There seem to be two basic ways of focusing attention; they’re described in Dr. Timothy Cacciatore’s paper called Science and Alexander, published in an edition of Direction Journal. Tim describes two attentional systems, one he calls the monitoring attentional system, … Continue reading →
Student : When you’re talking about feeling I think that there is there is a hesitation to use that word a lot. JN: Yes Student: And you’ve progressed to describing why it’s okay after a point to say “feel”. JN: … Continue reading →
This is an edited version of a discussion that ensued as I was giving a lesson to a teacher who basically asked the question that is the title of this post. My thanks to Jamie Avins for recording and transcribing. … Continue reading →
The neck and head I’m always a bit wary of any mention of just the head and neck in reference to what FM called (perhaps unfortunately) Primary Control. His own definitions in his last two books never stop short at … Continue reading →
Core support and breathing How we breathe plays a crucial role in all this. I recall Walter Carrington telling us we should always remember this work began with a man with a breathing problem, and although we no longer refer … Continue reading →
True Core Support When the concept of core support was first popularized by Pilates teachers, many of us Alexander teachers (myself included) were very skeptical about it and tended to say things like: “Well, surely it’s obvious that the back … Continue reading →
A “pre” technique When I was first around the Alexander world, in the early to mid 1970s, a description I sometimes heard was that the Alexander Technique is a “pre-technique.” In a way that relates to what I wrote in … Continue reading →
Whatever happened to reflexes? Much Alexander literature has used references to “postural reflexes” as explanations for how the Technique works. FM himself refers in his books and the transcripts of public lectures to the work of Rudolph Magnus on head … Continue reading →
Let’s consider another way of describing primary control. If the problem is that of improving general coordination, i.e. the integration of postural support, movement, and breathing, then we could say that F.M. Alexander discovered that the key to this lies … Continue reading →
Most teachers have difficulty explaining the Alexander Technique. It’s easy to get bogged down in jargon that does not communicate anything meaningful to the average newcomer: terms such as “use”, “primary control”, “non-doing”, “non-endgaining”, “inhibition”, and “direction”, while valuable once … Continue reading →