Independent development of the Alexander method. The Alexander Method: How to learn to control your body

The Alexander Method is another approach that emphasizes the functional unity of body and mind and emphasizes the exploration and modification of habitual postures and postures (Brennan, 1997).

Frederick Alexander argued that a person is a whole, so that one defective component can negatively affect all the others. Treatment individual disease can bring only temporary relief, since many health problems arise in connection with a whole range of "bad" habits. According to Alexander (Alexander, 1950), the functioning of all body systems is determined by habits. A habit is a set of reactions characteristic of a person. Habits are reinforced by repeated repetition of actions, but habitual postures are not necessarily correct. Bad habits may initially manifest itself in inadequate motor reactions, muscle pain, clumsiness. Over time, this can lead to more serious problems associated with the general condition of the body, as well as difficulties in performing specific actions. The techniques developed by Alexander are aimed at improving the coordination of movements and the formation of the correct relationship between the elements of the musculoskeletal system.

The procedures proposed by Alexander, along with a change in physical habits, involve the correction of mental attitudes. He believed that neuroses "are not caused by thoughts, but by dystonic reactions of the body to thoughts." Therefore, psychotherapy without taking into account muscle reactions cannot lead to success. Alexander was convinced that in treatment, attention should be paid not so much to the study of the causes of mental trauma, but to the creation of a new "body structure", a new muscle control system.

Alexander's method is based on two fundamental principles - the principle of inhibition and the principle of directive. Braking- this is a restriction of the immediate reaction to the event. Alexander believed that in order to implement the desired changes, you first need to slow down (or stop) your usual instinctive reaction to specific stimulus. By delaying a moment before taking an action, we give ourselves time to use our reason and find the most efficient way to carry out that action. When our primary instinctive action is inhibited, we have a choice of various solutions. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that inhibition of any undesirable habit is possible not only before the beginning of the action, but also in the process of it.

A person must understand under what circumstances inadequate muscle tension occurs, and learn to consciously inhibit any reflex attempt to produce a movement corresponding to this situation, with the help of awareness, relieving excess muscle tension.

According to Alexander, the surest way to get rid of the “clamp” is the ability to give instructions to various muscle groups, achieving their relaxation. Alexander called these instructions directives. To give a directive means to send a command to the mechanisms that control the body.

The Alexander method is more of a relearning method than a cure, as the educator helps to learn about himself. If any disease is cured, then the client himself cures it.

The session lasts from thirty to forty-five minutes. The following tasks are set for the client:

Detect any hidden muscle tension and get rid of it;

Understand what causes this tension and eliminate the causes;

Learn to perform any action so that excess stress does not arise.

The role of the therapist is to identify the client's personal habits, explain why they are harmful and how to get rid of them. This is done both with the help of verbal instructions and with the help of touches to the head, neck, and back. The touch of the therapist's hands usually does not cause pain. And yet, if there is severe pain, it is recommended to undergo a course of treatment before engaging in the technique.

The therapist may first ask the client to lie down on the table. In this position, gravity acts the least, so it is easier to relax.

The client is then asked to make a series of movements, such as sitting or walking, so that he can learn different ways movements. If any of these actions cause pain or difficulty in performing, the therapist will try to relieve the client of these sensations by showing what causes them. At times, the pain may be exacerbated by muscle strain. You should not be afraid of this: such pains are akin to the “growing pains” felt in childhood. They disappear after a few hours.

The number of lessons required individually for different people, but already after the first results are noticeable. Any pain the client has experienced due to poor coordination or muscle strain will slowly but steadily subside. The intensity of pain attacks, their frequency decreases.

It is important for the client to understand, however, that he himself plays an active role in mastering the technique. It is he who must make a conscious decision to change his lifestyle. Alexander's technique is not a medicine or therapy: the client heals himself - he is only taught how to do it.

Changes are also taking place in the realm of emotions. People prone to anxiety become calmer; one who has been depressed becomes more optimistic and discovers that life is not so bad.

As a rule, people turn to the Alexander technique only after they get sick. It is necessary, however, to emphasize what benefits it can bring to those who feel healthy. They can not only gain the joy of life and sharpness of perception, but also learn to constantly prevent the occurrence of many ailments. In conditions of chronic stress, it is especially important to recognize its presence and avoid the accumulation of stress. We usually ignore the signals our body sends and don't realize that stiffness and lack of movement breed disease.

The Alexander Method is another approach that emphasizes the functional unity of body and mind and emphasizes the exploration and modification of habitual postures and postures (Brennan, 1997).

