The Alexander Technique is based on the discoveries of Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), a promising Shakespearian actor affected by hoarseness in his voice until unable to speak when on stage. He was prompted to look for medical help, but no treatment seemed to cure his problem. Being strongly motivated to find the cause of his trouble, he started a self-study through which he discovered fundamental principles related to human functioning.

Usually we go through our lives by continuously taking our body for granted, without much sensitivity towards it. In general, it is only when a problem, discomfort, pain, injury, or illness occurs that we look for a remedy of a kind. Discomfort and/or pain are a kind of alarm-clock telling us that something is wrong, prompting us to seek help.

We all have muscular habits, they constitute our way of walking, standing, sitting, bending, etc.... What are called 'postural problems', in reality are problems of use, or, rather, of misuse - the wrong use of our body during our activities - with a lot of unnecessary tensions caused by the way we react to life`s demands. All this results in neck and back problems, stooping or undue arching of the back, twists of the spine and pelvis, problems in the joints of arms, hands, legs and feet, interfering also with the proper functioning of the internal organs. Our unnecessary tensions create a strong pull down along the spine, a narrowing of the back, and a pull inward along arms and legs; therefore, the back loses its quiet supportive function with consequent undue tension in the limbs. Unless we experience discomfort or pain, we are not aware at all of our back or body in general, and what we do with it during our day. In order to change this situation, we need to acquire awareness of what we do and how we perform our daily activities.

The Alexander Technique is a psycho-physical method of re-education (unity of mind and body): through the help of an Alexander teacher the individual becomes gradually aware of habits of thought, which are the cause of unnecessary tensions and pulls in the body, while at times experiencing a freer, simpler, lighter way of moving. The Alexander Technique requires a learning process, and, after a series of lessons, the individual learns to apply it to his/her daily activities.