Why did Alexander Technique work for me when everything else failed?

“What the hell is wrong with me??”

In 2013, I had already been struggling with pain for some time, but finally it reached a point that I could no longer even sit at a computer without pain shooting around my body. I did all the usual things; doctors, scans, physiotherapy, without any positive results. So, i looked further afield. I tried periods of osteopathy, acupuncture and found some relief, but it never lasted, and I was always frustrated to find myself right where I started. I had the impression my therapists were as confused as I was about my condition.

This was a major problem in my life. I couldn’t work, and I had sunk most of my meagre savings into these fruitless treatments. I felt derailed, deflated, and I wanted to get on with my life.

I was moaning about all this in the pub one day, and my friend Rachel suggested “you could try the Alexander Technique. My friend is a teacher.”

“I’ll give it a try.” I said, deflated.

Cause and effect

In the world of health, I believe that every problem has a cause. It always compounds the problem however, when the wrong cause is identified (or when only effects are treated).

For example, when I went to a physiotherapist, he believed the cause of the problem was physical weakness. He prescribed strengthening exercises to address the problem. But after 6 weeks of increasingly exacerbating my problems, I decided his theory was incorrect, and my problem was likely not caused by physical weakness.

My acupuncturist was more successful and more accurate in his assessment. He sought to “calm” my body and mind through unblocking meridians. And indeed, it was successful in the short term, but why would the pain always come back?

In retrospect, this physical intervention with needles could never give me lasting success, because it did not have enough power to change the principle cause of my problems; my thinking.

“My head feels so light”

When I had my first lesson with Sean MacErlaine in Dublin, he quizzed me on my condition and introduced me to the principles of the Alexander Technique. We started some “hands on” work, putting his hands lightly on my head at the front and back. Moments later he asked me, “How is that?”

“That’s weird… my head feels so light!” I know now Sean has heard this comment from new students hundreds of times.

“Oh”, he said, in mock surprise “Why do you think that is?”

Like every new student, I struggled to answer this question. The experience was so sudden, and the result of this tiny, delicate intervention was so unexpected. What had he done? Why did I feel different?

The problems we cause ourselves

Let’s start with a definition. It is not the definition. It is my definition. It is current, and at the time of writing (May 2024), it captures the excitement I feel for the work.

The Alexander Technique is a methodology

that guides you through the psychophysical processes

of learning to move with freedom, grace and ease.

Alexander Technique works best on a kind of problem that is largely unrecognised and unaddressed by other modalities (as far as I know); the problems we cause ourselves by how we think and direct ourselves in activity.

When I worked with Sean, he convinced me to “do less”, by sharing ideas and making suggestions with his use of hands. I experienced a sense of lightness, because I was now using so much less muscular effort to hold up my head.

We talked a lot, and I started to understand this model of how our thinking directs our movement, and that we can learn to direct ourselves better by inhibiting our old, usual ways of doing things, and using the ideas, techniques and principles of the Alexander Technique instead.

Lessons with Don Weed

On Sean’s recommendation, I met his teacher Don Weed (who sadly passed in 2022) at the ITM Cork Workshop. I watched him work with people and they would transform before my eyes. My jaw was on the floor. “How is this possible?”

But he made no mystery of it. When we learn inhibit our habitual way of doing things, and introduce new, more reasoned ideas, our thinking becomes clear, intentional and reasoned. Then, because we are directed by this clear thinking, our movements become clear, graceful and free. “In the absence of illness or injury, we are well made”, Don always said. Alexander Technique helps us get out of our own way - to stop causing ourselves problems - and then naturally, we function very well.

On that first night of the workshop, I was dying to work with him, but the venue was closing and I thought I missed my chance. Sensing my excitement, he said “Meet me outside”. So on a November night, he gave me a lesson as we stood by the river at the Cork School of Music. I don’t remember much, I felt so free and light that I just started laughing. And delighting in my new found freedom of movement, Don started laughing with me.

Finally on the right path

I knew I had found something special in Alexander Technique. Although I still had pain, the idea that I might be causing these problems myself made sense, and over the years it has been proved to me many times over. I was finally improving, and not because of having treatments, but because of learning a new skills, letting go of old ideas and judiciously adopting new ones.

Perhaps what struck me most during the first few workshops I attended was the universality of the technique. It was helping everybody. Everybody looked better, moved better, played music better.

What struck me next was “Why don’t more people know about this?” I think there are a lot of people like me, struggling to find solutions to these curious problems we cause ourselves. So, realising there is a huge need for this type of training, I knew I was going to become a teacher. I am currently 3 years into training course, and very excited to share the work.