It is a psychophysical technique. We work on the body, but also the mind and the behavioral aspect ”, specifies from the outset Philippe Derivière, practitioner in the Alexander technique.
The basic idea
The Alexander technique pays particular attention to the head-axisneck-dos: “According to Alexander, our coordination generally depends on a correct relationship between the head and the spine. “However, by the force of habit, by our increased sedentary lifestyle, this” primary control “as Alexander calls it is hampered, we adopt bad habits. postures, we execute our movements with too much tension, we breathe wrong. This misuse of our body can have repercussions on our health, causing pain and stiffness.
For who ?
For all people, of all ages, who feel tension, pain; who have the impression of not making the best use of their body, who seek daily well-being. For entertainment professionals (actors, musicians, dancers) who find in this technique a tool for approaching their body.
How is a lesson going?
The ideally individual session lasts 30 to 60 minutes. The pupil will perform various actions of daily life: sit, get up, walk. “With our hands, our goal is to make the pupil aware of the places where he concentrates too much tension in the realization of such or such movement, of his errors of coordination, of positioning”, explains Philippe Derivière. It is then up to the student to get rid of his harmful habits (what Alexander calls “inhibition”), then, guided by the voice and the non-directive touch of the practitioner, to find this thread which pulls him upwards, better directing its energy towards the head (the “direction”).
