Alexander Technique

August 26, 2025

Breathing Better with the Alexander Technique: A Step-by-Step Guide

Modern lifestyles often involve prolonged stress, extended periods of sitting, and shallow breathing patterns. These factors can disrupt our natural breathing rhythm, leading to tension, reduced oxygen intake, and overall discomfort. The Alexander Technique offers a practical approach to restoring ease and freedom in breathing by promoting mindful body awareness and releasing unnecessary tension.

Why Breathing Matters for Health and Wellbeing:

Breathing is deeply connected to body awareness and stress levels. Limited body awareness, often caused by prolonged sitting or tension, can restrict the lungs and lead to shallow, inefficient breathing. Stress further tightens muscles and disrupts natural breathing patterns, creating a cycle that affects both body and mind.

Non-interfering breathing refers to breathing that flows freely and naturally, without unnecessary tension or restriction from the body. This type of breathing enhances oxygen flow throughout the body, promoting relaxation and reducing stress. It also supports mental clarity and focuses by ensuring the brain receives the oxygen it needs to function optimally. Cultivating non-interfering breathing habits is therefore essential for overall health and wellbeing.

How the Alexander Technique Supports Natural Breathing:

The Alexander Technique helps you become aware of tension often held in the neck, shoulders, and chest—areas that can silently interfere with your natural breathing. For example, you might notice tightness in your shoulders after sitting at a desk all day, which can make your breath feel shallow or restricted.

By becoming aware of patterns of reaction—how your body habitually holds tension—you can begin to gently let go of these habits and allow your breath to flow more freely and comfortably. The technique also encourages the diaphragm—the main muscle involved in breathing—to move without restriction, promoting deeper, more efficient breaths.

With regular practice, the Alexander Technique helps you develop a sense of ease and freedom in your breathing, making it feel effortless and natural again, even during stressful or sedentary moments.

Step-by-Step Guide to Breathing Better

Step 1: Notice habits of reaction (jaw, shoulders, chest) during daily activities.

As you go about your day, pay attention to how your body reacts—do you clench your jaw while concentrating? Hunch your shoulders when stressed? Tighten your chest during phone calls? Simply observe these habitual reactions without trying to change them right away.

Step 2: Use a conscious pause before inhaling.

When you notice tension patterns or habitual reactions—like a clenched jaw while focusing on work, raise shoulders during stressful conversations, or a tight chest when rushing, take a brief conscious pause before your next breath. This pause doesn’t need to be long; even a second or two can help interrupt the automatic tension response.

For example:

Before answering a phone call, pause to notice if your shoulders are creeping up and gently drop them.
While sitting at your computer, notice the tension in your jaw or if you’re holding your breath, then pause and allow yourself enough time to organically come back to a state of non-reaction or non-tension.
When feeling frustrated in traffic, pause before inhaling and observe any chest tightness or shallow breathing.

This small, mindful pause acts as a reset button, giving your body a chance to shift away from habitual tension and inviting a more relaxed, natural breath.

Step 3: Allow natural breath to come (not forced).

Following the conscious pause, it’s important to let your breath flow naturally without any effort or control. Forcing or manipulating the breath can create unnecessary tension and disrupt the natural rhythm your body is designed to follow. When breathing naturally, the diaphragm moves smoothly and freely, expanding and contracting in harmony with your body’s needs.

Allowing the breath to come on its own encourages relaxation and supports efficient oxygen exchange. It helps regulate the nervous system by promoting a calm and balanced state. This effortless breathing fosters greater ease in the body and mind, reinforcing a healthy, sustainable breathing pattern.

Step 4: Notice Your Breathing as You Go About Your Day.

Bringing mindful breathing into your everyday life means staying gently aware of how your body responds during routine tasks. Notice moments when habitual tension or restrictive breathing patterns arise, whether you’re working, walking, or engaging in conversation. This ongoing awareness helps you recognize when your breath becomes shallow, your muscles tighten, or stress builds up.

By consciously observing these reactions without judgment, you create space to interrupt unhelpful patterns and allow a more natural, relaxed breath to re-emerge. Over time, this practice strengthens your ability to maintain ease and calm even in challenging or busy situations. Integrating this awareness into daily activities supports overall wellbeing by reducing physical tension, lowering stress levels, and enhancing mental clarity throughout your day.

Practical Examples & Applications

For singers, speakers, or performers:

The Alexander Technique helps performers become aware of unnecessary tension that can affect breath control and vocal quality. By fostering ease in breathing and movement, it supports better voice projection, stamina, and presence on stage.

