Blue Mountains Alexander Technique

Alexander Technique Blog

Teacher Training
Alexander Technique

Training Alexander Technique teachers.

Alexander’s contribution to our understanding of human functioning came from exceptional observation. He was able to see patterns of use, habit and reaction that most people would overlook, and he built his work from those observations. His four books and articles leave us a coherent model of human functioning, showing how patterns of use, habit and perception interact. They offer us practical ways to influence those patterns through conscious attention, prevention of habitual reactions and new conditions for activity.

What he did not leave was a clearly constructed map of how to teach this material. Alexander was not trained in pedagogy, and he worked before the development of modern adult‑learning theories, vocational education frameworks or contemporary understandings of how people acquire professional skills.

Read More »
Blue Mountains Alexander Technique
Blue Mountains Alexander Technique

Human Functioning as a Complex System: The Alexander Approach Reframed

Right now, many Alexander concepts — inhibition, direction, primary control, faulty sensory appreciation, end‑gaining — are taught as important but somewhat independent ideas. Students and even teachers often understand what they are, but not always why they work or how they fit together. Understanding the parallels between Alexander’s discoveries and Donella Meadows’ complex systems model gives our Alexander work a clearer internal logic. It shows that Alexander’s insights are not arbitrary but expressions of how complex systems behave. Research into the Technique has often relied on simple cause‑and‑effect explanations, yet

Read More »
Medical illustration highlighting human lungs and heart.
Alexander Technique

Breathing, Posture, and the Hidden Pressures Within

Breathing, Posture, and the Hidden Pressures Within Reading Alexander’s first book,  Man’s Supreme Inheritance again, over the summer break, I was struck by how precisely F.M. Alexander observed relationships that modern physiology now describes in far more detail. He didn’t have today’s anatomical vocabulary, yet he consistently pointed toward the dynamic interplay between breathing, balance, spinal organisation, and the internal environment of the torso. One of the terms he uses is the “splanchnic area.” Alexander wasn’t offering a technical definition; he was reaching for a way to describe the abdominal

Read More »
Alexander Technique and gravity
Alexander Technique

How gravity collaborates with your movement

Psycho-Physical Unity: A Systems View of Human Functioning

In the Alexander Technique, you’ll encounter a foundational concept: psycho-physical unity. This principle asserts that human beings are not a collection of parts mind, body, emotions, and behaviour, rather humans operate as a single, integrated system. Alexander’s model asks us to consider not just the structure of the human body in isolation, but the relationship between the human system and its environment.

In this blog, let’s explore the idea that we are not static objects in space, rather we operate as dynamic systems in relationship to our environment. Regardless of any other stimulus or threat that may be occurring in our environment a constant issue throughout our life is our orientation to gravity.

Read More »
Backsaver
back pain

Backsaver | use a Backsaver cushion for a comfortable semi-supine

Step-by-step semi-supine (constructive rest) procedure Choose your surface and support Lie on a firm, flat surface such as a carpeted floor, yoga mat, or blanket. A bed is usually too soft. Place your Backsaver under your head so your face is roughly level You’re aiming for easy length in the back of the neck, not a pillow-like cushion. Organise your legs and feet Bend your knees so they point comfortably toward the ceiling. Place your feet flat on the floor, about hip- to shoulder-width apart, far enough from your pelvis

Read More »
Scroll to Top