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> Tom Michel Alexander Technique > About the Alexander Technique
When it comes right down to it, we're all creatures of habit.
Take me, for example. I like the way I do things. I'm generally happy doing things my way because, frankly, I know how I do things best for me. Right? It's a no-brainer!
And that's exactly why we develop habits. So we can make it a no-brainer.
Why? Because it's much harder to think about doing something a new way than to do it the way you already know. When you look at a brain scan of someone who is learning something new, the whole scan is lit up, much of the brain is active. It's hard work and requires lots of blood flow to learn. Once you learn it, doing the same task often shows much less metabolic activity in the brain. Learning is hard work. Our brain has a mechanism for storing the patterns we learn so that we can easily recall them with symbols such as words, sensation, and emotions.
A long time ago, I learned to walk. I learned to walk on the outsides of my feet. Why? No idea. When my shoes wore out on the outside of the sole before the inside I said (to myself) "that's the way I am". And I was OK with that.
Same with the way I sat at the computer. Any time I would think to sit up while at the computer, which was almost never, two minutes later I was just slouching down again. Why bother, really? I had no idea how to change what I was doing anyway. Whatever.
Well, all that misuse of my body over a long period of time caused lots of wear and tear.
I had lost my job as a researcher/programmer and seen 12 doctors, 14 PTs, and 3 OTs , before I realized that it was the way that I was doing things that was causing the pain in my wrists. I had to learn new ways of operating myself.
What Alexander taught us was that our perception of what feels right may or may not actually be right. He discovered that in himself. Then he realized that by thinking inhibitory and directive thoughts he was able change his habitual response and in turn, his change his coordination.
I like to think of the Alexander's method as a "new-brainer". Being able to make conscious choices about how we react to the symbols we receive and generate within ourselves keeps our brains active and healthy.
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