For stress relief and relaxation:

Practicing awareness of habitual tension patterns and allowing natural breath can significantly reduce stress. The technique encourages a calm nervous system, making it a useful tool for managing anxiety and promoting deep relaxation.

Becoming aware of ourselves in everyday living:

The Alexander Technique invites us to notice how we move, sit, stand, and respond to daily situations. By becoming more conscious of these patterns, we can reduce strain, move with greater ease, and experience a more balanced, responsive way of living.

What Are the 5 Directions in the Alexander Technique? A Simple Guide for Beginners

Tips to Deepen Practice

Work with a certified Alexander Technique teacher:

Personal guidance can make a significant difference. A trained teacher can help you identify subtle patterns of tension and guide you in developing more easeful, conscious coordination in breathing and movement.

Combine with gentle movement practices:
Practices such as walking, yoga, tai chi, or swimming can complement the Alexander Technique by encouraging fluid, mindful motion. These activities help reinforce awareness and support natural breathing patterns.
Integrate with psychotherapy or emotional work:

Because the Alexander Technique involves noticing how we physically respond to stress, it can support and deepen emotional or psychological healing. When combined with therapy, it may help uncover and release long-held patterns of physical reaction tied to emotional experiences.

Keep a daily awareness habit:

Set aside a few minutes each day to pause, notice your breathing, and observe how you’re using your body in the moment. Even brief check-ins can help you stay connected to yourself and deepen the benefits of the practice over time.

Conclusion

Breathing with awareness can have a profound impact on how we move, feel, and function. By observing and changing habitual patterns of tension and reaction, the Alexander Technique supports a more natural, non-interfering breath. This shift can transform our sense of alignment, increase energy, and promote a deeper sense of calm and wellbeing in daily life. If you’re curious to experience these benefits for yourself, consider taking a lesson or reaching out to a certified Alexander Technique teacher. Even one session can offer valuable insight into how you’re using your body—and how small changes in awareness can lead to lasting transformation.

July 6, 2025

What Are the 5 Directions in the Alexander Technique? A Simple Guide for Beginners

Many people ask me that question about what the 5 directions of the Alexander Technique are. And how can they be useful in real life. Mostly, people who have never heard about the work will associate the Alexander technique with the 5 directions.

I decided that it could be interesting to write about it and give my opinion as an Alexander Technique Teacher of what are the 5 directions and how useful they can be when learning the Technique.

Why learning the 5 directions and what use can they have in our lives?

Learning the 5 directions of the Alexander Technique offers a practical way to improve posture, movement efficiency, and overall body awareness. These directions are mental cues used to gently guide the body into a more coordinated and balanced state without force or tension.

The directions aren’t physical commands but intentions—gentle, ongoing thoughts that allow the body to reorganize naturally.

And what are those directions?

In classical Alexander, the 5 directions can be comprised in a sentence. “Allow your neck to be free, so that the head can go forward and up, and the back can length and widen”. So, as mentioned above, those directions are intentions and gentle ongoing thoughts. And that is where I would like to pause and talk about my experience as an Alexander Teacher.

Misunderstandings of using the Alexander principle of “directions”?

Talking about the 5 directions of the Alexander Technique can be confusing and lead to doing rather than non-doing because the very act of focusing on or “applying” them can easily become a goal-oriented or mechanical process, which is the opposite of what the Technique promotes—conscious inhibition and easeful coordination.

Phrases like “Let the neck be free”, “to let the head go forward and up”, etc., may sound like instructions to actively do something with the body, rather than to inhibit interfering habits. This can prompt people to try and “make” the directions happen physically. I experienced that multiples time with people that came for Alexander sessions. The urge to cling into the “directions” as a command for life.

Also, the word direction can be misleading—it doesn’t mean moving in a direction, but rather thinking in a direction, inviting a quality of lengthening, widening, or releasing. Many people mistake this for something they must produce with effort.

When people try to do the directions perfectly, they often become more focused on results than on process. This undermines the awareness and inhibition that form the basis of the Technique. The 5 directions are meant to be light, mental reminders, not detailed instructions. Overanalysing or repeating them rigidly can interrupt natural coordination.

The value of “directions”.

In essence, the 5 directions are valuable when thought with clarity and ease, not when they become tasks. The Alexander Technique is about promoting during a session organic releasing interference, not adding effortful correction.

