A tilt of the head. A jut of the chin. A slouch of the shoulders. Could postures as simple as these affect your whole body and the quality of your voice? Ask any Alexander Technique teacher and the answer will be a resounding, “Yes.”
Bruce Kodish, Ph.D., a physical therapist and teacher of Alexander Technique, explains: “We’re constantly putting all kinds of stresses on our bodies, on various structures, without even being aware of it. If you do a poor posture often enough or constantly enough, you will end up with discomfort and possibly an injury. Alexander Technique helps you to experience better general functioning.”
What It’s All About
Alexander Technique (AT) is a method developed by Australian actor F. M. Alexander more than a century ago to address serious voice-loss problems he was experiencing in stage performance. After unsuccessful attempts with traditional medicine and therapies, he decided to heal himself. Alexander engaged in intensive self-study and concluded that his problem was the result of unnecessary tension, which in turn resulted from bad habits in body alignment he had developed over time. Using both physical and mental processes, he began to replace unhealthy habits with ones that maximized his body’s functioning. His system of mind-body adjustment was simple yet revolutionary. It eliminated the harmful tension, restored his stage voice, and improved his overall balance and feeling of well being in the process.
From this experience, Alexander developed a method by which others could teach what he had learned. His knowledge has been shared and improved upon by generations of disciples ever since. The goal, according to Kodish, is to help students create the conditions to put the least amount of undue stress on the body. Doing so can open us up in ways we never thought possible. It can transform our bodies and our art. And all it takes is awareness and the adoption of new habits. Did I say all? As anyone who’s tried it can attest, reprogramming the way we move is no easy proposition.
“Our habits feel familiar to us, and because they feel familiar we make the assumption that they’re correct,” says N. Brooke Lieb, a faculty member at the American Center for the Alexander Technique. “Using yourself in a brand-new way might feel completely wrong, which is why I’m amazed that Mr. Alexander was able to develop these principles and access them for his own use. I still take lessons and do ongoing training. It’s an endlessly fascinating subject.”
Who’s Doing It and Why
Today, AT is popular with people of all lifestyles and vocations, and it is deemed especially useful for athletes, actors, singers and others who use their bodies intensely on a regular basis. It has become so widely accepted that many performance schools and programs include AT in their curriculum. But not everyone is sold on it. Without the benefit of lessons, it’s hard to grasp just what the technique entails. There’s heightened awareness, physical realignment, release of tensions, changing of habits—but how does one accomplish all of these things? Is it an exercise program? Is it like yoga or massage? Is it physical therapy?
“Alexander is not a form of any of these things,” explains Lieb. “It’s an educational process that teaches you to understand how you respond to stimulus and how that response can create extra tension and interfere with ideal functioning. The way we react to different situations can actually impair coordination. When we shift our responses, the body coordinates itself.”
In other words, AT aims to return the body to a natural harmonious state in which all parts and muscles are working together properly. “In other disciplines, there are things that you ‘do’ to create awareness, build muscle tone, etc.,” says Geordie MacMinn, who has taught AT to singers at California State University Northridge’s OperaWorks summer program. “The basic assumption behind Alexander is that we have a natural coordination— a body that functions quite well if we don’t interfere with it.”
Unlike other forms of physical therapy, AT puts an equally strong emphasis on the mental aspects of change. An accurate perception of oneself and sensory awareness of the physical posture is essential. Says Kodish in his book, Back Pain Solutions (Extensional Publishing, 2001), “Posture-movement habits can best be improved not with stretching or strengthening exercises (force), but with the ‘exercise’ of thought and awareness (directed intent) in daily life.”
Learning to bring conscious intent (rather than stress-inducing force) to every movement is a long process. It takes patience and commitment, but the rewards can be immense. For MacMinn, a classically trained stage actor who first studied Alexander at the age of 28, the technique was a revelation. “I got that if I was tense someplace, it was because I was holding on there and that I had the power and ability to let it go. I felt like Helen Keller discovering language.” When he finally learned to redirect his energy in a healthy way, MacMinn blossomed as a performer. “I wound up really falling in love with this work and decided to train to be a teacher.”
Alexander teachers like MacMinn, Lieb and Kodish don’t give students an exercise routine or a specific series of postures. Rather, they observe the individual, recognize what that person is doing to interfere with the ideal function of the body, and teach him or her to stop the interference using gentle touch and verbal guidance. Students become aware of bad habits in common functions such as sitting, walking, bending, conversing, singing, acting or playing an instrument. They learn to undo these habits and release tension.
Releasing the Singer’s Art
Classical singers are well represented among MacMinn’s and Lieb’s students. Because singers perform on many levels at once—moving on stage, wearing heavy costumes, acting and singing—the physical demands are especially tough. Such singers often live with tension, fatigue and inhibited lung capacity. Many don’t know why they’re having these problems or how to fix them. Habitual misuse of the body could be to blame, and that’s precisely what AT is designed to address.
