Alexander method: what it is and what it is for

Alexander method: what it is and what it is for

The Alexander method, conceived by  Frederick Matthias Alexander, is based  on the adoption of a constructive mode of movement and management of one’s body that allows to avoid harmful automatic behaviors and to replace them with more effective attitudes. Let’s find out better. 

>   1. Origins and description of the Alexander Method

>   2. What is the Alexander Method for?

>   3. A typical session of the Alexander Method

>   4. Who can operate in Italy

Origins and description of the Alexander Method

Like many other disciplines, the Alexander Method also derives from an injury that becomes an opportunity for study. An actor loses his voice , fails to get valid help from doctors, begins to investigate a potential cause in the use of his own body.

Thus was born the Alexander Method. It is a way of psychophysical re-education that re-establishes  an appropriate coordination.

The creator of this method used the help of several mirrors that he needed to observe his reaction to stimuli. It took him 10 years to structure the whole technique. Frederick Matthias Alexander (1868-1955) then began to propagate his teaching in England after leaving his Australia.

The system is based on the adoption of constructive thinking that allows us to avoid harmful automatic behaviors and to replace them with more effective attitudes. The first purpose is to break the motor patterns and stop doing what harms us on  a postural and therefore also expressive and emotional level.

The Alexander Method is structured on two concepts: inhibition , the choice not to react impulsively to the idea of ​​making a gesture, and    directions , the mental instructions necessary to favor expansive rather than compressive relationships within the body.  

What is the Alexander Method for?

“Use affects operation.” Alexander repeated. The method is used by artists and not, as it allows you to positively act on motor behavior. It is as if the whole system were a way of training one’s personal will. In summary, it serves to rediscover one’s psychophysical unity, which is then the basis of any gesture we decide to make.

Movements and breathing are performed   to develop an internal consciousness that leads to “inhabiting the body” differently. You learn again  to move, breathe and manage your body.

It acts on  the  deep muscles , on the release of the joints  and on the psychophysical balance  . It is useful for which he wants to improve his relationship with the Other.

A typical session of the Alexander Method 

The duration of a lesson is approximately 45 minutes , in comfortable clothing, not tight or binding for movement. Psychophysical awareness is achieved only gradually ; about 30 lessons are needed to acquire a basic notion of the technique.

The movement guide is manual and also goes through some verbal instructions.

Who can operate in Italy

Make sure that the Alexander technique operator has obtained training  from schools authorized by the STAT ( Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique , London) or its affiliated associations in their respective countries.

The training course involves a frequency of at least 1600 hours distributed continuously over 3 academic years. The path constitutes a methodical apprenticeship aimed at making the aspiring teacher internalize the principles of technology. 

 

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