It's a bit like driving a car. If you drive it into the ground with high revs, excessive braking, in a stressed and tight manner and don't look after it or service it, it will give you poor performance, it will be unreliable and forever into the garage for repair work and it will not last long.  If, on the other hand, you learn to drive it smoothly and efficiently, in a relaxed and alert manner and you look after it and service it, it will give you little trouble, will be a pleasure to drive and will last you a long time. Alexander's phrase for this concept was 'Use Affects Function', ie how we 'use' our body in everyday life affects how it functions now and for the rest of our life. Thankfully, with his Technique we can change how we 'use' our body for the better in the short-term and therefore in the long-term. Car drawings by R Armstrong |
What is the Alexander Technique?Alexander Technique looks at the root cause or contributory cause of many back, neck, joint or stress problems, ie the unconscious habitual 'misuse' of the body in our everyday life, which unfortunately is part of our Western culture. Over months and years this 'misuse' sets up and embeds in our musculo-skeletal structure stresses and strains which may eventually lead to a bad back, neck or joint and/or mental or emotional stress. Once this happens, the likelihood is that the body will become ever weaker and more prone to damage. With the help of an Alexander Technique teacher, this bleak state of affairs can be reversed and the pupil/student can both 'unlearn' the habitual misuse and 're-learn' the original balanced and effortless good use of the body with which we were all born (we can see this 'birthright' of poise and mobility in any young child). This reversal is achieved in accordance with individual needs via the teacher's verbal and 'hands-on' guidance and by the student's active participation in the learning process. Thus the techniques can gradually become 'second nature' and can therefore be carried into the normal working and playing day for the rest of the student's life. It is of course always up to the individual student, but generally the body can become gradually stronger again and more resistant to strain. As freer mobility and balance usually return, so improved performance of any task is a natural consequence. At the same time, mental alertness and a greater sense of wellbeing can be a pleasant bonus.  "Alexander Technique has given me my life back! My back problems were so limiting in terms of what I could do, but now I'm happily sitting at my computer, standing and talking at meetings, carrying things, going for long walks and dancing - all the things I enjoy and all the things which were either painful to do or impossible to do before." (Nigel, IT Consultant)Read more of Nigel's comments  "The difference between the Alexander Technique way of sitting and the 'sit-up-straight' way is minimal. However, the difference in effect is huge. Sitting like this I feel light and comfortable and I am not making any effort.
Read more testimonials For more information and comments about Gail's teaching, please go to the comprehensive 'Benefits of Alexander Technique' page.
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Gail Barlow is the Director of Dolphin Alexander Courses, which she set up in 1990 after completing the three-year full-time Alexander Technique Teacher Training Course and qualifying as a Teacher of the F M Alexander Technique.
Gail is an experienced teacher who has worked with over 2,000 people in the UK, France and Greece.
She is a Member of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT), which was founded in 1958 and is the oldest and largest professional body of Alexander Technique teachers in the world.
