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The natural flexibility of most adults in the western
world is unfortunately very limited because of the way
in which they use their muscles in daily tasks and in
physical activity, this caused principally by the modern
style of sedentary living, the sheer amount of time
spent sitting down, as well as by the stressful movements
associated with time and deadlines for achievement that
has become such a chronic problem. The body does not
adapt well to this style of living and its muscular
system is correspondingly affected, with certain muscle
groups chronically over-contracted and others excessively
relaxed.
The Alexander Technique teaches to create first the
right attitude of mind which will prevent us from becoming
obsessed with the end to achieve and focus rather on
the means to achieve it.
It is generally accepted these days that all forms
of physical exercise should be preceded by a general
coordination training of the body, if the exercise is
to achieve its best results.
Given that the Alexander Technique seeks to teach pupils
how to consciously relax excessive muscular tension
and save unnecessary effort, coupled with its whole
approach of facilitating the natural tendency of the
body towards expansion, its principles can readily be
incorporated in a suppleness program and help the pupil
to regain freedom of movement of the whole body without
undesirable compensations.
Sportsmen and dancers are often seen performing relatively
fruitless stretching exercises that can hardly be of
much benefit to their neuromuscular systems despite
their efforts, because they specifically focus on the
areas they are working on. A suppleness program in which
the principles of the Alexander Technique with regard
to the reeducation and general coordination are brought
to bear can enable the body to adopt more easily to
the changes assumed to occur and accordingly to extract
maximum benefit from stretching exercises.
The Alexander Technique pupil will learn especially:
- to enhance the flexibility and the dynamic lengthening
of the spinal column in every movement so as to produce
optimum muscular tension in all parts of the body.
- to keep in mind the physiological constraints of
stretching and the reaction of the body to stretching.
- to seek always to produce an overall stretching
effect without local compensations.
Stretching exercises that respect the whole body provide
as much physical well-being as of psychological satisfaction
at achieving our goal in a physiological way.
The principles of the Alexander Technique need to be
remembered all the time and in any activity, not only
when we exercise, so that our body can become used to
respond efficiently to our needs. In that way, we can
get a better control of the way we use ourselves during
exercises and become able to derive optimum benefits
from them.
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