F. M. Alexander (1869 - 1955) was an Australian actor with a promising career ahead of him who began to experience voice trouble in performance, which gradually worsened until he completely lost his voice while reciting. A doctor suggested that he rest his voice for two weeks. He followed this advice and was pleased to find that his voice had returned at the start of a big engagement. All the more bitter was his disappointment when after half an hour he was completely hoarse again. The doctor suggested an operation.
Alexander, however, was convinced that it must have been something he was doing in the act of reciting that was causing his trouble. He set about observing himself in the mirror while reciting to find out what it was. After much time he finally came to recognise a pattern, of what he called 'misuse' of his whole self, which manifested whenever he went to recite. At first, the pattern was not evident during normal speaking, but in time he discerned that is was there too, albeit to a much lesser degree. He also began to spot it as the underlying attitude of any activity. He saw that any time he went to 'do something', this pattern of excess effort would manifest. He thought he must be a freak. But then he saw that almost everyone else 'shortened their stature' as a basis for activity too.
To make matters worse, it seemed impossible to prevent this from happening. He realised that his sensory appreciation was not reliable because his feeling of what he was doing did not accord with what he saw in the mirror.
Painstakingly, Alexander devised a method based on projecting the intention for a better general coordination, without making any attempt to feel it happen. And slowly, as the projection of these new directions for his 'use' took effect, he was able to return to the stage and recite with his acclaimed voice again. But by now he was far more interested in working out the implications of his discovery and began teaching his technique, at first to other actors, then to people referred to him by doctors. He became known as 'the breathing man' because of the beneficial effects on respiration of applying his technique.
Alexander moved to London where he earned the respect of the leading doctors and other important people of the day. The more pupils he worked with, the more it became apparent that the malfunctioning of this key to general coordination was the underlying factor in a diverse catalogue of cases of ill-health ranging from stuttering to angina to flat feet.
While
there are many conditions which benefit from Alexander Technique, these
effects come about indirectly, because the general coordination of the
whole psycho-physical organism is improving.
Alexander felt strongly that 'civilisation'
was neglecting to develop human physical intelligence in step with the
mental acumen. He realised that humans
were the first animal to ever change their environment faster than they
could think to adapt to it.
