Working on Yourself

My Alexander Technique students often ask me how they can work on their AT skills on their own. I wrote up some suggestions, and it turns out some of these are really good suggestions for life in general.

• Take your time: None of the activities that you will learn in Alexander Technique lessons will help you in and of themselves. It’s all in how you approach and perform the procedures. I encourage you to go slower than you think you need to.
• When in doubt, stop! Don’t try harder: If you’re not sure you’re doing the right thing, stop and clarify your thinking. Ask questions if you need to. A good question to ask is: can I do less work and have the same result?
• Keep the hierarchy: how you’re using yourself is more important than accomplishing a task.
• Discover what's both necessary and sufficient: Many people get the false impression that the Alexander Technique is about relaxation. It’s not. It’s about right effort in the right place, in the right direction, for the right amount of time. That said, when things are going well, it might not feel like you’re working hard.
• Explore & be willing to make mistakes: Mistakes are inevitable. They’re just an excuse to observe more about how you use yourself in each situation you find yourself in. We learn a lot from our failures, too.
• Be aware of your habits: The Alexander Technique is about how you respond to any situation in your life. Are you responding out of habit, or are you consciously choosing your response?

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