In my opinion, other Alexander Technique principles are more important than directions, such as inhibition, primary control, and awareness.

Other major Alexander Technique principles

Inhibition (the conscious choice to stop habitual, harmful patterns) creates the space where directions can even be applied effectively. Without inhibiting old habits, directions might just be ignored or misapplied.

Primary control (the dynamic relationship between head, neck, and spine) is the foundational coordination pattern in your body. If that isn’t functioning well, simply giving directions won’t bring lasting change.

Awareness and sensory feedback are crucial to know how your body actually responds. Without awareness, directions become abstract concepts rather than practical changes.

Final Thoughts.

So, directions, in my opinion, can be an important part of a session, if they are experienced in a context, but not per se. Without the fundamental principles that prepare and support your body and mind, directions alone may not work well. It’s like having instructions but no clear connection or readiness to follow them.

Sleepless woman suffering from insomnia, sleep apnea or stress. Tired and exhausted lady. Headache or migraine. Awake in the middle of the night. Frustrated person with problem. Alarm clock.

July 1, 2025

Can the Alexander Technique Help with Sleep?

Yes, the Alexander Technique can help with sleep, though it’s not a direct treatment for insomnia. It works by improving body awareness, reducing muscular tension, and calming the nervous system—factors that can contribute to better sleep. Here’s how it may help:

Reduces Physical Tension:

Many people carry unconscious tension, especially in the neck, back, and shoulders. This can make it harder to relax at night. The Alexander Technique teaches how to release this tension, which can lead to more comfort in bed.

Improves Breathing:

The technique promotes natural, unforced breathing. More efficient breathing can support relaxation and readiness for sleep.

Addresses Anxiety and Stress:

By promoting mindfulness and awareness of how we hold our bodies and react to stress, it can help reduce anxiety—one of the key causes of sleep disturbances.

Encourages Restful Posture:

The technique can help you find more comfortable sleeping positions and reduce strain from poor posture during the day, which may carry into nighttime discomfort.

Although the Alexander Technique isn’t a cure for chronic sleep issues, many people report that it helps them unwind and fall asleep more easily.

Why Poor Sleep Is Often a Body Issue Too?

From the Alexander Technique perspective, poor sleep is often a body issue because the way we habitually use our bodies—especially under stress—can interfere with our ability to rest, release tension, and transition into sleep. Here’s how this works:

Muscular Tension and Holding Patterns

The Alexander Technique emphasizes how unconscious muscular tension—particularly in the neck, shoulders, and back—can interfere with overall functioning. Many people carry this tension into bed. If your body stays in a “ready for action” state (tight jaw, raised shoulders, arched back), your nervous system may struggle to shift into rest mode.

Faulty Body Use and Breath Interference

Poor postural habits—like slumping or over-stiffening—can restrict natural breathing. Shallow or held breath patterns activate the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight), not the parasympathetic system needed for restorative sleep. Alexander work helps retrain easeful posture and freer breath, supporting calm and sleep.

Hypervigilance and Lack of Kinaesthetic Awareness

Without awareness, many people stay “on alert” even in bed—clenching muscles, holding their neck rigid, or locking their joints. The Alexander Technique teaches you to notice and undo these unconscious habits, promoting a safe, quiet internal environment that supports sleep onset.

Overstimulated Nervous System

Alexander work calms the nervous system by restoring balance between intention and tension. If you’re constantly pushing, bracing, or holding yourself in place during the day, your body doesn’t know how to downregulate at night. Learning to release unnecessary effort supports deep rest.

Bedtime Posture and Sleep Ergonomics

Many people lie down with poor alignment—head too high on pillows, twisted spine, or legs rigid—unknowingly causing discomfort that disrupts sleep cycles. Alexander awareness helps you lie down with support and length so the body can truly rest without compression or strain.

How the Alexander Technique Supports Better Sleep?

When it comes to sleep, the Alexander Technique can be beneficial in several ways:

Reduces Physical Tension. Many people carry unnecessary muscular tension, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back, which can interfere with comfortable sleep. The Alexander Technique teaches inhibition (pausing before reacting) and direction (intentional alignment), allowing the body to rest more naturally and with less strain.

Improves Breathing.By encouraging better posture and releasing muscular constriction, the technique can promote deeper and more efficient breathing, particularly useful for people who hold their breath or breathe shallowly during stress or sleep.

