What Is The Alexander Technique And Why
Should Sports People Consider Taking Lessons.
The Alexander Technique is a method that has a lot to offer athletes and all sports people. The focus is on preventing habitual muscular actions that cause inefficient movement patterns that can lead to injury and poor technique. For example, it’s common for many in sport to stiffen their neck in preparation to move and yet be completely unaware of it.
The act of stiffening the neck interferes with the body’s reflexes and will affect coordination. Unfortunately once it has become a habit it is difficult to stop until it is brought to a conscious level and the individual given instruction on how to move without the habitual preparations, or in other words, to use less effort.
An Alexander Technique lesson involves taking the pupil through a series of movements whilst focusing on their habitual actions that may be interfering with movement. An Alexander teacher will use their hands to promote freer, lighter movement whilst giving verbal instruction. The combination of gentle guidance, instruction and immediate feedback of the improvements help with the learning process. This invariably involves a sense of lightness and less effort whilst performing a movement the pupil usually associates with using more effort. The techniques used encourage the pupil to focus on the moment between the stimulus and their response to it and to recognise what they're doing in the split second before they move; I have found golfers to be particularly good at this part!
An athlete with an appreciation of the basic concepts of the technique will be able to overcome specific difficulties by seeing the problem from a different viewpoint. This can help athletes in a number of ways. From a physical point of view, following Alexander Technique lessons, an athlete will have freer movement and better timing once inappropriate effort and excessive preparatory actions are removed. A poised athlete is also at less risk of injury as better coordination reduces conflicting muscular actions during complex movements associated with most sports.
The techniques used also help sports people get into ‘The Zone’. This is the main benefit in my view as it speeds up thought processes and aids decision making to the right course of action. Sports people describing their experiences of The Zone often use terms like ‘I seemed to have so much more time to think’, ‘I knew what was going to happen before it did’ or ‘it was effortless and felt so easy’.
An athlete with an appreciation of the basic concepts of the technique will be able to overcome specific difficulties by seeing the problem from a different viewpoint. This can help athletes in a number of ways. From a physical point of view, following Alexander Technique lessons, an athlete will have freer movement and better timing once inappropriate effort and excessive preparatory actions are removed. A poised athlete is also at less risk of injury as better coordination reduces conflicting muscular actions during complex movements associated with most sports.
The techniques used also help sports people get into ‘The Zone’. This is the main benefit in my view as it speeds up thought processes and aids decision making to the right course of action. Sports people describing their experiences of The Zone often use terms like ‘I seemed to have so much more time to think’, ‘I knew what was going to happen before it did’ or ‘it was effortless and felt so easy’.
People at the top of their sport can often make it look easy. They can do this day-in, day-out because they’re focused, in the moment and therefore able to step up to The Zone.
For more information on this remarkable method please visit www.alexandertechnique.com
For more information on this remarkable method please visit www.alexandertechnique.com
