Glenn Kenreich
Alexander Technique Teacher

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Manhattan
New York City
(646) 765-8576
glenn.kenreich@gmail.com

The Alexander Technique has long been outside the mainstream of science and medicine. The benefits of lessons in the Technique have been dismissed as merely "anecdotal." That is beginning to change. Neuroscientists and medical researchers have taken an interest in the method. Following are three citations including two recently published studies that examined the use of the Alexander Technique in cases of chronic back pain, plus an interesting video of Nikolaas Tinbergen's Nobel Prize acceptance speech in which he speaks of his experience with the Alexander Technique.

Excerpt from the British Medical Journal:

Lessons in the Alexander technique offer an individualised approach designed to develop lifelong skills for self care that help people recognise, understand, and avoid poor habits affecting postural tone and neuromuscular coordination. Lessons involve continuous personalised assessment of the individual patterns of habitual musculoskeletal use when stationary and in movement; paying particular attention to release of unwanted head, neck, and spinal muscle tension, guided by verbal instruction and hand contact, allowing decompression of the spine; help and feedback from hand contact and verbal instruction to improve musculoskeletal use when stationary and in movement; and spending time between lessons practicing and applying the technique.
- Paul Little, Professor in Primary Care Research, Aldermoor Health Centre, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, et al. Randomised Controlled Trial of Alexander Technique Lessons, Exercise, and Massage (ATEAM) for Chronic and Recurrent Back Pain. British Medical Journal 2008;337:a884

Excerpt from Physical Therapy:

The AT's aims are broader than improving pain or even the control over tonic muscular activity and coordination. Alexander taught that learning to control tonic muscular activity through inhibition and direction conveys the close relationship between mental and physical processes, which leads to a specific type of self-awareness and control that can be applied to the whole range of human activities.
- Timothy Cacciatore, PhD, Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health & Sciences University, et al. Improvement in Automatic Postural Coordination Following Alexander Technique Lessons in a Person With Low Back Pain. Physical Therapy 2005;85:565-578

Nikolaas Tinbergen, a Dutch-born British biologist and Nobel Laureate, devoted a significant portion of his Nobel lecture to talking about F. M. Alexander, the Alexander Technique, the importance of Alexander's discoveries, and the benefits he, his wife and daughter experienced from lessons:

David Garlick, medical scientist, Alexander Technique teacher and author of The Lost Sixth Sense - A Medical Scientist Looks at the Alexander Technique stated in Direction Journal:

The Alexander Technique is itself based on rational premises:

• That a human can perceive that its functioning may be inappropriate;
• That the mind can bring about changes;
• That the mind can become aware of the state of the muscles and their actions;
• That it is possible rationally, to stop unhelpful patterns of muscle function ("inhibition");
• That new patterns of posture and movement can be allowed to emerge ("directions").
  
  

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