Parts of the Whole
A living human being is altogether more complex than the inanimate remains studied on the dissecting table. Have a good look at the professionals who have spent years studying anatomy and physiology and ask yourself if their knowledge has improved their postural integrity.

A case in point: A popular television science program featured a segment on new research into knee problems. The researcher, a young scientist, employing the most sophisticated computer technology, had just completed several years’ clinical research into the causes of failing knees. Unfortunately, he was not employing the best use of his own body. He was filmed reclining against a tree, his upper body slumped downwards over lifeless legs with locked, hyperextended knees, the bulk of his body weight collecting in his stressed knee joints. One can only wonder at the irony: this expert unwittingly creating in his own knees the very problem his research was designed to alleviate - and he has not the remotest clue where he really needs to look.

Once you know how vital the adequate response of your anti-gravity mechanisms is to your general functioning and wellbeing, you might wonder why people would ask for help for their failing knees, hips and spinal disks from someone whose employment of those parts is no better than their own. Alexander was known to have confronted some illustrious experts with this very question...only to be greeted with a blank stare.

Our organism consists of ‘parts’ (mind, emotions, nervous and circulatory systems, skeleton, musculature and organs), but we are far more than a collection of flesh and bones enlivened by chemistry. Alexander discovered that these ‘parts’ were all acting interdependently in what we might now call a ‘psycho-physical ecology’ and that the vital co-ordinating factor within this ecology was his own consciousness: that his consciousness could exert considerable influence on his organism as a whole - for good or ill. To this effect he said ‘We can change the habit of a lifetime in a moment, if only we would use our brains.’ It is the conscious employment of our thinking processes in directing the activity of our bodies which liberates us from the drudgery of habitual misuse and enables us to achieve optimal functioning of the ‘psycho-physical’ whole we are.

Recent discoveries in molecular biology about the role of perception in human wellbeing would appear to verify now what Alexander discovered over a century ago. For relevant information, the website of pioneer scientist Dr Bruce Lipton has much to offer.

For detailed information about the Alexander Technique please read, download or print the relevant articles in this section.

Introduction Psycho-physical unity Misuse - the challenge of our time Posture and poise Postural mechanisms Who was F.M. Alexander? Alexander lessons How many lessons? About the Author