Frederick Alexander argued that a person is a whole, so that one defective component can negatively affect all the others. The treatment of a single disease can only bring temporary relief, since many health problems arise in connection with a whole complex of "bad" habits. According to Alexander (Alexander, 1950), the functioning of all body systems is determined by habits. A habit is a set of reactions characteristic of a person. Habits are reinforced by repeated repetition of actions, but habitual postures are not necessarily correct. Bad habits may initially manifest as inappropriate motor responses, muscle pain, and clumsiness. Over time, this can lead to more serious problems associated with the general condition of the body, as well as difficulties in performing specific actions. The techniques developed by Alexander are aimed at improving the coordination of movements and the formation of the correct relationship between the elements of the musculoskeletal system.

The procedures proposed by Alexander, along with a change in physical habits, involve the correction of mental attitudes. He believed that neuroses "are not caused by thoughts, but by dystonic reactions of the body to thoughts." Therefore, psychotherapy without taking into account muscle reactions cannot lead to success. Alexander was convinced that in treatment, attention should be paid not so much to the study of the causes of mental trauma, but to the creation of a new "body structure", a new muscle control system.

Alexander's method is based on two fundamental principles - the principle of inhibition and the principle of directive. Braking- this is a restriction of the immediate reaction to the event. Alexander believed that in order to implement the desired changes, you first need to slow down (or stop) your usual instinctive reaction to a specific stimulus. By delaying a moment before taking an action, we give ourselves time to use our reason and find the most efficient way to carry out that action. When our primary instinctive action is inhibited, we have a choice of various solutions. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that inhibition of any undesirable habit is possible not only before the beginning of the action, but also in the process of it.

A person must understand under what circumstances inadequate muscle tension occurs, and learn to consciously inhibit any reflex attempt to produce a movement corresponding to this situation, with the help of awareness, relieving excess muscle tension.

According to Alexander, the surest way to get rid of the “clamp” is the ability to give instructions to various muscle groups, achieving their relaxation. Alexander called these instructions directives. To give a directive means to send a command to the mechanisms that control the body.

The Alexander method is more of a relearning method than a cure, as the educator helps to learn about himself. If any disease is cured, then the client himself cures it.

The session lasts from thirty to forty-five minutes. The following tasks are set for the client:

Detect any hidden muscle tension and get rid of it;

Understand what causes this tension and eliminate the causes;

Learn to perform any action so that excess stress does not arise.

The role of the therapist is to identify the client's personal habits, explain why they are harmful and how to get rid of them. This is done both with the help of verbal instructions and with the help of touches to the head, neck, and back. The touch of the therapist's hands usually does not cause pain. And yet, if there is severe pain, it is recommended to undergo a course of treatment before engaging in the technique.

The therapist may first ask the client to lie down on the table. In this position, gravity acts the least, so it is easier to relax.

The client is then asked to do a series of movements, such as sitting or walking, so that they can learn different ways of moving. If any of these actions cause pain or difficulty in performing, the therapist will try to relieve the client of these sensations by showing what causes them. At times, the pain may be exacerbated by muscle strain. You should not be afraid of this: such pains are akin to the “growing pains” felt in childhood. They disappear after a few hours.

The number of sessions required is individual for different people, but after the first one, the results are noticeable. Any pain the client has experienced due to poor coordination or muscle strain will slowly but steadily subside. Decreases intensity pain attacks, their frequency.

It is important for the client to understand, however, that he himself plays an active role in mastering the technique. It is he who must make a conscious decision to change his lifestyle. Alexander's technique is not a medicine or therapy: the client heals himself - he is only taught how to do it.

Changes are also taking place in the realm of emotions. People prone to anxiety become calmer; one who has been depressed becomes more optimistic and discovers that life is not so bad.

As a rule, people turn to the Alexander technique only after they get sick. It is necessary, however, to emphasize what benefits it can bring to those who feel healthy. They can not only gain the joy of life and sharpness of perception, but also learn to constantly prevent the occurrence of many ailments. In conditions of chronic stress, it is especially important to recognize its presence and avoid the accumulation of stress. We usually ignore the signals our body sends and don't realize that stiffness and lack of movement breed disease.

In many types of psychotherapy and group practice, interest in the body is limited to either receiving additional information for verbal and mental work (“Now I have a headache. What does this mean?”), Or physical confirmation of verbal processes (“So, apparently, it is. My head has stopped hurting”). AT this case, the body is a provider of information. The feeling of physical relief is rated as a confirming sign of the success of verbal psychotherapy. The emphasis is on the mental, while the bodily is understood as a phenomenon that accompanies mental processes. What does Body Oriented Therapy mean? By work with the body is meant a direct therapeutic effect on the body, and from this effect a psychic cure or change is expected.

Here we are talking about direct impact on the body. The mental experience must be influenced by the body. The impact on a person is carried out through work with the body, for example, directly with the processes of breathing or muscle contraction, which in turn entails accompanying mental phenomena.

Practices of body-oriented psychotherapy

The expectation of mental relaxation is associated with physical liberation. Specialists in fields as diverse as medicine, the natural sciences, pedagogy, religion, music, politics, the arts, industry, literature, philosophy and psychology, television artists and announcers willingly resorted to the help of Alexander's technique.

