The principle of conscious use of ourselves

In the first chapter of his book The Universal Constant in Living (1941), titled The constant influence of the way of use on health or disease, F. M. Alexander poses a fundamental reflection:

"So far, few of us have paid attention to the question of the extent to which we are individually responsible for the ills we inherit; this is because we have not realized the faulty and often harmful way in which we use ourselves in our daily activities and even during sleep, or the misdirection, excessive tension, and waste of energy we suffer due to this faulty use. Generally, we take for granted that we are able to make the best use of ourselves in our work and in any other activity we undertake."

This statement highlights that the way we use our own body is often inefficient and detrimental to our health, yet we are rarely aware of it. Most people ignore how our daily actions, even the most automatic ones, affect our well-being, creating a false sense of efficiency in our body use.

Our individual responsibility

The individual responsibility for our problems is at the very foundation of Alexander's work. He repeatedly explains in his books that he had never taken responsibility for the way he used himself. Instead of using his power of choice, he had always done what "seemed right" to him. He had never questioned this unreasoned use, until his habits began to affect his functioning to the point that he was at risk of having to abandon his acting career.

When he decided to investigate a new way to have different possibilities of action in his activities, he faced the almost inseparable force of his habits.

Walter Carrington comments on Alexander’s discovery process:

*"His experiments led him to study processes of which he knew very little, and of which no one, in truth, still knows much. Even today, the human organism considered as a whole remains largely unknown as far as experimental observation is concerned. The nature of the relationship between mind and body is still to be determined. The precise relationship between what we call voluntary and involuntary aspects of human behavior remains unknown, and although we currently know much more than was known in Alexander's early days about the structure and functioning of the nervous system, the exact nature of the processes of will and desire, of choice and selection of a response, of thinking and feeling, and of all other mental processes of which we are subjectively aware, remains largely a mystery.

It was the recognition of this situation that led Alexander, to meet his descriptive needs, to choose terms that were at once as simple and as free of connotations as possible. Alexander noted that the boundary line between the voluntary and the involuntary was too confused to allow for a sharp distinction."*

This recognition of the unknown led Alexander to develop a conscious methodology to improve the way he used himself. He realized that not only was it possible to choose how to use his body, but that this capacity for choice could have a profound impact on his well-being. This understanding became the core of his technique.

From choice to action

In his book The Use of the Self, Alexander explores how the decisions we make about using our body affect all aspects of our life. These decisions—especially those related to our posture, movements, and thoughts—determine our quality of life. He argued that self-use is crucial because it directly affects our physical, mental, and emotional health. If we are not aware of how we use ourselves, the long-term consequences can be very harmful.

Alexander called this capacity for decision-making “man’s supreme inheritance”, understanding that the way we choose to use our body influences all levels of our functioning. The ability to choose self-use can largely determine the success or failure of our actions, and therefore, our quality of life.

Destructive use and its consequences

The effects of faulty use tend to go unnoticed because they generally do not produce immediately observable serious consequences. They are often more noticeable in our physical state, which is why Alexander Technique is sometimes mistakenly thought of as merely a "posture" method.

Some of the most common complaints related to faulty use today include back pain, headaches, chronic fatigue, joint pain, and similar issues. These are often referred to as “functional disorders” or “psychosomatic problems.”

Dr. Wilfred Barlow, a well-known physician and Alexander Technique teacher, demonstrated that faulty use is often a main factor causing all kinds of ailments such as rheumatism, back pain, arthritis, respiratory disorders, hypertension, fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbances, migraines, and some sexual problems.

Dr. Barlow’s treatment always addressed the whole-body use rather than targeting a specific symptom. He also emphasized the importance of the Alexander Technique as a preventive approach, rather than simply a medical cure for disease. A higher vitality naturally improves everyone’s emotional health, but the importance of use in emotional functioning runs much deeper.

Emotional habits and muscular tension

There are at least two important factors to mention when discussing coordination patterns related to so-called “emotional” habits.

The first factor, studied extensively by Reichian psychologists, bioenergetic therapists, and Gestalt psychologists, concerns the relationship between trauma and emotional disorders—especially in early childhood—and the formation of energy blocks.

This means that certain reactions to disturbing events create a specific imbalance in the body. We tend to retain a kind of muscular memory of a particular traumatic experience. Over time, this muscular memory becomes part of our overall use. Refusing to take responsibility for our own use ensures the persistence of that memory.

The second factor was pointed out by Dr. Barlow in The Alexander Principle, where he stated:

"Many habitual postures do not represent the immediate expression of an emotion, but rather constitute a position from which certain actions and emotions are possible."

In other words, certain attitudes like depression or joy are only possible in the presence of specific muscular configurations. Barlow also noted that these configurations do not necessarily originate as overtly emotional responses, but for example, from the way we use our body in repeated work situations:

"The office worker, the conveyor belt operator, the truck driver, the mother leaning over her baby, the dentist, the pianist—all of them perform their occupation for so long that, in the long run, they remain partially contracted even when not under the actual pressure of their work. That residual tension may be unconscious, but in the long run, it persists almost all the time. The addition of their various temporary attitudes eventually finds expression in a posture or in a limited repertoire of postures, which come to dominate the character of the person. Through small details, in a way initially subtle, we become slaves of our past."

The Alexander Technique mobilizes an increasingly profound process of self-discovery and personal change. The organization of our actions—physical, emotional, and intellectual—is extremely complex, and we sometimes fail to realize that we can choose the way we use them.

One of Alexander’s goals was to create the necessary conditions for organized functioning so that each part of our body could perform its work in harmony and without interference.

We ourselves are our primary instrument in life, and the way we use ourselves is our choice.

References:
- F. M. Alexander, The Universal Constant in Living, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1941
- Walter Carrington, The F. Matthias Alexander Technique: a Means for Understanding Man, Systematics, 1963
- Michael Gelb, Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique, Aurum, 1981
- Wilfred Barlow, The Alexander Principle, London: Arrow Books, 1975
- Judit Kleinman & Peter Buckoke, The Alexander Technique for musicians, Bloomsbury, 2013

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