The Alexander Technique was discovered by a man called Frederick Matthias Alexander who was born in Australia in 1869. Alexander had a passion for Shakespeare and he spent as much time as he could on stage, giving recitals. After a while, he developed problems – becoming hoarse and losing his voice when he was on stage in mid-performance. He sought medical advice and tried various remedies but none provided a permanent solution. He found that after prolonged rest his voice would be okay for a while but the problem would recur when he started reciting again.
It was clear to Alexander that the cause of the problem must be something that he was doing to himself when reciting. The doctors agreed but couldn’t tell Alexander what that something was. So, determined to find out what was going on, he began a long and patient journey of self-observation and discovery – a journey that was to take almost ten years. It really is quite something to think about the patience and perseverance he had, but he was driven by the knowledge that he was the cause and therefore also the solution to the problem.
One of his discoveries was that when the relationship between the head, neck and back is working well, the whole body works well. The back becomes naturally lengthened, taking pressure off the joints and allowing deeper breathing. As more space is created in the body, our internal systems work better – circulation, digestion and breathing.