Even more important, perhaps, is the fact that people who have mastered the Alexander technique in their youth prove by their successful way of life that she could give them.

Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) had a hard time convincing people that his principle could help many of them.

The reality of this help is confirmed by the figures, for example, in the 75 years that have passed since he began to develop his method, more than 100 teachers of Alexander's technique have been trained in the UK. Almost all of them lived long life, including Alexander himself, who died at the age of 87, and his first assistant, Ethel Webb, at the age of 94. None of them had heart disease, cancer, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, damaged intervertebral discs, ulcers, neurological diseases, serious violations mental activity.

In general, all of them could be noted such strong health and good health, which is characteristic of most people only in their youth.

AT modern conditions, in the chaos and confusion in which we live, the Alexander principle can provide many people with significant assistance in order to successfully navigate life situations.

Alexander's principle says:

You can control your body in various ways;

The functioning of the body deteriorates if the wrong way of controlling the body is chosen.

The Alexander Principle requires a great deal of self-discipline, but through this effort, most people at almost any age can gain high level self-control and health.

This involves taking responsibility for ourselves and our actions - more for HOW we do something than for WHAT we do.

As part of the Alexander technique, tools such as observation, awareness and care.

In more detail, the Alexander technique suggests:

Habit awareness. The way people make the most ordinary movements may seem so natural to them that they often do not realize that wrong habits have formed. This can affect the effectiveness of their daily activities, both at work and at leisure.

Once a person begins to understand the difference between a movement that seems normal and correct (even if it hurts), he can make a difference.

Recovery of disturbed sensory perception. When the wrong habit is formed in the body, Feedback regarding coordination of movements and muscle tension.

The Alexander technique significantly improves sensory perception - by becoming aware of tension, the patient can eliminate it.

Suppression. Alexander by "suppression" meant the ability to restrain any action. Usually the human body quickly, automatically responds to external influences. If this reaction and the movements that follow it are based on habits and disturbed sensory perception, the same problems return again and again.

If there is sufficient internal organization, a person can decide whether to respond to a particular stimulus or not.

A reaction to a stimulus can develop without using existing habits. These processes can happen very quickly at the speed of thought.

Direction. Muscle tone supported by the flow of information from the brain. One can learn to direct this flow more consciously, not so much by acquiring new bodily skills, but by strengthening and interacting with natural abilities that are usually suppressed by wrong habits.

Means to achieve the goal. Most of us are well aware of the saying "Move slowly - you will continue." As a rule, doing something, people are in a hurry to quickly achieve a result. As a result, they pay insufficient attention to how they perform their actions.

Habits, sensory disturbance, repression and direction - all of these principles have to do with the way actions are performed.

Being focused on the process and not on the result, you can remain calm and coordinated, and the results of the work turn out to be just as good, if not better.

The Alexander principle can be otherwise called the method rational use muscles. This is what determines the quality of the functioning of the body.

The mode of functioning of the body that leads to disease is caused, according to Alexander, by the misuse of the muscles of the body.

According to Alexander, never disturb the balanced position of the head. Many people find it very difficult at first to maintain a balanced upright posture while sitting. They either stoop or sit down exaggeratedly straight - with an arched back and a protruding chest, when the weight of the body falls on the hips, and not on the buttocks located on the back edge of the pelvis.

In fact, a correct, balanced, calm posture is very comfortable; when it becomes habitual, people feel very comfortable.

By forcing the body to keep the head in an unnatural position, a person forces the muscles to overstrain. Because of the unbearable load, the body begins to "resent", expressing its discontent through pain and illness.

Thus, an incorrect position of the head can lead to scoliosis, headaches, arthritis, osteochondrosis, pressure drops, diseases of the digestive organs, respiratory tract and other troubles.

Why is this happening? When a person holds his head incorrectly in relation to the spine, the latter has to bend and twist unnaturally in order to maintain the balance of the whole body. Such curvature leads to the appearance of a hump that acts as a counterweight, muscle spasms, clamping internal organs and nerves.

To imagine what happens to our tissues with incorrect posture, take a pillow. Look at her, how she is equally soft and even from all sides. This is what it looks like healthy body. Now fold it in half. pillowcase and outer part The pillows are stretched, it looks like they are ready to burst. At the same time, the part that is inside is shrunken, wrinkled and compacted.

The same thing happens with the tissues attached to the curved rod of the spine - some of them are in a constantly stretched state, and the other part, which is inside, is crumpled and clamped.

Imagine how tight digestive organs hunched man - nature took them where more space inside the abdomen, but now they are squeezed and stuck together. Of course, such a person cannot be healthy.

Now that we have understood main idea method, you need to understand how it works.

Almost all of us suffer from wrong position head, neck and spine, but how to change it to the correct one? After all, this state of the body is familiar to us, when we try to straighten up and keep our heads straight, we immediately get in response muscle pain in back.

