ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE IN PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH: CONSTRUCTIVE CONSCIOUS CONTROL

From his lengthy observations of himself, Alexander ended up with what were several pertinent facts. His habits of use were unconscious and very deeply rooted, and he could not change them using what 'felt' right to him because his sensory awareness was untrustworthy. He also knew that his habitual misuse happened in response to a stimulus to do something.

Armed with these facts, he realized that instead of being ruled by habitual reactions he had to take back control of his actions and reactions on to a conscious plane. The word 'control' to many people implies some land of restraint, but control in this sense is the freedom not to interfere with our natural reflex mechanisms for balance and movement, or in Alexander jargon 'to leave yourself alone'. This is a crucial point and one that is often misunderstood - it is through freedom that we gain control of our actions.

For Alexander, control is more akin to 'guiding' our use. The 'conscious guidance' he devised, which enabled him to replace his old unconscious habits of using himself with a new conscious way, were the thought processes of 'inhibition' and 'direction', to which we will now turn.

'How can the right thing happen if we are still doing the wrong thing? Obviously we have to stop doing the wrong thing first.' F.M. Alexander

'Give yourself time to change die habits of a lifetime.' Claire

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Womens health