Quotes from some eminent people

“What is actually done [in an Alexander lesson] varies from one pupil to another, depending on what kind of misuse the diagnostic exploration reveals. And naturally, it affects different people in different ways. But … we already notice, with growing amazement, very striking improvements in such diverse things as blood pressure, breathing, depth of sleep, overall cheerfulness, and mental alertness, resilience against outside pressures, and also in such a refined skill as playing a stringed instrument.” –  Dr Nikolaas Tinbergen, Nobel Prize Winner in medicine, 1973, discussing his family’s experience of the Alexander Technique

 “To stand erect, to walk or move easily, to have the various parts of the body so perfectly adjusted that easy balance and graceful use must result, is to be desired for reasons of far greater importance than the aesthetic. Such elements are of absolute importance for perfect health and the fullest economic efficiency, since the use of the body in proper poise ensures the least friction and consequently the greatest amount of energy available for what may be required of the individual.” –  Raymond Dart, Anthropologist

 “Mr. Alexander’s method lays hold of the individual as a whole, as a self-vitalizing agent. He reconditions and re-educates the reflex mechanisms and brings their habits into normal relation with the functioning of the organism as a whole. I regard this method as thoroughly scientific and educationally sound.” – Professor George E. Coghill, award-winning anatomist and physiologist

 “Mr. Alexander has done a service to the subject by insistently treating each act as involving the whole integrated individual, the whole psycho-physical man. To take a step is an affair not of this or that limb solely, but of the total neuromuscular activity of the moment – not the least of the head and neck.” – Sir Charles Sherrington, Nobel prize winner in medicine

 “It is one thing to teach the need of a return to the individual man as the ultimate agency in whatever mankind and society collectively can accomplish. It is another thing to discover the concrete procedure by which this greatest of all tasks can be executed. And this indispensable thing is exactly what Mr. Alexander has accomplished.” – Professor John Dewey, educationist and philosopher

“I submit that Alexander demonstrated a principle of supreme importance for a holistic world-view. He made a breakthrough which is nothing less than an evolutionary step forward, when a single human being learned to take constructive, conscious control of the direction of his own use of himself. He discovered man’s supreme inheritance and the universal constant in living. He overcame the reliance on faulty sensory register and taught himself a central general habit of use of his entire body working as an indivisible psycho-physical unity.” – Sir George Trevelyan, the ‘grandfather’ of the movement for spiritual regeneration in Britain

“Alexander established not only the beginnings of a far reaching science of the apparently involuntary movements we call reflexes, but a technique of correction and self-control which forms a substantial addition to our very slender resources in personal education.” – George Bernard Shaw, playwright

“The Alexander Technique gives us all things we have been looking for in a system of physical education: relief from strain due to maladjustment, and constant improvement in physical and mental health. We cannot ask for more from any system; nor, if we seriously desire to alter human beings in a desirable direction, can we ask any less.” – Aldous Huxley, author

Quotes from doctors

“The Alexander Technique stresses unification in an era of greater and greater medical specialization. Its educational system teaches people how to best use their bodies in ordinary action to avoid or reduce unnecessary stress and pain. It enables clients to get better faster and stay better longer. This is undoubtedly the best way to take care of the back and alleviate back pain.” – Jack Stern, MD, PhD, Neurosurgical Group of Westchester, White Plains, NY

“Habitual patterns of scrunched and tense use of the body are so engrained in our lives that the concept may seem extraordinary that unlearning these patterns can actually relieve pain and discomfort–but lessons in the Alexander Technique not only succeed for many people, they also allow a welcome sense of new ease in performance of all physical activities, e.g., playing a sport, using a computer keyboard, or playing a musical instrument. Research in which I have been involved has also shown enhanced strength of the muscles of breathing after a course of lessons.” – John H.M. Austin, MD, Professor Emeritus of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY

“In addition to its physiologic and musculoskeletal benefits, the Alexander Technique is extremely helpful in relieving the psychological states of depression and anxiety that so often accompany chronic pain and disease. It is my belief, based on professional experience, that the Alexander Technique should be part of all preventative health and education programs. It is as basic as good nutrition.” – Jill Sanders, DO, New York, NY 

“The Alexander Technique makes sense in that appropriate use of the body will lead to reduction of various musculoskeletal disorders and remediate others which are established. No equipment is needed, just the skill and training of the teacher. This technique is very worthwhile as a primary preventative therapy. It is especially useful when posture is a key factor in back injuries while lifting and for workers who perform repetitive tasks while sitting.” – Robert D. Greene, MD, Emergency Department, Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, CT

“I recommend people to the Alexander Technique who have not improved with traditional rehabilitative therapies. Part of their pain may be due to posture and the improper use of their bodies. Many people who have neck or back pain and have gone through heat, ultrasound and massage with no relief can be helped by learning the Alexander Technique. It definitely works. Nothing works for everyone. As one well-versed in using physical therapy and biofeedback, I know how valuable this technique is. I highly recommend it.” – Barry M. Scheinfeld, MD, Specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine and Pain Management, Community General Hospital, Harris, NY

Quotes from actors

“Using the Alexander Technique empowers me and gives me a balanced sense of tension rather than relying on creating tension to do something in order to produce a sound or an act that is preconceived.  I realized that I cannot control a set of circumstances outside of myself so I can go on a journey relying on the state of mind and body that the Alexander Technique gives me.” – Alan Rickman, actor

“I was born with no natural aptitude. I wasn’t pretty. I moved with no grace at all. I auditioned for the London Academy of Musical and Dramatic Arts but was not accepted. When I was finally admitted to Central School of Speech and Drama and showed up at my first movement class with my hump back and wearing a leotard, the movement teacher sent me to the head of the school who then sent me to study the Alexander Technique with Dr. Wilfred Barlow. That whole semester I took Alexander lessons instead of attending movement classes which helped me enormously in my training and in subsequent years in my acting work. Now I can play people who are graceful and beautiful.” – Lynn Redgrave, actor

“Good acting is revealing yourself, not covering yourself up. If your body is free, your mind is free.  [The Alexander Technique allows] you to feel what it’s like to stay open physically, and also stay fully involved in whatever you’re supposed to be doing.” – Annette Bening, actor

“[The Alexander Technique] is a way to transform stress to joy.  It’s my way of keeping on track with work and truth and the world I’m in which is working with people and creating. It’s for anyone who wants to be in contact with their own body and the way we tense ourselves and relax ourselves. It’s another way of moving.” – Juliette Binoche, actor

“I find The Alexander Technique very helpful in my work. Things happen without you trying. They get to be light and relaxed. You must get an Alexander teacher to show it to you.”  – John Cleese, actor

“The Alexander Technique has helped me to undo knots, unblock energy and deal with almost paralysing stage fright.” – William Hurt, actor