To bring your musculoskeletal system in order, Alexander developed a set of exercises, aimed at reminding the body of its natural position. Frederick believed that even despite the long-term habit of hunching over, the body constantly strives to return to its natural state. comfortable position- You just need to help him.

In addition, it is necessary to change a number of habits so that the body itself acquires the correct state.

1. Do not bend your back forward when eating; rather, it should be leveled and the body tilted forward (toward the plate) from hip joints so that the pelvis moves with the back. Thanks to this, the back does not slouch and the torso does not settle.

2. In order not to cause excessive muscle tension, do not cross your legs while sitting. If circumstances allow, spread your knees - this will help you relax your muscles and avoid lower back pain. This is especially important for those who spend most of the day at a desk.

After you have sat down, move your pelvis to the back of the chair: this is how you should sit at the cinema, on the bus, train, at the table, in front of the TV - provided that there is enough legroom.

3. Whether we like it or not, television, which led to a sharp deterioration in posture, apparently will remain with us forever. Parents should ensure that children do not stoop or slouch while watching TV.

If they are tired, let them lie down in front of the TV, slightly raising their back and leaning it on something.

It may seem to some that the method proposed by Alexander is nothing more than a continuation of good advice for maintaining good posture that has long been bored. However, his body correction is associated with many personal manifestations of a person.

Each person seeks to find a physiological balance in a world not well adapted to his natural biological functioning. This balance cannot be achieved without the ability to achieve a relaxed state of peace.

The Alexander method can become one of the ways to improve, because through the harmonization of posture, it leads to the achievement of physiological balance.

Frederic Matthias Alexander's psychosomatic correction technique teaches people how to sit, stand and walk in Everyday life without undue stress. Using a combination of verbal instructions and very tactful hand guidance, F. Alexander trainers show their students how they can recognize and break the cramping habits of maintaining a certain posture and movement.

We identify the problem

Whether your posture is correct or not is difficult to determine, especially if the deviations are small. Some exercises are aimed at identifying the problem and at the same time learning to control your body.

Any movement can be performed without effort, without giving the muscles excessive tension. It is paradoxical that at the very beginning, the correct movements, on the contrary, cause pain and inconvenience. But, getting used to moving correctly, you will feel how much easier it has become for your body to perform the usual movements.

Stand against the wall without touching it - the heels should be located at a distance of 5-7 centimeters from the wall, leave 25-30 centimeters of space between the feet. Then, without taking your feet off the floor, lean against the wall. Watch how you do it - with normal posture, the shoulder blades and buttocks touch the wall at the same time.

• If some part leaned back earlier, then there are problems with posture.
• If the back of your head touched the wall first, it means that you have a habit of throwing your head back, which is also very harmful to your posture and health.

In the lumbar region, you will have free space between the spine and the wall. Bend your knees and slide down a little, at the same time flattening your spine against the wall, achieve a full touch of each vertebra.

If standing in this position becomes tiring after a few seconds, then you have serious problems with your posture.

If you feel tension in your feet, spread your knees slightly. Stand as long as you can, then "crawl" up the wall, straightening your legs, but not completely - your knees should remain slightly bent. In this case, a gap will again appear between the lower back and the wall - this is normal.

Stay like this for a few minutes. Break away from the wall in stages: head, shoulder blades, buttocks.

The second exercise is aimed at identifying incorrect movements when walking.

Place two high-backed chairs side by side, leaving room between them to walk through. Stand in the middle, grab the backs of the chairs with your fingertips, as if you are fastidiously taking a dirty rag. Extend your elbows to the sides.

Start stepping slowly with your right foot. Lift your heel off the floor, bend your knee and stay in that position.

On the this stage it is easy to understand whether you are distributing the load correctly, transferring the center of gravity to the second leg. Many do this not by bending the knee, but by lifting right side pelvis.

This can be determined by paying attention to the hands - with the wrong step, one hand will drop and bend, you will feel discomfort.

Not involved in walking during proper walking top part body, the position of the hands should remain the same. The separation of the leg from the floor occurs gradually, from the heel to index finger. Landing of the foot - in the same order, from heel to toe. All this must be done very slowly, being aware of each stage.

Learn to sit.

How do we usually sit down? Watch yourself. Before you sit down in a chair, you lean forward, tilt your head back a little, arch your back and “unlock” your pelvis. This posture makes a wave-like structure out of your spine, causing him a lot of inconvenience. This causes irreparable harm to posture and health.

When sitting down, it is necessary to keep the position of the head, neck and spine in the same form in which you are standing - vertically straight.

If it's hard to imagine how a network can be like that, imagine a person who received bad news. He sits exhaustedly on the sofa on a grand scale, the upper part of his body remains in the same position, only his quickly bent (buckled) legs work. Approximately the same thing, but in slow motion, should happen to you.

By the way, sitting cross-legged is also harmful - it creates excessive muscle tension.

We stretch the spine.

