An Inconvenient Fact of the Alexander Technique

Years ago, an American neighbour of mine expressed mild interest in Alexander's discovery –because of her migraines. One day, she asked if it could help her, and got close to agreeing to have a trial lesson…

Then suddenly she blurted out a startling question:

“It’s not going to change my personality, is it?”

And I immediately thought ‘yes’

and re-wrote a little Shakespeare in my head:

Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the hands of change;

That this great deed shall flow around the earth

With egoless men praising their survival.

I can thank Peter Nobes for my inspiration.

***

Peter is a charming English eccentric, with a passion for Alexander's discovery. If I was English, I’d be just like him.

We last stumbled into each other one fine London day on Strand, in the summer of 13; we then proceeded to bar hop from the Savoy (where I was staying with my girls) to an obscure pub on the shores of the Thames a few hours later. I hadn’t got that silly for years: it was a joy to be swept away by his intelligence, curiosity and passion.

Peter’s passion was recently on full display: delivering the Keynote address for ATI’s recent conference in London: “The Alexander Technique. Posture Training? Or Mankind’s Next Evolutionary Step?”

I didn’t attend, instead I read his summary notes here. I wanted to weigh in on his polemic.

Peter is scathing towards promoting the Alexander Technique as a technique to improve posture. He argues that this belies the transformative nature of what we do; meanwhile, a movement such as “Mindfulness” is sweeping the UK to become a household name, and our Alexander Technique brand continues to wither on the fringes.

Peter even produces Google search graphics as evidence…

There is a vast and hungry audience that wants to feed on what we deliver!

Why don’t we get any of that trade? Because of our messaging – it puts people off.

My life is based on the premise that Alexander's discovery is one of the most important advances in our understanding of human behaviour since the Buddha walked the planet 2,500 years ago.

Just so you know I am backing Peter all the way.

Paraphrasing Peter: If only people knew it. If only we told them. Instead, we carry on about helping back pain and physical conditions – neglecting to mention that transformative happiness is our primary benefit, not better posture. Peter remarks:

“How has this thing that teaches freedom and choices got reduced to ‘spines’?”

Oh yes. Spines.

And your Head, the inconvenient fact of Alexander's discovery.

I love what Peter has written. He has effectively shown how mainstream thinking is still driven by a dualistic notion of human behaviour – separating body and mind. And consumers discern in this way when making their buying decisions.

Mind or Body Technique – which one are we? I want to know!

Flash back 85 years, FM complains of just that in his 3rd and most succinct book The Use of the Self. This behaviour is persistent, and it’s not certain any new marketing campaign can halt that!

What to do?

We can’t undo two centuries of narrative – we are stuck with it.

In ATSuccess I offer the solution of starting a new narrative – your own. “Rebranding” as Peter characterised it. I lay out 12 steps for doing this, and you can sign up below for my free email seminar if you want to know more.

But today I am not writing about rebranding Alexander's discovery, I am writing about the brand known as “Alexander Technique”.

Does Alexander Technique  have to be rebranded too?

The solution to any problem lies waiting within the problem itself. That’s why we have problems – to wake us up. They are like the flashing red lights in your car telling you to check the oil. Ignore at your peril.

Head “forward and up” came from knowing first how the head was “back and down”.

The seed to a turnaround always exists within the thing that needs changing: therefore, the question to ask is:

How can this perception that we do “body posture work” be turned around to our advantage?

And bear with me now – I have to dive into a rabbit hole to explain how this can work.

***

The software of the human brain is mostly commandeered by ego; which is like giving a 5-year-old the keys to the mansion.

Five year olds are not capable of comprehending what a mansion truly is: instead, the 5-year-old ego lives in one room. In this little room, our egos uselessly rerun the same software routines in multiple contexts, delivering consistent, but always similar results. i.e. repetitive relationship problems, eating problems, phobias, mood swings – the list is endless. That is how ego is managing the mansion.

However, Nature designed a complex piece of movement software, and it also included a hitherto, unknown backdoor, to get in without ego’s permission. (NSA – eat your heart out.)

And Alexander found that secret backdoor!

Little 5-year-old ego doesn’t even know you entered until it is too late.

Ego is master of ignorance and denial, yet Alexander's discovery offers a magical way to trick ego into letting you in. Yes – there is a back door! And there’s the rub: the truth is hiding in plain sight. It’s so obvious, it cannot be seen.

It’s the head/spine relationship, stupid – where mind truly meets movement.

Because of course you do not want to alert the ego at all. Make if feel safe: “oh, this is just about your spine and good posture, don’t worry. We won’t change your personality.”

Next, get your hands on them.

Touch is the back door.

Bingo!

Where Peter sees ‘posture’ as cause of our demise, I see it as a feint to misdirect the ego.

I am a spiritual warrior mascaraing as a doctor of posture.

I love how often touch allows me to magically enter into the most intimate aspects of a stranger’s life. Usually ego bars the way – but this back door selected to meet the Master of the Mansion works more often than it doesn’t. In the most banal way, you can prompt spiritual havoc in their lives, often in the beat a lesson.

Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the hands of change;

That this great deed shall fold into their brain

With egoless men praising their survival.

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