The Alexander Technique Workbook: The Complete Guide to Health, Poise and Fitness

The Alexander Technique is a simple, effective, and equipment-free method of training your body that alleviates backaches, headaches, and other spine/brain-related signs of stress and tension. It increases your awareness of how you move and helps correct bad habits developed over time. This workbook helps you choose special techniques to fit your own personal lifestyle, and select movements and exercises to regain youthful grace and energy.

This is the second edition of The Alexander Technique Workbook; the first was written in 1990 and sold over 100,000 copies and I have had many phone calls, e-mails and letters of appreciation thanking me for the book. For many it was their first introduction to the Alexander Technique, some of those people are now Alexander teachers themselves.

The reason I wrote the book in the first place was to inform people about a very wonderful technique that had helped me a great deal when I was in a lot of pain with acute sciatica. My only regret was that I hadn't discovered it earlier. It changed my life so dramatically that even after a few lessons I applied to do that three-year Alexander teacher training programme. When I qualified as a teacher in 1989, I wanted to find a way of letting the more people know about the technique. At that time there were not very many easy to read books on the Alexander Technique and this fact prompted me to write a book that could be understood by somebody who knew nothing about the subject at all.
The Alexander Technique is a method of releasing the physical and mental tensions that many of us have accumulated throughout our lives. Often we are completely unaware of these tensions until we become ill and are unable to go on. They can contribute to headaches, backache, heart problems, arthritis and depression, as well as a whole range of ailments too numerous to mention. If these unconscious muscular tensions are allowed to continue, as they often are, they can affect our quality of life by accelerating the ageing process and decreasing our vitality.

The ease and grace with which we move slowly become lost as we take on more burdens and responsibilities. The Alexander Technique can help us to regain that poise and ease during even the most simple tasks. Our body is our most precious possession, yet we tend to give it the least attention - apart from when we are trying to look attractive. Without knowing it, we grossly interfere with our natural flow of movement to such an extent that many of us will at some time in our lives suffer from backache, solely due to poor posture. Yet there is nothing more attractive than someone who is moving in a balanced and co-ordinated way.

Few people are aware of the enormous benefits the Alexander Technique offers, and as a result many millions of people every year suffer needlessly. In this book I hope to explain the Alexander Technique as simply as possible, and through simple observation exercises and procedures to show clearly how it can help you to enjoy a happier and more fulfilling life.
   
This new edition has been updated an added to without changing the easy style of the original book. The old line drawings have been re-placed by colour photographs which I hope will enhance the quality of the book. When the original book came out hardly anyone had heard of the web and very few people owned a computer. In fact, I wrote the first book on a typewriter which shows you how far we have progressed over two decades. I sincerely hope you enjoy this new edition and find it helps you to move through life with greater ease.