This exercise should be performed twice a day for 10-20 minutes.

Lie on the floor with a book under your head. Legs together, knees bent; knees pointing at the ceiling. You can not be distracted and change the position of the body. The neck should be free, the head should move up and forward.

Try to mentally lengthen your spine by imagining your back stretching and expanding. Having achieved this state, relax and lie down, feeling how you stretch in length. Don't close your eyes so you don't fall asleep.

When getting up, try not to disturb the calm and relaxed state of the muscles. Rise slowly, gradually, without jerking.

By repeating this exercise every day, you will notice that pain in the neck and back has disappeared, the brain has become clearer, lightness has appeared in all limbs.

Since childhood, we diligently spoil our posture. We walk incorrectly, we sit and stand incorrectly, and even at rest we are not able to relax the muscles that are overstrained due to unnecessary work that no one needs.

The purpose of the method is to help the client rediscover the natural grace and dexterity inherent since childhood. These natural abilities are quickly lost modern man, including due to seated image life, incorrect body position when working at a desk or computer, which leads to a violation of posture and imbalance in the body as a whole.

But our body is programmed to move easily and naturally, performing all movements with natural ease and grace, like a cat. How enviously we look at people who know how to move beautifully, but at the same time we clumsily hobble and curl up into a fetal position, sitting over documents.

Beautiful posture - natural property, which can be returned with some effort. It just takes a little time and effort.

The Alexander technique is not therapeutic method in the strict sense of the word. Its goal is to teach the client to restore natural posture and more. efficient use opportunities own body. With the help of this technique, you can relieve joint pain, get rid of problems with breathing problems and nervous tension.

The Alexander Method is a practical discipline that studies some aspects of the interaction between the human mind and body.

The Alexander Method is a technique for restoring the natural coordination of the human body, primarily by getting rid of physical and mental patterns (habits) that negatively affect natural abilities. published .

V.B. Pack

If you have any questions, ask them

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness - together we change the world! © econet

Ecology of health: A set of exercises that helps to properly use your own body, harmoniously use your own muscles ...

I may be wrong that you are doing everything wrong,

but in that case, you can continue to do things right,

disregarding me.

(F. M. Alexander)

Technique F.M. Alexander - a set of exercises that helps to properly use your own body, harmoniously use your own muscles.

The method is based on the idea that Every person develops habits throughout life. misuse your body, expressed in the manner of keeping posture and making body movements, inevitably leading to an additional excessive load on musculoskeletal system, which is one of the main causes of disruption of the functioning of the body as a whole and the processes occurring in it.

The main danger of these habits lies in the fact that over time a person gets used to them and begins to perceive them as natural processes(in this aspect, there is a similarity with the “muscular shell” of W. Reich).

Thus, if physically healthy man, who had the habit of keeping his posture even, suddenly begins to stoop, then this habit will become the norm for him, and incorrect posture can lead to violations respiratory function, deterioration in the flow of oxygen to the brain, disruption of the intestines, curvature of the spine and premature aging, muscle and headaches, poor concentration, etc.

Technique F.M. Alexander is recognized by many specialists in working with human body as a phenomenal technique that gives a person the opportunity to enjoy life the way the person himself wants, and not the way his own body allows him, because regardless of whether a person is aware of it or not, the quality of his body condition is a mirror image of the quality of his life.

To the help of the F.M. Alexander has been used by thousands of professional actors, TV presenters, politicians, educators, musicians, psychologists and writers around the world. This indicates the authority of the technique in question among other technologies. body therapy, which gives the right to call the technique F.M. Alexander a real world discovery.

Frederick Matthias Alexander was born on January 20, 1869 in Australia, the city of Viniard, located on the northwest coast of Tasmania. The author of the remarkable technique was born with serious health problems, and none of the doctors could guarantee that the boy would live more than a few weeks. Nevertheless, largely thanks to the boundless love of his mother, F. Alexander survived, but continued to experience severe illness led by diseases of the respiratory organs.

Due to health problems, Frederick could not go to school with other children, and the parents had to hire a private teacher for the child, thanks to which he had a lot of free time in the evening, which he used to help his father in the stable. It was there that he gained experience in non-verbal communication, which later turned out to be invaluable to him.

Due to material problems that arose in the family, a seventeen-year-old boy was forced to get a job in a tin mining company, in parallel, in his free time, he took violin lessons. However, all the money earned by hard work, Frederick managed to spend on visiting art exhibitions, museums and performances - his craving for art was so strong.

Soon he founded his own one-man theater, where he read the works of Shakespeare.

When the acting career was on the rise, Frederic again faced health problems that had haunted him since childhood - he was hoarse, his voice finally disappeared during one of their performances. For the sake of saving his own voice, Frederick was ready to undergo any treatment, however preventive measures gave only a temporary effect. One of the doctors advised him not to talk for a couple of weeks in order not to strain vocal cords. At first, this gave results, and he conducted the performance almost “in one breath”, but at the end of one of the final scenes, his voice disappeared again. At that moment, he realized that he should say goodbye to his acting career ...

