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Find a Therapist find a therapist in the right area of the UK for you Alexander Technique information and what to expect from therapy Complementary Therapy - a brief guide Information & Guide to other Complementary Therapies

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Alexander Technique

THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE - TAKING THE PRESSURE OFF YOUR BODY

by Robert Rickover

“Stand up straight!” “Pull your shoulders back!” As children, we were
told to have good posture. Yet we were seldom taught effective ways to
accomplish this. Indeed, we were often not even told just what “good
posture” is.

The consequences of this information gap can be seen all around us:
stiff necks, shoulders hunched forward or pulled tightly back,
restricted breathing, and tightness in the thighs, legs and ankles.
Backaches, headaches, and other painful symptoms are often the
unfortunate result.

By the time we’ve spent a year of two in school, sitting for hours on
chairs and at desks chosen primarily for their economy and for the
convenience of the custodial staff, we have learned tension patterns
that interfere with our natural easiness, balance, support, and freedom
of movement.. These tension patterns - slumping or stiff “good posture”
patterns - become so habitual that they start to feel normal despite the
fact that they seriously restrict our breathing and freedom of movement.

The Alexander Technique is a time-tested method of teaching ways to
restore our natural balance, flexibility and ease of movement. It
teaches the use of the appropriate amount of effort for a particular
activity, releasing more energy for all our activities. It is not a
series of treatments or exercises, but rather a reeducation of the mind
and body that helps you discover a new balance in your body by releasing
unnecessary tension. It can be applied to all of your daily activities.

The Alexander Technique places a great deal of emphasis on the
relationship between your head and neck. The way we manage that
relationship has huge implications for the way the rest of our body is
organized. If, as is so often the case, we compress our heads down into
our spines, a whole series of compensatory tensions is created. If, on
the other hand, we can learn to allow our head to balance lightly on top
of our spine as nature intended, our built in “anti-gravity” reflex is
activated and our body is encouraged to release previously held
restrictions.

How the Alexander Technique is taught

The Alexander Technique is above all an educational method. Alexander
Teachers use a combination of verbal instruction and a light, guiding,
touch to convey information to their students. Alexander Technique
teaching is done in private lessons and in group classes. Private
lessons are usually between 1/2 and 1 hour in length.

Teacher training

Most certified Alexander Technique teachers have completed a three-year
full time training course recognized by one of several major
professional societies. Typically, the training courses have a student
teacher ratio of 5:1 or less, and provide a great deal of individual
attention for each trainee.

A few teachers have trained more informally on an apprenticeship basis
and some of them have become members of professional societies through a
rigorous review process. Not all Alexander Technique teachers are
certified and not all teachers eligible for certification are members of
a professional society.

Choosing a teacher

All of the major professional Alexander Technique societies publish a
teachers’ list as well as on-line listings. Recommendations from friends
and colleagues can be useful in choosing a teacher, but you will have to
judge for yourself if a particular teacher is right for you.

Ask about his or her training and be prepared to take a few lessons
before deciding whether to continue with a course of lessons. If you
live in a community with several teachers, have a lesson or two with
several before making a final decision.

The basic ideas of the Alexander Technique are not in any way complex or
mystical, but they do represent a new way of thinking about the
functioning of your body and may take a little getting used to at first.

Benefits

Excess tension in your body can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms
and it can interfere with your ability to perform activities well.
Therefore it is not surprising that most people come to the Alexander
Technique because they are in pain (backaches, sore necks and shoulders,
carpal tunnel syndrome etc.) and/or because they are performers who want
to improve the quality of their singing, playing, acting or dancing.

People of all ages and occupations have benefited from Alexander
Technique lessons. The Technique also has its share of famous people
who have publicly endorsed it - including two Nobel Prize winners and a
great many celebrities like Paul Newman, John Cleese, William Hurt,
Sting, James Galway and Yehudi Menuhun.

Robert Rickover is a teacher of the Alexander Technique living in
Lincoln, Nebraska. He also teaches regularly in Toronto, Canada.
Robert is the author of Fitness Without Stress - A Guide to the
Alexander Technique and is the creator of The Complete Guide to the
Alexander Technique at http://www.alexandertechnique.com

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Complementary Therapy (Alternative Therapy)
Is as the name suggests a form of therapy or medicine that "complements" conventional treatments, it is variously known as Complementary Therapy, Alternative Therapy, or Holistic Therapy. (Examples of further terminology are described below)
Practitioners are consequently referred to as complementary therapists, alternative therapists, healers, complementary medicine providers, holistic therapists etc.

There is evidence that many of these alternative therapies have been in use for centuries, recent years have seen (particularly in the Western World) a rise in the popularity of these Complementary Therapies. Millions of people now subscribe to Complementary Health and use complementary therapies worldwide, and demand for these therapies is still growing.
About half of GPs, in the UK, now provide some kind of access to this form of therapy. Although Britain came late to complementary therapies. It is estimated by practitioners that demand for these therapies has increased by up to 30% in the last ten years.
It is currently estimated that 3 in 10 local health authorities in Britain now offer some form of alternative therapy to patients and that as many as one third of people in the United Kingdom have tried at least one form of alternative therapy, usually for the treatment of various problems such as backache, arthritis, or headaches migraine.

Much has been written on the subject of Complementary Therapies and Health (we have a wide range of articles elsewhere on our website) and a great deal of information and opinion is available on the internet.

Complementary Therapy is also referred to as Alternative Therapy, Holistic medicine is a narrower term. We have included a few definitions of Complementary Therapy showing how this "non conventional" form of healing is variuosly referred to.

Complementary Therapy
Complementary therapies offer a variety of "complementary" treatments, outside the scope of conventional medical practice, and are often used alongside standard treatments -- e.g. nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, massage, acupuncture, energy work, etc.

Complementary Medicine
The term complementary medicine is used by conventional medical practitioners to refer to non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques which are used in conjunction with medical treatments such as drugs and surgery. The term implies that conventional medicine is used as a primary tool and the non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques are used as a supplement when needed.

Alternative Therapy
A variety of treatments, outside the scope of conventional medical practice, and used instead of standard treatments -- e.g. nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, massage, acupuncture, energy work, etc.

Alternative Medicine
A broad category of alternative treatment systems (e.g. chiropractic, herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, and spiritual devotions) or culturally based healing

Integrative medicine
Is defined for USA usage by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Therapies, combines conventional medical treatments and alternative and complementary treatments for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of their safety and effectiveness
An increasing desire for wellness, in response to today’s stressful lifestyle, has led to the rising demand for Complementary Therapy and Alternative therapies. It is true that many people are becoming disenchanted with conventional medicine's drugs and the approach to healing. On the other hand, Complementary therapies tend to be "holistic", where an individual's health is considered as a whole and treatment not just focused on the symptoms. Complementary therapy employs "natural" methods to aid the healing powers of the body to return to a state of health. Treatment is holistic; that is it takes into account every aspect of a patient and not just on the health symptoms that he or she is experiencing.

It is highly recommended that you use a qualified practitioner who is a member of a regulatory body. By law, chiropractic and osteopathy practitioners must be registered with the appropriate professional bodies

In the United Kingdom, there is an organisation that monitors CAM therapists known as British Register of Complementary Practitioners. On their site, they say "The British Register of Complementary Practitioners (BRCP) is a professional register of practitioners who have proved their competence to practice by either completing an approved course or through an assessment made by the Registration Panel. They also agree to observe a Code of Ethics and Practice and have full practitioner insurance." This helps monitor the quality of CAM in the UK and reduces the risk of quackery.

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