The Art of Poise
What is the Alexander Technique?
This is a question that I enjoy posing and then rediscovering with new clients as the work unfolds, however one way Alexander can be defined is “the Art of Poise.”
Poise:
Noun
Graceful and elegant bearing in a person
Verb
Be or cause to be balanced or suspended.
How can we find “poise” in our daily activities, sports, arts or existence?
F.M. Alexander was a Shakespearean actor in the early 1900’s. He developed this technique to solve his own problem: in the midst of performing he would lose his voice. He could not find help from experts or doctors so he took matters into his own hands and begin to observe himself. His work is the result of years of experimenting, self-observation and awareness. He learned to “un-do” habits that held him back and kept him in a pattern of “use” that took away the very thing he needed to use well. Many of us experience discomfort or feel held back in our artistic or athletic abilities because of our habits. The culmination of Alexander’s self-study is a wealth of understanding about how we choose to do what we do. And just to know we have a choice to find “poise,” both before and as we do our work, is empowering and life-changing.
The Alexander Technique provides a doorway into a more playful and whole connection of the body and mind. As students and teachers of the technique we are cultivating ease and encouraging the body's natural buoyancy and balance with the environment. The method can be used to rehabilitate injuries, ease trauma, or as a starting place for everyday activities, sports, and the performing arts. It is essentially a practice of re-learning how to learn; how to learn movement, how to learn an art or a sport, so that there is less unwanted tension and more potential for grace.