The birth of the Alexander technique

Having lost his voice, F. Alexander, in desperation, went to his doctor, who advised him not to talk for a couple of weeks, and asked why everything was fine at first, but after that his voice let him down. So without waiting for a more or less intelligible explanation from the doctor, Alexander decided to fight his illness on his own, for which he began to study himself, his deep features.

At the heart of Alexander's study of himself was the law of cause and effect: every action must necessarily cause a reaction.

If a person suffers from any ailment, be it headache, insomnia or arthritis, this corresponds to a certain internal cause.

This opposition for Alexander was precisely the loss of his voice.

The healing process

Then Alexander realized that the main cause of voice loss is incorrect movements of the neck and head, which, in turn, lead to incorrect posture, causing other diseases (including the probable loss of voice). Diseases appeared due to excessive stress on various groups human muscles that the body was not able to cope with.

Thus, the neglected state of the muscles and the randomness of their movements, uncontrolled by a person, can undermine a person’s health, since a person’s muscles experience unrealistic loads even when a person is resting.

The idea of ​​the methodology is contained in a phrase written personally by F. Alexander:

“By attempting to improve the functions of one’s own organ of speech and taking as a basis various methods, I noticed that a certain position of the neck and head in relation to the body ... produces primary control over human body generally".

The main reason for the incorrect position of the head and neck F. Alexander considered the habit of a person to hunch over, which dates back to the time of teaching a person at the school bench. If you observe the position of the head, neck and torso of children in the classroom, you can notice many different postures:

• some children head down almost to the stop,
• in others, on the contrary, their heads are raised excessively upwards.

Both cases are vivid examples of the incorrect position of the neck and head, which, under the influence of a strong muscular load, can lead to deformations of the posture and the adoption of this incorrect position of the posture as natural. And only a few children keep their posture even, and monitor the position of their head and neck.

In the absence of control over the location of the neck, a hump forms on it and, in order to maintain balance, the rest of the body takes on an uneven posture, a person begins to observe early stage deflection of the spine. In this situation, pain in the lower back is caused by disorders in the upper back, and therefore the treatment of spinal problems should begin with the treatment of its upper part, otherwise the cause of the pain will not be eliminated and the disease will appear again.

For correct operation respiratory, speech and digestion requires the correct position of the spine, because very important nerves and blood vessels, which have a direct effect on the functions of respiration and heartbeat.

Alexander believed that people could solve many health problems with one simple rejection of the habit of throwing their heads back sharply with every irritation. To abandon this addiction Alexander himself aspired and tried to instill this aspiration in his students.

In order to maintain his own posture, a person is not able to carry out constant control over the state of the position of the parts of his body, and F. Alexander understood this very well, therefore he demanded from his students not so much control over the position of the head and neck, but the harmonious coordination of movements made by a person in the process of life.

He believed that even the most hunched people should not despair and complain about fate, since the body has a physiological “wisdom”, thanks to which, after any violationsit seeks to return to a state of balance, posture seeks to take the correct form natural from birth.

However, this will never happen without the desire of a person to achieve a natural posture, to return his body to the correct shape, since this process requires painstaking work.

The same principle applies to the functions of internal and external bodies human - when the form of posture is normalized, the natural function of the organs is also normalized.

The degree of “wisdom” of the body, its ability to return to its natural state is directly related to a person’s dependence on medicines aimed at giving the body correct form – the higher the dependence of a person on drugs, the lower the “wisdom” of the body.

Frederick Alexander is sure that, in addition to extreme cases disease progression, a person is able to cope with it on his own, resorting tonotto drugs, but to a set of physical exercises.

For effective work according to the technique of F.M. Alexander, a high level of self-discipline and self-control is required from a person, however, efforts and contributions will be adequately rewarded with excellent well-being and excellent condition health.

For a better understanding of the methodology, consider an action performed by a person from 10 to 500 times a day - sitting down . When a person slowly sits down, his kneecaps slowly move forward and down, and the heels are parted in different directions. When a person's body begins to descend, most people show an acquired habit of pushing the pelvis back, tipping the head up and down. lower part chest push forward. With these habits, a person causes tangible (if not catastrophic) harm to his posture. Natural movements for a person should be an even movement of the pelvis, the direction of the body is exactly down. In no case should the lower part of the chest be allowed to move forward, and the pelvis back. Take pity on your posture!

Rice. 1. - Movements of a person sitting on a chair

Figure 1a clearly shows the detrimental to posture, but the habitual manner of squatting for many people.

Figure 1b, on the contrary, shows the natural, but, due to the action of false habits, a forgotten manner of squatting.

The balanced position of the head is disturbed, which ensures excessive load on the neck of a person and is reflected in his posture.