Calms the Nervous System. The mindful awareness cultivated in lessons helps reduce anxiety and stress, often linked to insomnia or restless sleep. Practitioners learn how to respond to stimuli with less reactivity, promoting a calmer internal state.

Integrates with Daily Habits. Improving how you move, sit, and hold yourself during the day naturally affects how relaxed and ready for sleep your body feels at night.

What Is Constructive Rest?

Constructive Rest is a simple, restorative body position and mindful practice rooted in principles of the Alexander Technique, designed to promote physical release, deep relaxation, and postural realignment. It involves lying on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms resting comfortably — typically for 10 to 20 minutes.

Why Is It Ideal Before Bed?

Relieves Muscular Tension. The semi-supine position allows your spine to decompress and muscles to release unnecessary holding, especially in the lower back, neck, and shoulders.

Calms the Nervous System. Focused, gentle awareness of the breath and body helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing anxiety and preparing the mind for sleep.

Improves Postural Awareness. By reconnecting with natural body alignment, it counters the effects of slouching or screen use, leading to less physical discomfort at night.

Builds a Pre-Sleep Ritual. Practicing it regularly can become a signal to the body and mind that it’s time to wind down — similar to meditation, but more accessible for some people.

Supports Natural Breathing. When the body is aligned and free of excess tension, the diaphragm moves more freely, encouraging slower, deeper breaths — ideal for transitioning to sleep.

Who Can Benefit Most from This Approach?

People with stress-related insomnia. The technique teaches how to release unnecessary muscular tension and calm the nervous system, which helps those who lie awake with racing thoughts or physical restlessness.

Chronic pain sufferers. If sleep is disrupted by back pain, neck pain, or joint discomfort, the Alexander Technique can help align the body more efficiently and reduce pain, particularly in lying or sleeping positions.

Individuals with poor posture. Those who unconsciously hold tension in their shoulders, neck, or back — even while lying down — can use the Technique to improve alignment and reduce unconscious strain that may interfere with sleep quality.

Performers or high-achieving professionals. Actors, musicians, and athletes often use the Alexander Technique to manage performance anxiety and body use. These same principles help them “switch off” at night and unwind their overactive systems.

People with sleep apnea or breathing issue. Though not a cure, the Technique encourages better breathing habits and freer use of the rib cage and diaphragm, which may indirectly support improved breathing during sleep.

Final Thoughts:

Sleep isn’t just a mental state, it’s also a physical and postural one. This technique emphasizes how habitual tension, poor posture, and unconscious patterns in the body can persist even during rest, including sleep.

Also, an important aspect of this method is that it is a holistic approach to how we use our bodies and minds in every moment, even when resting. It helps you become aware of habitual tensions and unconscious patterns, so you can gently release unnecessary effort and move or rest more efficiently and comfortably.

Have you tried practicing Alexander Technique yourself? Or are you curious about how it might help with something specific like stress, pain, or performance? Please contact me for more information.

Care neck posture. Spine pain position with phone, correct standing head for anatomy health painful moving bone back muscle, mobile addiction, danger angle human necks, neat vector

June 26, 2025

How the Alexander Technique Helps with Chronic Back and Neck Pain

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 45.7% of people experience neck pain within a year, and 15.5% suffer from chronic back pain. About 40% of people who suffer from spinal pain find it disabling according to ResearchGate. Worldwide, 203 million people were affected by neck pain in 2020 according to NIH. That is not to mention back pain where 61.3% reported back pain in the last 12 months according to NIH.

So, what can Alexander Technique do to help people who suffer from back and neck pain? And more importantly, what is the Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a gentle, educational approach to relieving tension and correcting harmful postural habits.

Understanding Chronic Pain and Postural Habits:

Chronic Pain is often, but not always, a matter of misuse of ourselves. That means that, when we carry out our daily activities, our primary goal is often to put our intentions in accomplishing our tasks and goals. As human beings, we tend to be goal oriented and specially in the western societies achieving goals professionally and personally are mantras of everyday living. But what as that to do with Chronic Pain? The problem is not so much on how many goals we determined to achieve. But on the way that we organise ourselves to achieve those goals. In other words, chronic pain is often a result of us not realising that we are using ourselves in a way that put us wrong.

An example that can illustrate that idea is when we decide to sit in front of our computers to read our emails. We often tend to do a couple of things. Our breathing becomes shallow which means that our ribcage is no longer allowing space but becomes sort of a rigid box; we narrow into the screen often for hours and hours putting not only strain in our eyes but also tensing up our necks and heads; we twist our spins and often compress ourselves down for far too long.