Classical singer Karen Stewart began studying AT almost four years ago, more out of curiosity than necessity. She had heard of Alexander Technique and wanted to see how it would impact her own performance. From her first group lesson, the benefits became obvious. “I began to see the unhealthy things we do with our bodies, the bending and twisting that are unnecessary,” she says. “We don’t even realize that we do most of these things—it’s simply the way that we move. At the end of the day our shoulders are sore, our necks are stiff, and almost all of it could have been avoided.”
After taking group lessons for a while, Stewart’s awareness of how her body moved throughout the day grew, and she made changes. Her general physical comfort and energy levels went up. Impressed with this progress, she shifted to one-on-one instruction and focused on her singing. Her teacher increased the emphasis on breathing and relaxation. “While breathing should be the most natural thing you can do, I had managed to make it difficult at times,” says Stewart. “The [Alexander] work I did returned it to an innate response, and now I don’t even think about it. It just works.”
Teachers and practitioners swear that AT can help singers improve breathing and resonance. The length and alignment that happens through the head, neck and back supports the larynx in a more healthy way. The upper body relaxes. The chest cavity expands. “If a singer juts the head forward or collapses down into cervical or thoracic spine, the curve in the neck gets exaggerated and the voice constricted,” says Lieb, who also believes it’s important to look at how singers breathe in everyday speech. “The more insidious habits are developed in day-to-day conversations. Changing these subconscious speech habits provides a wonderful carry-over into singing.”
Many of the performers who go to MacMinn for lessons wish to increase lung capacity. He usually finds habitual tensions at the root of their problems. “As these tensions are brought into awareness and released, lung capacity increases as well as the tone of the diaphragm,” he says. “Likewise, a weak diaphragm is the result of some kind of interference. The inherent design of our bodies is actually pretty incredible. Think of how loud and long a baby cries—the lung capacity and diaphragmatic strength are there to make big sounds.”
Edel Sanders, who has sung professionally since age 15, turned to AT because he was having trouble with breathing. He studied first with Marjorie Barstow, one of F. M. Alexander’s first students, who was almost 90 years old at the time and “actually seemed to float across the room as she taught.” She helped Sanders to realize that poor posture and upper body tension were impeding his breath. “After working with Marjorie and following her guidance on both kinesthetic and intellectual levels, there were rather dramatic improvements,” he says. “My breathing became more natural and deep, and my tone became more clear and relaxed. Additionally, my movements and general appearance were aided, resulting in a better presentation.”
Stewart had a similar experience: Her command of diction, legato and the overall balance of the registers of her voice improved along with her posture. She also experienced noticeable changes in other areas. “I move more intelligently and save the wear and tear on my neck and spine,” she says. “I used to find that my shoulders would be sore at the end of a long oratorio performance or rehearsal because of the way that I held the score. I rarely experience that now.”
Besides improvements in posture, breath, resonance and diction, AT can help singers to be more relaxed during performance, alleviating the anxiety that so many feel on stage and in auditions. This in turn gives one better bearing and confidence. “The technique really helps performers focus on how they’re using themselves on a moment-to-moment level,” says MacMinn. “Singing, dancing, acting and playing an instrument all require a high level of physical responsiveness to mental impulses. What we’re looking at in AT is where we block the trail that thought takes through our bodies. In other words, it helps performers learn how to get out of their own way and allow for a natural ease and flow to performance.”
Making It Work for You
AT is not a substitute for vocal training, exercise or, in the case of serious injury, surgery. It is, however, an excellent supplement to any and all of these things. By teaching you to use your body in the best way, to lengthen and align the spine, to enhance mental awareness, and to release tension, it can benefit every aspect of your life. Success in utilizing this method will depend largely on two factors: your willingness to follow through and finding a good teacher.
The first point may seem obvious, but self-knowledge is a tricky thing. Though we may want something badly, we don’t always have the will to stay on track until the goal has been achieved. “Replacing bad habits with good habits is more complicated than it sounds. It takes time, and there are all kinds of pitfalls along the way,” says Kodish. “But if you practice awareness it eventually comes more naturally. It’s not like you’re consciously saying, I’m going to let my neck be long, allow my head to balance forward and up. It’s a skill that over a period of time you incorporate into your discipline.”
Finding the right person to guide you in this discipline is also important. You can search for a teacher in your area by going to the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) website at http://www.alexandertech.org/. The site provides contact information for Alexander-certified teachers nationwide. I suggest you call and talk to a few teachers and choose one with whom you have good rapport. Or you may ask friends and colleagues for recommendations. The main thing is that you feel comfortable with the person who is teaching you this intimate set of body awareness skills. It might be a good idea to see if you can attend a group class to get a feel for the teacher before committing to private lessons.
