The Center for the Alexander Technique was established
in 1972 by Edward and Linda Avak. Since then it has provided the
communities on the San Francisco peninsula with the opportunity to receive
private lessons in the F. M. Alexander Technique. In 1982 the directors
started a teacher training program to certify graduates as teachers of
the Alexander Technique. The Center is affiliated with the American Society
for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT), the largest association of teachers
in the United States. The Center is located at 714 Nash Avenue, Menlo Park,
CA 94025. (Telephone: 650-328-4736; email: edavak@earthlink.net).
To find out more about the Center or the Alexander Technique choose from
the topics listed at the 'home' link below.
The Alexander Technique provides
a way of improving posture, balance, coordination and control over habit.
By means of an ongoing process of recognizing, and then preventing, patterns
of behavior which cause undue stress, we can learn to reestablish a more
natural and free manner of use of ourselves. The work grew out of
discoveries made by F. Matthias Alexander around 1890 while solving a voice
loss problem. Briefly, Alexander discovered that human functioning is damaged
when we interfere, in the course of our daily activities, with the delicate
poise which should prevail in the interactions between the head, neck,
back and breathing. It is the function of a course of lessons in the Alexander
Technique to identify the nature of that interference for an individual
and to provide the pupil with the means whereby that misuse can be replaced
with a constantly improving manner of using him-or-herself. The Technique
is used today primarily by three groups of people: by performing artists
who wish to avoid injury and to enhance freedom and poise in performance,
by people who wish to recover more rapidly from injuries or chronic pain
which may be caused or exacerbated by their way of doing things and by
people who would like to foster a general improvement in the quality of
their lives
Alexander himself taught his technique to individuals
in private lessons. He was a believer in the uniqueness of the individual
and the need for personal attention. Today most teachers carry on that
tradition. Although group work is available as a way of introducing the
Technique to the public, anyone interested in significant change in his
or her conditions should plan on a course of private lessons, the number
depending on the needs of the individual. A course of about forty lessons
provides a foundation for most people.During a lesson the teacher uses
verbal instruction in conjunction with manual guidance to help the pupil
become aware of those habits which interfere with natural poise. In addition,
the teacher brings about, with his or her hands and with the intelligent
cooperation of the pupil, a condition of improved coordination, which is
then employed in executing some simple activities, such as walking, standing
up, lifting, typing, speaking etc. In this way the pupil acquires a direct
experience of doing these things in a better way which, because unfamiliar,
would have been difficult to find by trial and error. The lesson really
begins when the pupil leaves the teacher, because that is when he or she
has the opportunity to prevent a return to the old ways of doing things.
The criteria for choosing a teacher of the Alexander
Technique are similar to those which would help determine the choice of
a piano teacher or a doctor, namely, length of training, quality of training,
and experience. Membership in AmSAT will increase the probability that
the teacher has attended a full, 1500 hour, three year training program.
Length of training is of particular importance as the popularity of the
Technique has given rise to a proliferation of "training programs" which
graduate their students after as little as a few weeks of training. We
believe such programs constitute a disservice to the profession. Alexander
himself required at least three years to train teachers and all responsible
training programs adhere to that standard. At present there is no way to
evaluate the quality, as opposed to the length, of training. Teaching experience
is of considerable value. At the moment the prospective pupil can choose
from a list of teachers with anywhere from no experience to fifty five
years of teaching experience. Yet the question remains, "How is one to
choose a teacher?". Fortunately, Alexander wrote four books which give
very clear explanations of what his Technique is. A careful comparison
of his writings, (especially the first chapter of the Use of the Self),
with the practice and explanations of a prospective teacher will, we believe,
aid a person in making a wise choice of a teacher.
Edward and Linda Avak, the directors of the Center
for the Alexander Technique, received their training in the Technique
at the Constructive Teaching Centre in London under Walter and Dilys Carrington.
They were certified in 1970. After spending two years teaching the Technique
in Europe, they returned to the San Francisco Bay area in 1972 where they
have since been teaching.
Linda Avak received a B.A. from Pomona College in
1958. She was a Woodrow Wilson and Fulbright scholar. Her present interests
include languages, literature and the art of walking.
Edward Avak received a B.A. from Pomona College in
1959, and an M.A. from Stanford in 1963. His present interests include
languages, literature and mathematics.
We recommend Michael Gelb's Body Learningfor
beginners. Those who wish to investigate the Technique further should read
Alexander's books, which are, in order of usefulness: The Use of
the Self,
Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual,
The
Universal Constant in Living, and
Man's Supreme Inheritance.
In addition we recommend Frank Pierce Jones's,
Freedom to Change.
Complete bibliographies can be
found at the following web sites of the American Center for the Alexander
Technique (USA) and the Society of Teachers of the
Alexander Technique (London)