For most people, unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to maintain an even posture at the moment when they are sitting in a chair. As a rule, people are so busy with daily activities that they don’t even think about posture and the consequences of improper sitting style at the table. They sit down quickly, arching their backs backwards and pushing their chests forward.

To maintain posture, a person needs not to arch his back forward, arching his neck down, but to align his back and direct the body forward from the hip joints so that the pelvic region moves with the back.

Also do not cross one leg over the other, as this will lead to excessive stress muscles. The best option there will be a breeding of the knees in different directions, which will avoid subsequent pain in the lower back and relieve muscle tension. The pelvis of a seated person should, if possible, be pressed against the back of the chair as much as possible.

Another problem in maintaining one's own posture in normal condition is uneven distribution of muscle tension in the body (so-called dystonic tension). Dystonic tension can be observed in a person even during rest. Some people who are not aware of their body position experience dystonic tension even when performing simple actions such as picking up a spoon, turning on a light, opening a door, etc. Dystonic tension is caused by the inability of a person under the influence of an irritant to return to a calm state. After some similar situations excessive muscular response becomes the norm for a person, and he loses the ability to restrain the activity of his muscles and return the body to a calm state.

Under the influence of excessive muscle loads, the human skeleton is deformed and takes on an unnatural shape.

What to do in this situation, how to get rid of excessive stress?

F. Alexander proposes to do the following - bring the body back into balance with relaxation.

However, many people manage to achieve only partial relaxation, and muscle tension, albeit in a hidden form, remains. The person seems to be in a state of latent tension, and the slightest repetition of the stimulus returns him to a state of muscular tension. This situation is called “permanent deformation” .

There are two main ways to get rid of involuntary muscle tension:

1. complete disregard for dystonic tension,
2. return to a balanced state of rest.

First way less labor-intensive and consists in the adoption by a person of a state of passivity after work, or in the use of alcohol or drugs. A person in this case refuses everything that can cause muscle tension.

Second way much more difficult, but much more effective, and consists in changing motor habits in order to create the correct posture.

Posture Correction Exercise

Turn your back against the wall so that your heels are 5-7 cm from the wall and your feet are approximately 25-28 cm apart (as shown in Fig. 2a).

Rice. 2

Then, without changing the position of the legs, slightly tilt the base of the torso back towards the wall (Fig. 2b).

It is very important that the buttocks, together with the shoulder blades, simultaneously touch the wall.

• If one part of the body touches the wall before the other, this will indicate about curvature of the spine .
• If the back of your head touches the wall first, it will a sign of the habit of tilting the head back .

If you bulge your pelvis too far forward, then only the shoulder blades will touch the wall, but the buttocks will not. In such a situation, you should move your buttocks against the wall.

You may find a certain gap between the lumbar region and the wall, which will disappear as soon as you bend both legs at the knees, while moving the lower abdomen slightly forward and lowering the buttocks (as shown in Fig. 2c).

• If after a while this position of the body becomes exhausting for you, this will indicate about your availability serious problems with posture.

While in this position, make sure that your foot has not dropped. If the feet are tight, then this can be corrected by pushing the bent knees apart.

Similarly, the correction of O-shaped legs occurs.

Extend your knees, but do not allow them to be fully extended. In a standing position, the legs should be in a slight bend. At the same time, a slight deflection should remain in the lumbar region.

Rice. 3

By spreading the feet, it is possible to detect some of the errors that appear during walking.

Place chairs with high backs on your left and right sides (see Fig. 3a) and touch thumbs chair backs with elbows out.

Start walking with your right foot: lifting your heel, slightly bend your right knee.

In this position, the weight of the body should shift by left leg so that a person can raise his right. Many may notice that they produce uplift right foot not by bending the right knee, but by lifting the right side of the pelvis (Fig. 3b). Later, you may notice this by feeling tension in the hand touching the back of the chair.

When going through the exercise, it should be remembered that the arms and upper body should not take part in the initial bending of the knee (the correct body position is shown in Fig. 3c).

At a further stage of walking, you should bend your knee until only the end touches the floor. thumb(Fig. 3d).

At the moment of moving the torso forward, the leg will begin to come off the floor, after which it must touch it with the heel. Only after that, the entire sole should fall to the floor completely. The knees should not be fully extended (Fig. 3c).

In the event that absolutely the entire sole touches the floor, then the bend in this area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe lower back will be significant. By setting the heel and toes in this way, you will be able to reduce the risk of significant arching of the spine forward in the lower back.

Can I start using the Alexander technique on my own?

Yes, you certainly may!

