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.

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 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.

The Alexander Technique was developed by an Australian actor, F. Matthias Alexander, to improve the way the body is used by treating mind and body as a whole. Long popular with actors and dancers because of the stamina, flexibility and relaxation it offers, physiotherapists and doctors are now recommending it to help stress-related movement and posture disorders. Providing a complete programme of procedures to follow for daily activities and sports, this groundbreaking book brings the Alexander Technique within reach of us all. Perfectly safe to use a part of your daily life, this book will help you in all you do. You will learn: how to walk, stand, sit, lift, bend and reach; how to move your body when driving, cycling, doing housework or gardening; how to get the most out of any sport, from golf and tennis to swimming and skiing; and how to devise your own self-help programme to suit your particular life-style. The Alexander Technique is not just another exercise regime but a way of life, a subtle method of changing habits and attitudes to achieve greater body awareness, improved functioning and better co-ordination. You will feel healthier and happier than perhaps ever before.

The Alexander Technique, a revolutionary method of bodywork pioneered by the late F.M. Alexander, provides the key to successful body dynamics. Now, in this updated and revised edition, Wilfred Barlow's classic guide to Alexander's work explores every phase of the technique. Today, the Alexander Technique has a world-wide following and is respected as a major contribution to the fields of medicine, education, and psychiatry. Barlow, the foremost exponent and teacher of Alexander's work, explains how your mental, physical, and sexual well-being are affected by the way you use--or misuse--your body. He shows you how to reduce mental stress and muscular tension by becoming more aware of balance, posture, and movement in everyday activities.

Each book offers an overview of a particular type of alternative medicine in a concise format that will not overwhelm readers new to the subject. Original.