Self-Awareness

He began to watch himself in a mirror while rehearsing [self-observation] Self-observation

Our habitual behaviour (the way we walk, stand, react, etc.) mostly feels right to us, even if it is painful.
Only if we let go the I-want-to-do-it-right attitude, we can really see ourselves and learn something new. and discovered a particular pattern of movements, which increased whenever he recited.

The most conspicuous finding was that he kept drawing his head backwards. He came to the conclusion that this pattern was connected with his hoarseness but had to note that he could not change it [deliberately] Deliberately

Force of habit: Our whole character is closely connected with our habitual movements and postures. Therefore our will-power is often not enough to change harmful habits of movement.

If you correct this by simply taking up a new posture, you will most likely develop new tensions; old patterns will come back, above all, when you make a movement or are in stressful situations.

Alexander, for instance, had recognised that he drew his head backwards whenever he was speaking and that this pattern stood in a causal relationship with his chronic hoarseness.

In addition, he had to realise that he could not get rid of his pattern deliberately. Every time he started to talk he fell back into his habit.

Finally he found out that he had to withhold [inhibit] Inhibit
Inhibition: It must be understood that this term, as F.M. Alexander defined it, means withholding immediate responses and habitual tension patterns during an activity (speaking, moving, etc.) and that it is not used in the Freudian sense.

All of us know the principle: "Take three deep breaths before you react" - this is what he meant.

This process of stopping and undoing unsuitable muscle tension in combination with thought directions can help us move in a smoother, lighter, freer and easier way. his immediate response between the impulse to speak and the actual activity of speaking. This gave him time to [improve] Improve

Directions and Non-Doing: Mental directions help you to remember the optimal orientation in space and to recall that you relax and lengthen your muscles before, during and after making a movement.

In Alexander's case, whenever he decided to speak, he withheld his response for a while and said to himself:

"I allow my neck to be free,
to let the head go forward and up,
to let the back lengthen and widen,
to let the knees go forward and away from each other."

Alexander soon discovered that these directions helped not only him but were valid also for other people as a means of orientation.

It is important that these directions are not "carried out" with muscular strength, but are simply "thought" and that you wait for the surprise about how your locomotor system responds to the changed mental orientation. his orientation in space. And he realised, above all, that he was able to control his entire muscular apparatus indirectly via the [Relationship of head, neck and back]. Relationship of head, neck and back

Primary control: The Alexander Technique aims at an indirect control of all your muscles via the relationship of head, neck and back. This is termed primary control.

Ideally, the human skull balances at the end of the spinal column in a way that the centre of gravity (Schwerpunkt) is located before the pivot point (Drehpunkt), so that the head nods from the atlas forward.

This nodding forward leads to a stretching of the extensor muscles in the neck and back and to an activation of the straightening-up reflexes.

This, in turn, leads to a lengthening of the spinal column so that the head is further up. (This is the reason for the direction "let the head go forward and up")

An additional effect is that this balance reduces the downward pressure on the spine so that the vertebral discs remain elastic

graphic: Brennan .

Healing

Not only did Alexander's vocal disorders disappear in the course of this ten-year self-healing and awareness process, but also his overall health constitution improved.