The integration of the physical and the mental

We tend to separate the different aspects of our lives. On one hand, we consider what we call physical: the body, movement, posture, tension, and relaxation. On the other hand, we classify everything we call psychological or mental: mood, emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Based on this division, we look for solutions that offer fragmented guidance. This way of thinking shapes much of our behavior. However, it is potentially limiting.

In much of what we do in our daily lives as musicians, we cling to these illusory separations. For example, we often define technique as the physical means of expressing a musical conception. But doesn’t what we think and feel also come into play?

Many times, we search for answers to our challenges within musical practice, separating each one according to its origin: physical, mental, emotional, pedagogical, social, and so on. But can any solution truly work if we separate body on one side and thought on the other?

The Alexander Technique approach

To understand the principles of the Alexander Technique, it is useful to look back at the path F.M. Alexander followed in solving the problem that left him without a voice.

Alexander was born in 1869 in Tasmania, an island south of Australia. From a young age, he dreamed of becoming a professional actor. His great passion was Shakespeare. Despite his talent, his early theatrical success was threatened by a recurring vocal problem. On stage, Alexander often became hoarse and sometimes even lost his voice. He sought medical advice, but the only recommendation he received was rest. While this remedy protected his voice while he refrained from using it, it did nothing to prevent hoarseness from returning once he resumed reciting on stage.

Alexander suspected that his vocal problems were not due to overuse, nor to a defect in the vocal mechanism itself. Using several mirrors to observe himself while performing, he came to the conclusion that the source of his difficulties lay in how he was using his voice.

The body and mind as a unity

One of Alexander’s most important discoveries was realizing that thought and body do not function separately:

“When I began my investigations, I, like most people, conceived of the ‘body’ and the ‘mind’ as separate parts of the same organism, and therefore believed that human ills, difficulties, and shortcomings could be classified as ‘mental’ or ‘physical’ and dealt with along specifically ‘mental’ or specifically ‘physical’ lines.”

Alexander goes on to say that he soon abandoned this viewpoint, affirming that his experiences led him to believe it is “impossible to separate ‘mental’ and ‘physical’ processes in any form of human activity.”

The starting point of the Alexander Technique is the always-present connection between body and mind—not just a connection, but their inseparability.

The “Self” and its application in daily activities

Aware of how words influence our beliefs and behaviors, Alexander avoided terms like “body mechanics” or “mental complexes.” Instead, he referred to the human psychophysical organism as a whole using the term “the self.” For Alexander, this was a simple, abbreviated way of referring to the whole person. He spoke of “the use of the self” and how the “self” reacts and functions.

Imagine yourself in a specific situation: walking down the street, playing an instrument, singing, running, cooking, washing dishes, or any other daily activity. In every activity of life, every part of your organism is present, whether that part plays an active or passive role.

We cannot move without first sending a signal from the brain to the muscles through the nerves (which implies thought is involved). Body and mind act as one, at the same time, always—whether efficiently or not.

The integrity of your being means that your whole body, from head to toe, plays a role in each of your activities. Different parts have different roles: some more passive, others more active, some highly important, others less so. For the integrated musician, the whole body is a living instrument.

Constructive Use and our indivisible unity

Returning to Alexander’s vocal problems, the cause of his hoarseness on stage was not simply how he misused his voice, but rather how he misused himself while speaking. In his third book, The Use of the Self, Alexander recalls that, while reciting, he pulled his head back and down, depressed his larynx, shortened his torso, and tightened his legs and feet. To resolve his vocal problem, it was not enough for him to change the use of his voice—he had to change the coordination of his whole self, that is, how he was using himself.

As he learned more about his own use, Alexander had a breakthrough realization: these seemingly physical misuses were the direct result of what he intended to do when he spoke and recited—related to his beliefs and intentions. It was impossible to change his physical coordination without changing, adjusting, or even letting go of those intentions and beliefs that triggered the harmful habits.

The constructive use of our organism requires us to begin thinking of ourselves as an indivisible unity, where each thought and each movement interact to generate the necessary activity that helps us achieve our goals.

To become integrated and healthy musicians, it is not enough to sing or play in a relaxed way. We need to bring together all of our abilities into a balanced whole, where body parts are interconnected, body and mind are interconnected, our organism and our instrument are interconnected… until our psychophysical unity and the music become one.

References

• Wilfred Barlow, Ethology and Stress Disease

• Pedro de Alcántara, The Alexander Technique: A Skill for Life

• Pedro de Alcántara, Indirect Procedures

• F.M. Alexander, The Use of the Self

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