1. First you should choose a place for classes that is convenient for you, where no one can interfere with you.
2. Next, you need to lie down on the floor, putting a book under your head.
3. Bend your legs so that your knees point towards the ceiling.
4. Your thoughts should be free from outsiders, you should not change the position of the body. Mentally say the phrase: "Neck is free, head up and forward." Thus, you will concentrate your attention on the neck and head area.
5. Next, mentally say the phrase: “Expand and stretch your back.” At the same time, you will begin to feel how your back, shoulders and shoulder blades straighten.
6. When pronouncing the second phrase, one should not forget about the neck and head. If it so happened that you still forgot about them - go back to the first phrase and concentrate on the head and neck, and only then proceed to work with the back muscles.

Keep in mind that you do not need to perform any action - by repeating these phrases alternately for several minutes, your body will reach a state of relaxation on its own.

In the future, when performing any action and experiencing muscle tension, you should repeat these phrases in turn, and your muscles will come to a relaxed state.

Each person is accustomed to perform certain actions in one specific way, without even taking into account the fact that the same action can be performed in several other ways. At the same time, before the action itself, a person goes through the stage of “expectation of action”, when the perception of the action is consistent with its expectation.

Therefore, when a person performs any action, even the smallest external irritation can cause its premature onset.

When a person is able to control his reactions and react at the right time, he will get rid of the dependence of expectation tension.

The new body construction that a person aspires to by applying the Alexander technique is nothing more than subjective feeling of the correct “waiting posture” .

Due to the fact that a person’s characteristic perception of his preferred reactions to stimuli occurs at the level of the unconscious, a person, according to Alexander’s method, must consciously work on the design of his own body in order to inhibit habitual, but initially not natural reactions for himself.

Initially, you need to plan new correct reactions to irritants. Over time, this habit will become a deliberate action. Then you will not need to think about each of your actions - they will be performed spontaneously.

When actions are considered, applying the Alexander technique, a person will be able to control his posture and thereby get rid of many unnecessary problems associated with his own health. published

The materials are for informational purposes only. Remember, self-medication is life-threatening, consult a doctor for advice on the use of any medications and treatments.

Independent development of the Alexander method

Choose a place to practice where no one can disturb you. Lie on the floor with a book under your head. Bend your legs, pointing your knees at the ceiling. You should lie completely still, not change the position of the body and not think about outsiders. Say to yourself the formula: "Neck is free, head forward and up."

With this formula, attention is focused on the position of the head and neck, but no movement is necessary.

Then say the command to yourself: “Stretch and expand your back.” As you do this, you may feel your entire back straighten out, or you may feel your shoulder blades and shoulders relax. If at this moment you notice that, carried away by new sensations, you forgot about the first formula, you should return to the previous command, and then again proceed to the release of the back muscles.

Sequential repetition of commands for the head and back should last several minutes or more. If you missed more short term, then most likely you made some kind of movement, instead of just thinking about it, repeating the formulas until a certain sensation arises in your body by itself.

Most people stop formulating when they notice a change has taken place and then try to reinforce it with action. In the event that you notice changes in your body, it is even more important than before to think about the formulas and do nothing consciously. After you have been saying the formulas to yourself for quite some time, you may notice that the muscle tension is relieved as you move. This assumes that you must continue to pronounce the formulas to yourself during movements. In other words, the commands you learn affect the "readiness" ("tension of expectation") of your muscles.

We are all accustomed to a certain way of performing this or that action, and it is very difficult for us to imagine how it can be done differently. Action expectations influence perception in such a way that it is consistent with expectations. When we start a certain action, any irritation from the outside can cause it to start prematurely. If we can master such reactions and react at the moment when this action is necessary, then we can overcome the “tension of expectation”. The new "body construction" that Alexander recommended striving for is the subjective feeling of the correct "waiting posture".

But man is not a one-way street. Unconsciously, he always chooses from environment what it will react to. This "preferred perception" occurs mainly at the level of the unconscious. Characteristic “perception preferences” are associated with the distribution muscle tension in body. Alexander argues that a person must work consciously on the "construction of the body", for which "inhibition" of habitual reactions is necessary.

First you need to plan new reactions to irritations. Over time, “planned action” will be replaced by the habit of “deliberate movements”.

The same goes for learning how to drive a car. At first, it is very difficult to remember commands for individual movements, but then this skill becomes flesh and blood. Now it is no longer necessary to plan every single movement in advance, but there remains the need for “deliberate movements”.

When the new "body construction" is clear, one can move "deliberately". But one should always deliberately introduce oneself into similar condition- call it mentally through verbal commands.

The Alexander method gives many people a chance not only to get rid of posture disorders, to develop harmonious movements, but also to significantly improve functionality organism.

4.4. INDEPENDENT COMPILATION OF HYPNOTEXTS AND LAYOUT OF HYPNOSPEECH IN fiction it is not uncommon to find descriptions of the use of covert hypnosis in practice. It is described, although very schematically, in the famous detective J. Westlake "Damned

THE ALEXANDER PRINCIPLE I met this man by chance in 1938. When I wrote an obituary about him in The Times 15 years later, I called him a genius, and I still think so. Specialists in fields as diverse as medicine, natural sciences, pedagogy, religion,