9)

Throughout life, everyone builds up muscle tension which blocks the mind, body, emotions, breathing, etc. that a person needs to use in order to be an effective actor. People may not notice it, but we see this a lot with people casually slumping, either while casually standing around or while sitting. It is also in some way seen in most other postures a person will stand or sit in.

The Alexander Technique was invented in the nineteenth century by Frederick Matthias, who was an actor and kept losing his voice. He realized that his posture while delivering lines restricted his spine and ribs, straining his voice, so he created this active therapy that can be applied to everything in life. For example, when standing up, an Alexander Technique practitioner would lead with the top of their head, instead of with their chin as most people would. This technique can get so sophisticated depending on how deeply you explore it that the only way to completely master it is by having at least 20 lessons with a practitioner who will manipulate your body and help you understand the system and how it feels.

However, it can be simplified into one simple mantra:
Neck free.
Head forward and up.
Back lengthen.
Back widen.
Legs forward and away.

As you can see, I have demonstrated the technique above, although as I am new at this, my technique has flaws. In the "Correct" section of the picture, the most noticeable mistake is that my head should be further forward. I'm sure that there are more, but since I currently only have a basic understanding of this technique, I don't know what they ware.

Over the past few weeks, I have been practicing this technique whenever I realized or felt that my posture was off in some way. I haven't noticed any differences, but then again, I didn't originally have many problems and I haven't been looking for changes. I've just been casually practicing the Alexander Technique, although I plan to devote more time to it at some point soon.