Poised For Life

Click below to watch a short video about the Alexander Technique and see the British Medical Journal report on the Alexander Technique and back pain:

There has been studies into Alexander Technique and the benefits to Parkinson Sufferers (2002)Functional Reach in Normal Older Women (1999)Respiratory Muscular Function in Normal Adults (1992)
 There is a three year study beginning in 2011 being conducted at York university on the effects of Alexander Technique lessons or acupuncture on chronic neck pain.

For more information go to:
www.stat.org.uk/pages/research.htm

An extract on scientific research and the Alexander Technique.

Taken from The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique Website (www.stat.org.uk)

"As early as the 1940s, supporters and teachers of the Alexander Technique expressed interest in conducting objective research into both the validity and the effects of the Alexander Technique, and have endeavoured to undertake such research. In spite of the interest shown, research initiatives have progressed only gradually, for two main reasons. Firstly, since the inception of the Alexander Technique in the late 19th century, public recognition has increased only slowly. This is largely due to the requirement for individual instruction for each pupil, as well as the large commitment of time and individual attention required to train new teachers.

For many years, the profession focused on training and teaching, while the bodies that allocate funding for scientific research were unlikely to give priority to a discipline practised by a relatively small population. Secondly, it has taken time to identify appropriate, feasible methods for studying the Technique. A good deal of progress has been made in this direction, facilitated by the fact that the principles of the Alexander Technique are consistent with conventional physiology.

FM Alexander himself was ambivalent about research into his work. On the one hand, he was keen to establish the credibility of his technique. On the other hand, he feared that his work might be misunderstood if analysed according to the scientific knowledge of his own time. Some neurological discoveries made during Alexander's lifetime appeared highly relevant, but attempts by his supporters to link the Technique to particular findings tended to limit appreciation of its wider scope.

Only more recently has a clearer picture of the total neurophysiological pattern of human movement and balance emerged from academic research - a pattern which echoes many of the empirical observations made by FM Alexander over the course of his life's work. These new scientific developments have also made it easier to identify appropriate areas for targeted research."