Developed by Australian actor Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), this work has helped generations of students across the globe to think and move with more clarity, and to enjoy greater flexibility & effectiveness in their lives.
Alexander (1869-1955) was an actor whose specialty was reciting Shakespeare. Early in his career he began to have trouble with his throat and vocal cords. Rest and medication were effective only until he went back to reciting, when the hoarseness would promptly return. He reasoned from this that it must be something he did while reciting that caused the trouble, and since no one seemed able to tell him what it was, he decided to find out for himself.
“Is it not fair, then,” I asked him, ” to conclude that it was something I was doing that evening in using my voice that was the cause of the trouble ?” (F.M. Alexander, The Use of the Self)
Long periods of self-examination and experimentation followed in which Alexander began to discover and understand more about the root cause of his problem. His persistence, patience and dedication were truly remarkable. These long periods of investigation eventually led to Alexander discovering powerful principles that govern all movement & enabled him to change for the better.
Realising the importance and implications of this work for others, he began to share his observations, to educate and help many people according to the principles he had uncovered.
Some of Alexander’s students included notable philosophers, writers & actors of the day: John Dewey, Aldous Huxley, George Bernard Shaw and Sir Henry Irving. Alexander’s work has proved very popular among actors, musicians, dancers and performers and is taught in many conservatoires around the world. However, the value of Alexander’s work is not for performers alone but for anyone wishing to gain a means or a tool to help them change and improve in constructive ways in their lives.
If you would like to read more on the ITM approach to the Alexander Technique, you can go to: http://www.alexandertechnique-itm.org