Eco. Short for
academic field to which Alexander Technique belongs. Generally meaning
to do with the body.
field of study inquiring into the possible relationship between the developing
conscious use of oneself and a more environmental or ecological awareness.
Frank Pierce Jones coined the term, “a unified field of attention” to
describe the awareness developed through studying the A.T. Ecosomatics
is a continuation of that idea and includes exploring taking responsibility
for ones behaviour and its consequences. The necessary first step
is to become aware of these behaviours and accept them for what they are
before a choice can be made as to whether one wants to change them.
Alternative health and
complementary medicine. Current labels to identify the Alexander
Technique in the contemporary health system.
Body awareness. (Self awareness)
A more holistic body awareness is developed by Alexanders method than other
systems (or in conjunction with other systems) because his technique
is based on inhibiting interfering habits which conceal real awareness
for most of us.
Alexander named one of his books, Constructive Conscious Control
of the Individual . Master American teacher Marjorie Barstow
also referred to the constructive thinking which one learns in the A.T.
Our habits pull us down whereas
constructive thinking enables us to move up as nature intended.
Direction. The idea
of bringing the direction of ones use of oneself onto a more conscious
plane is with Inhibition, the underpinning principle of Alexander’s
Education. Many writers
on the Technique have raised the premise that any form of education
is incomplete without self knowledge such as that bought about by Alexander’s
developing conscious awareness.
word for the habitual responses to a wide variety of stimuli without reference
to the way we use ourselves. His technique teaches us to pay attention
means whereby we gain our end/goal thus allowing us to arrive
without having compromised our functioning.
Alexander demonstrated the holistic nature of the mind/body connection
in his work over a century ago. Holistic health needs Alexander’s
conscious control of ones neuro-muscular system to be a reality.
is referring to the neural functions of inhibition and exitation which
balance each other in movement in a well tuned being.
Intelligence, Somatic Intelligence). To do with sensing
ones own body in movement. Sometimes referred to as the crown of
the senses, the kinaesthetic sense is a nervous system function as
important as sight or any other of the traditional five senses. (See
Garlick’s “The Lost Sixth Sense” available at www.stat.org.uk/statbooks)
Mind-body connection. (mind/body
dualism) Alexander‘s investigations leading to his technique
led him to state that his work demonstrated the impossibility of separation
of mind and body in any form of human activity. (See also Dewey’s
Reeducation. The A.T.
is usually refered to as reeducation. Because our sensory awareness has
been neglected in traditional education it has inevitably been compromised
and needs reeducation.
Alexander found his sensory system to be faulty in that it only informed
him of his habit and was therefore unreliable in making changes and needed
He also termed this debauched kinaesthesia.