In an interview with Robert Rickover, Alexis Niki (an Alexander Technique teacher in Paris, France as well as a screen writer and producer) says: “To me, the most important aspect of the Alexander Technique is centering, connecting, and having a choice about what you do and how you respond in any situation.”
“You might get a long awaited promotion or find a new love or the birth of a child and you might find yourself stressing out and getting over-excited and disconnecting. That disconnect might show up physically as pain or tension or poor posture. It might show up emotionally as creative blocks or anxiety or lack of confidence. That giddy excitement may not allow us to focus.
“Rather than trying to change a situation or to avoid a situation or to manage a situation, Alexander Technique teaches us to turn our attention on ourselves and how we are reacting to the situation and it does it through a unique learning process, which includes working one-on-one with a teacher.
“The teacher will use his hands to guide the student through a series of every day activities such as sitting down or standing up or walking or other activities that the student may bring to the lesson and through that process, the student becomes aware of their habitual reactions in a way that they have probably never noticed before.”
“This process is naturally connecting on all levels — physically, emotionally and mentally. Once we understand how we’re responding, we start moving differently. We think and speak and walk differently. We naturally become more creative and efficient.”
