How it all began

F. M. Alexander photographs © 2005 Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, London

It all began with Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) a successful Shakespearean actor crippled by vocal problems that threatened to ruin his career.  When doctors failed to find a medical cause he reasoned it must be something he was doing to himself. Through self-observation he discovered he was intefering with his body’s natural functioning. He developed and put into practice basic principles that became the Alexander Technique.  When people 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. 

"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" -Nikolaas Tinbergen, Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1973

By applying the scientific method in an entirely new way F.M. Alexander revolutionized the way we look at human functioning. For over a 100 years leading physicians, performers, musicians, educators and scientists have acknowledged the Technique's remarkable benefits. It 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 it. Today centers around the world train teachers to teach the Technique.  

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