A few points about group instruction: many performing arts schools and conservatories offer this option, and it’s much cheaper than one-on-one, but it’s also less effective. A class of 20 students will have 20 different sets of habits and issues. A teacher cannot address everyone’s specific needs in a group setting. Private sessions allow for work on individual problems in posture and movement. “Every lesson is customized to meet you where you are in the moment,” says Lieb. “Starting with the same information and knowledge, I customize the imagery we use and identify stress and response triggers that each student has in their own life.”
If you’re one of those do-it-yourselfers, you may wonder why it’s necessary to have a teacher at all. If F. M. Alexander could teach himself, couldn’t you just pick up a book and do the same? Not likely. Alexander’s accomplishment was remarkable and extremely time-consuming. Most people who attempt to go it alone will get frustrated and give up. It’s important to have a teacher, because an outsider can observe you and will have more accurate perceptions of what’s going on in your structure. Later, once you have learned the principles and developed self-awareness, you can apply AT on your own in daily living.
The down side to private instruction is that it can be prohibitively expensive, especially for singers who are struggling to establish themselves. Sessions can range from $40 to $125—depending on location and teacher—for 30 to 60 minutes. Fortunately, this kind of payout is not a lifetime proposition. “You want to get perhaps 30 lessons under your belt within a year or two,” says Lieb. “After that, you can use your teacher strategically when you have unusual stress. The great thing about Alexander is when you walk out of the studio, you have a skill, and you can absolutely continue learning on your own.”
Karen Stewart agrees. She works as both a soloist and an ensemble member in concert, recital and opera. Four years ago, she began studying AT with Lieb. After a couple of years, she discontinued the classes, but not the learning process. The tools she acquired serve her still, and she continues to develop them. “I try to be aware of how I’m moving, sitting, standing, and so on. I believe that [Alexander Technique] is somewhat like a lifestyle choice. In addition to trying to exercise and eat healthy foods, I try to move in a healthy fashion.”
The principles of AT continually affect Edel Sanders’ singing as well. Outside of class, he checks his body use periodically throughout each day. The practice has allowed him to effectively redirect bad habits and reinforce good ones. Because AT encourages clear thinking and the release of tension, it has had a positive impact on virtually every area of his life. And scheduling is never an issue. “Utilizing this technique requires no additional time out of my day, except for literally the few seconds it takes to become aware of my body. The awareness continues as I use my voice. It definitely fits into a singer’s regular training routine and is, in fact, an essential part of it for me.”
Any singer who experiences neck or back pain, voice loss, difficulty with breathing, debilitating performance anxiety, or too much stress from a hectic lifestyle could find relief from the methods created by F. M. Alexander so many years ago. Though the initial costs could be substantial, in both lesson fees and personal commitment to the process, the rewards can be immense. AT has the potential to restore ease to the body and mind and elevate your singing to a new level of artistic achievement. Such gifts are priceless and enduring. Geordie MacMinn sums it up best: “What you learn from studying AT becomes a part of you. Once you know how to not tighten your neck, for example, you just free it instead. Another way of looking at it is, why would you want to hold onto a habit that you know only hurts your singing when it’s just as easy to let it go, feel good and sound great? You don’t have to set aside a specific time to practice; you’re just always building awareness and growing in whatever you do in your life. It’s a great voyage of self-discovery. And isn’t that what life is all about?”
Alexander Technique Teachers
N. Brooke Lieb became a student of the Alexander Technique in 1984. She received her teaching certificate from The American Center for the Alexander Technique in 1989, where she has been a faculty member of their teacher certification program since 1992. She has been teaching the professional development course for the third year since 1997. In private practice, her clients include singers, instrumentalists, dancers, actors and visual artists, educators; business professionals, people recovering from and interested in preventing injuries and chronic pain, and those people interested in a greater awareness of the intimate connection between body and mind. Brooke offers group classes and private sessions at her New York Upper West Side office. Visit www.brookelieb.com to learn more about Ms. Lieb and the Alexander Technique.
Geordie MacMinn, a classically trained actor, has been teaching Alexander Technique full-time since 2001. He was one of two Alexander teachers on the faculty of the OperaWorks summer program at California State University Northridge (www.operaworks.com) and teaches Alexander at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood (www.aada.org). Learn more about Mr. MacMinn by visiting his website at www.BodyMindVoice.com.
Bruce I. Kodish, Ph.D., P.T., has worked as a physical therapist since 1981. A certified teaching member of the American Society for the Alexander Technique and certified in the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT), he has studied a variety of posture-movement education and therapy approaches with emphasis on back and neck problems. Dr. Kodish’s second book, Back Pain Solutions (2001, Extensional Publishing) was referred to in this article. You will find more information on Dr. Kodish at his website, www.backpainsolutions.net.
