The Alexander Technique is known worldwide as a method of improving postural behaviour and reducing pain, stress and fatigue. But it is much more than this - it is a way of improving our self-awareness, co-ordinating our mind and body, and learning to let go of automatic reactions to stressful situations.
FM Alexander was one of the first writers in modern times to advocate the principle of holism, the idea that the body and mind are a unified whole. The self, according to Alexander, is this bodymind.
Our society is goal-oriented. We are judged by what we achieve, not by how we do things - the ends seem to justify the means. Some ways of doing things are better for us than others, and achievement in itself doesn't guarantee our satisfaction and contentment.
We may experience pressure to do things more and more quickly, believing this gives us more time, and we are surprised when it doesn't. We simply get ever busier, more reactive and tired.
The Alexander Technique encourages us to pause and collect ourselves in the middle of our busy lives, to come back to the here and now, and to be mindful in our everyday activity. It is a very practical way of becoming more present at any given moment, and of letting go of stresses that interfere with our sense of wellbeing.