Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier utilize their ten years of research on developmental movement and dance training to explore the relationship between a specific movement technique and the basic principles of support and coordination.

The Alexander Technique is a simple method of improving posture and body movement in order to reduce the physical and mental tensions that we all accumulate throughout our lives. Developed at the turn of the nineteenth century by F.M. Alexander, this practical system has been used by millions of people to help relieve common ailments such as backache, headache, arthritis, depression, insomnia and stress, and to enhance general health and well-being.

To live is to face problems and to find solutions for them. We do so consciously or unconsciously, using intuition, reason, imagination and many other faculties. We notice a situation, we draw conclusions from what we see, hear and feel, and we act on our conclusions in a constant process of observation, analysis and remedy. 'My shoulders are tight, because I am under a lot of stress, I need a good massage.' We observe a problem (tight shoulders), analyse the cause (stress) and seek a remedy for it (the massage). But what if we have misunderstood the problem? What if our description of the problem is based on false perceptions, or our analysis on false assumptions? What if the solution aggravates the problem? This book is about our suppositions, habits and behaviours. It is about posture and attitude, tension and relaxation, movement and rest. It is about interpersonal relationships, sports and performing arts. Above all, it is about embodied emotions and the body that thinks and feels. In this fully revised new edition, Pedro de Alcantara invites you to redefine the meaning of health and wellbeing, using the insights and tools developed by a man of genius: F.M Alexander.

"The Alexander Technique is now recognized the world over as the most revolutionary and far-reaching method developed for maintaining the health and efficiency of the body."--Back cover

"An educational method used to improve performance, the Alexander Technique teaches people to replace unnecessary muscular and mental effort with consciously coordinated responses, maximizing effectiveness while also relieving, if necessary, any chronic stiffness or stress ... [The book] addresses common concerns, such as concentration, relaxation, discipline-specific techniques, warm-ups, performer/audience relationships, stage fright and critical responses ... in the application of the techniques."--Provided by publisher.