“This story of perceptiveness, of intelligence and of persistence by a man without medical training is one of the true epics of Medical Research and practice”
- Professor Nikolaas Tinbergen, Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1973
The Technique was originated by Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), a successful Shakespearean actor who experienced vocal problems that were ruining his career. When doctors failed to find a medical cause, he reasoned it must be something he was doing to himself. Through years of uncompromising self-observation he found out that he was misusing himself in such a way that he was interfering with his body’s natural functioning. He established and put into practice basic principles of coordination that became the Alexander Technique — the use of self-awareness and thought leading to movement to prevent inappropriate habitual neuromuscular activity. When those around him noticed his problems disappear, his voice become more resonant and expressive, and the remarkable improvement in his general health, they came to him for lessons.
By applying the scientific method in an entirely new way, he revolutionized the way we look at human functioning. Since then leading physicians, performers, musicians, educators and scientists have acknowledged the Technique's remarkable benefits. For over 100 years the Technique has helped people from all walks of life overcome physical, mental and emotional conditions resulting from unconscious harmful habits.
F. M. Alexander spent the rest of his life in England and America perfecting his Technique and training others to teach. Today there are centers around the world that train teachers to teach the Technique.
Photographs of F. M. Alexander Copyright 2005 Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, London