The Alexander Technique 

Right, this article is specially for those of you looking for something different, for those of you looking for ways to increase your awareness of your body while you play the guitar or for those of you maybe needing some general reading just because you are bored.

Who knows...

What follows is a very brief and admittedly uneducated article regarding the Alexander Technique. 
It is more of an encouragement to get hold of some Alexander Technique books, or maybe find some lessons on the technique than a guide to the technique itself. 

The technique was developed by a gentleman by the name of Frederick Matthias Alexander. 
He was a performance artist who constantly found himself in a position of having trouble with his voice and throat. 
He visited several doctors who could not really provide a long term solution. Alexander took it upon himself to find out WHY he was having this difficulty with his voice. He proceeded to examine himself very closely in a mirror while giving a speech or presenting a dialogue. 

He found that he had a habit of pulling his head back slightly as he spoke. He reasoned that this was causing pressure on the vocal organs thereby straining his voice. He worked on a way to break this instinctive habit through inhibition and step by step mental guidance to the new habit, and eventually came up with a solution

 Through this, he made some important discoveries: 

When we do something, What feels right, is not always right. -With regard to the body, sometimes you think you are doing something in a certain way, when upon examination, what you are doing is completely different to what you initially thought. 

Alexander decided that a "forward and up" position of the head and neck was of great importance to the proper functioning of the human body. 

The reason this article appears on a website for guitarists is as follows: I was immediately impressed by the amount of awareness of the body that Alexander was advocating. As guitarists, we need to be aware of all movements and sensations in our bodies and make sure they are optimal. 
Alexander's methods for teaching the body new habits are very interesting. His persistence and observation in his experiments are also important, and we can learn from that. 
You will also see how long it sometimes takes to find solutions to problems, And most importantly for the guitarist, how long it can take to fix a bad habit. 

Here are two books I read on the subject that I found fascinating. 

Firstly, "The Use of the Self" written by Frederick Matthias Alexander himself. This book highlights the processes that Alexander followed to "troubleshoot" his bodies problems and how he formulated the technique. He also gives us some great ideas about body awareness.
Secondly, "Body Learning" written by Michael J. Gelb. This is a good introduction to what the Alexander Technique all about and a motivator to find lessons. A nice read. 

Do some research about the technique and see if you can apply it's concepts to your guitar playing or your daily life.

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