And all that happens because unconsciously we focus/narrow our attention and compress ourselves for the sake of accomplishing our tasks. There is no surprise that by insisting on that way of living we develop what is called chronic pain. The postural habits associated with that pain is often accompanied with tension in our back, necks and heads, which leads to compression and narrowing, not only of our physical selves, but also the way we think about ourselves in those moments.

What Is the Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a method of postural and movement re-education that can be particularly effective for people suffering from chronic back and neck pain. It focuses on changing long-standing habits of movement and posture that contribute to discomfort, tension, and pain.

How It Specifically Helps Back and Neck Pain?

Improved Posture

Many cases of chronic pain stem from poor posture—slouching, craning the neck, or compressing the spine. The Alexander Technique teaches you to recognize and release unnecessary tension, allowing the spine to lengthen naturally and distribute weight more evenly.

Increased Body Awareness

Practitioners become more aware of how they move throughout daily activities—sitting, standing, walking. This awareness helps prevent harmful habits (like tightening the neck or over-arching the lower back), which often go unnoticed but accumulate stress over time.

Reducing Muscle Tension

By consciously inhibiting habitual reactions, the Technique promotes ease and fluidity in movement. This reduces chronic muscle contraction and strain, especially in the neck and back, which are common tension areas.

Encouraging Efficient Movement

The Technique emphasizes the “head-neck-back relationship”, helping align the head in a balanced way atop the spine. This leads to less muscular effort and more efficient use of the body during both rest and activity.

Long-Term Relief Without Medication

Rather than simply treating symptoms, the Alexander Technique addresses underlying causes. Research, including studies published in the BMJ, has shown significant long-term improvement in back pain after even a limited number of Alexander lessons.

What to Expect in an Alexander Technique Session?

In an Alexander Technique session, you can expect a calm, hands-on experience focused on improving posture, movement, and body awareness. Here’s what typically happens:

Initial Discussion:

The teacher will ask about your goals (e.g., back pain relief, vocal performance, posture improvement). You might discuss your habits, daily activities, and physical concerns.

Observation:

The teacher will observe how you sit, stand, walk, or perform specific movements. They’ll look for unnecessary tension or inefficient movement patterns.

Hands-On Guidance:

The teacher uses gentle touch to guide you into more natural, balanced postures. This tactile feedback helps you experience a new way of moving, rather than just thinking about it.

Verbal Cues

Teachers often use simple verbal instructions like “stay more back and wait here for a while” or “not rushing into the next movement.” These encourage an internal organic equilibrium of not only our body but also our minds.

Chair and Table Work

You practice sitting down and standing up mindfully. With table work you lie on a table while the teacher gently adjusts your head, limbs, and spine to promote release and alignment.

Education and Awareness

You’ll learn to identify habits like slouching, bracing, or over-efforting. The goal is to build awareness so you can apply the technique in everyday life.

Practice “noticing” Between Sessions

You’re encouraged to notice your habits outside the session—in walking, typing, speaking, or performing and ask the question “Why am I tense right now?” or “Why am I physically uncomfortable in this particular situation?”

Who Can Benefit from it?

The Alexander Technique can benefit a wide range of people, particularly those who experience issues related to posture, movement, tension, or chronic pain. Here’s a breakdown of who might benefit most:

People with Chronic Pain

Especially neck, back, and shoulder pain. Often helps those with conditions like sciatica, repetitive strain injury (RSI), or fibromyalgia.

Performers and Athletes

Musicians, actors, dancers, and singers use it to improve coordination, breathing, and stage presence. Athletes can enhance balance, agility, and injury prevention.

Office Workers and Students

Anyone who sits for long periods or works at a computer can reduce postural strain and prevent tension-related problems like headaches or carpal tunnel syndrome.

People with speech impediments such as stammer

Alexander Technique (AT) sessions can be beneficial for people who stammer by addressing underlying physical and psychological patterns that may contribute to or exacerbate stammering.

People with Stress or Anxiety

The technique emphasizes mind-body awareness and relaxation, which can support stress management and emotional regulation.

Older Adults

Helps maintain mobility, balance, and confidence in movement, potentially reducing the risk of falls.

People with Movement Disorders

Those with Parkinson’s disease, MS, or stroke recovery may find improved ease in everyday movements and activities.

Curious how the Alexander Technique could help your back and neck pain? Book a discovery session with me today.