Fitness expert Liz Neporent discusses how The Alexander Technique can help with more than just your posture

Go to the gym and ask for help with your posture and you'll probably be given a couple of exercises to strengthen your upper back or be told to take a yoga class. Whilst yoga can help, most experts agree that the Alexander technique is much more than a posture perfecter — it is a way of life. The Alexander technique teaches you different ways of moving and thinking about how you perform daily activities so that standing or sitting up straight takes less energy than slouching. It makes you think about conserving energy and relaxing with every move you make.

The Alexander technique is the brainchild of Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), an actor who began his career as a Shakespearean orator and developed chronic laryngitis while performing. Determined to restore the full use of his voice, he carefully watched himself in a mirror while speaking and observed that his voice was at its worst when his neck muscles were extremely strained and tense. Over time, he discovered a way to ease his neck muscles and, consequently, the strain on his vocal chords. And, as a result, he articulated a principle that profoundly influences health and well-being: when neck tension is reduced, the head no longer compresses the spine and it is free to lengthen.

Alexander restored his own natural capacity for moving easily by changing his mindset while initiating an action. From his personal work and practice with others, he evolved a teaching method that encourages all the body's processes to work more efficiently as an integrated, dynamic whole.

Try a sample exercise

Start by sitting in a chair. Get comfortable. Do you find yourself slouching or sitting upright? Now stand up. How did you do it? Did you place your hands on your thighs or on the arms of the chair and force yourself up?

Now sit back down and try it this way. Sit upright in the chair and relax your head upwards. Concentrate on relaxing your neck and thinking about a line travelling through the top of your head. To stand up without pushing off from your thighs or knees, relax upwards and forwards. Simply lean forwards, tilting that imaginary line so that it continues to direct your body up and forwards.

How did that feel? Was it easier than hoisting yourself off the chair with your hands? Did you feel less tension in your neck and back when doing it the second way?

Alexander found that the most useful change he could make was relaxing his neck muscles so that his head, followed by his body, could release in an upwards direction — delicately, without any stiffening or undue effort. This is the guiding principle of all movements in Alexander technique, and it can even be applied to sports like walking and running. Next time you go for a walk or jog, try concentrating on letting that line from the top of your head direct you. Relax upwards and tilt slightly forwards. Let your body follow and see if you feel more comfortable.

Practitioners of Alexander also focus on conserving energy in other ways. How hard do you really need to grasp a doorknob to open a door? Do you really need to bend so far over while brushing your teeth?

If you’re interested in learning about the Alexander technique, look for a teacher who has gone through the complete three-year training course and apprenticeship.

For more information on the Alexander technique and other resources, check out: the Society of Teachers of the Alexander technique website or look up the following books, available on amazon.co.uk:

• The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Alexander technique : A Practical Program for Health, Poise, and Fitness by Glynn MacDonald, Glenn MacDonald
• Teach Yourself the Alexander techniqueby Richard Craze
• In a Nutshell: Alexander technique by Aisla Masterson