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Alexander technique listings

The Alexander Technique is named after Frederick Matthias Alexander, who, in the 1890s, developed its principles as a personal tool to alleviate breathing problems and hoarseness during public speaking. During performances he frequently developed voice loss, for which his doctors could diagnose no physical cause. He reasoned that he was causing the problem himself while speaking, and set about on a process of self-observation using an array of mirrors. He revealed that he was contracting his whole body prior to speaking, and developed the hypothesis that this habitual pattern of pulling the head backwards and downwards needlessly disrupted his postural, breathing and vocal mechanisms. After experimentation, he found that his problem with recurrent voice loss was resolved, to the extent that he credited the technique with allowing him to pursue his passion for Shakespearean acting.

While on a recital tour in New Zealand (1895) he began to realise the wider significance of his work, after observing that many individuals commonly tightened the musculature of the upper torso as he had done - not just for speech, but in anticipation of many other activities as well. Believing his work could be applied to improve individual health and well being, he refined his techniques to teach his discoveries to others, and publsshed a number of books on his methods between 1918 and 1942. He also trained teachers in his technique from 1930 until his death in 1955.For more information, see Wikipedia's Alexander Technique page.