Jennifer Roig-Francolí, M.AmSAT
www.BalanceandHarmonyAT.com
1. MIND-BODY UNITY AND USE OF THE SELF
It is imperative that the act of making music include the whole person. Our primary
instrument is the psycho-physical self: the body directed by clear intention of the mind. Playing
an instrument begins with learning to “use” the psycho-physical self in a constructive,
consciously controlled way. Only when the self is used well can the musical intention be clearly
communicated through the body and then through the instrument. Students and teachers need to
understand that playing an instrument is a psycho-physical activity; it is not purely mental, nor is
it purely physical. The mind and body cannot be separated; they are interconnected and
interdependent. Everything in the mind affects the body–every single thought, whether conscious
or unconscious; and everything happening in the body equally affects the mind. It is extremely
important to pay attention to mental attitude when approaching the instrument and act of making
music.
2. THE FORCE OF HABIT
We are not always conscious of what we are thinking or doing with our bodies. When we
are not aware, we act automatically, falling back on our habitual ways of doing things, many of
which were learned long before. Some habits may be beneficial, but many habits are harmful.
For instance, habits of excess tension and imbalance in muscle tone, as well as compression in
the joints and shrinking in the spine, interfere with the optimal use and therefore functioning of
our systems. It is necessary first to become aware of what we are doing, so that we can stop and
change these habits for the better.
In order to learn to react appropriately to stimuli (for instance, the teacher’s instruction, or
performing on stage), the student needs to learn how to replace the instinctual and unreasoned
use of the mind-body with a conscious, reasoned use of the self.
3. INHIBITION AND NON-DOING
Teachers and students normally have a habit of “endgaining”, which is an Alexander
concept indicating our habit of impatience or over-eagerness in seeking instant gratification. It is
important to have a motivating goal (end) in mind, but then the student (as well as the teacher)
needs to let go of that idea completely in order to pay attention to executing the small steps, in
sequence and then together, required to arrive at the goal.
“Inhibition” is the term used for the stopping of our psycho-physical reactions to stimuli,
in particular the habit of wanting to arrive at our goal immediately. Instead of pushing ourselves
and our students forward, we need to STOP (inwardly, in both mind and body), pause, and give
ourselves time to THINK through the means whereby we can achieve success.
Our habit is to constantly “DO” in reaction to a stimulus. When we cannot achieve what
we want (for instance, a complicated musical passage just won’t work in our practicing), our
habitual reaction is to try harder, or do it again, over and over. This is like banging our heads
against the wall in futility! First we need to STOP and actively get ourselves into the calm space
of “Non-doing”, where we can begin to see more clearly what it is that we are doing wrong.
What is it that the student is doing already that is preventing him/her from achieving success? If
he can pause, STOP what is interfering, have a clear intention, and use his mind/body well, the
right thing will then simply do itself.
4. FAULTY SENSORY AWARENESS
Sensory awareness and a quickening of the conscious mind are necessary in order to
change habits, and our kinesthetic and proprioceptive awareness must be re-awakened (re-
educated) in order to improve general balance and well-being. Our sensory awareness has
become less reliable over time, and our internal “compass” is off, needing to be re-set. Our
interpretation of our feelings often does not correspond with objective reality, so we must learn
to rely on the reasoning processes (and concordant skills of inhibition and direction) instead of
our feelings. We must learn to allow and experience feelings, but not rely on them. Our field of
attention and awareness of what is happening within us and without, needs to be expanded and
unified.
This concept is so important to teaching or learning an instrument. How many times do
we ask a student to do something and the student is convinced that he/she is carrying out the
instruction, but we can see clearly that they are not actually doing it? This is frequently due to an
inaccurate registration of the kinesthetic, “felt” body sense, or proprioception. The body sense
has become skewed, and we no longer know accurately where our body and body-parts are in
space. We no longer know what it means to “stand up straight” or “lower the shoulder” or “hold
the chin up” in an integrated way. As teachers, we can see and sense that something in the
student”s posture is unhelpful and getting in the way, but we do not have the knowledge or skills
to be able to effectively communicate to the student how to permanently affect the overall,
whole-body pattern that will lead to the specific change we’d like to see. And the student does
not understand what is asked, either, because of a disconnect between the brain and the body.
This can lead to endless frustration, on the parts of both the teacher and student.
5. SENDING DIRECTIONS
With the Alexander Technique, the student learns to become more aware of the mind-
body connection, and how to direct the body and body-parts in space, as well as how to release
overall excess tension and find a better overall balance and well-being.
The word direction has two related meanings in Alexander Technique: (1) the orientation
of the body in space, and (2) the sending of messages/impulses from the brain to parts of the
body. The sending of messages from the brain to the body is something that we can become more
conscious of, and we can learn to improve our mind-body connection for better overall
coordination and constructive conscious control of ourselves. The four basic, beginning
Alexander directions for an improved use of the psycho-physical self are:
1. Let the neck be soft and free (in order to…)
2. Let the head be forward and up (in order to…)
3. Let the back (and torso) lengthen and widen (in order to…)
4. Let the knees go forward and away.
Directions are thoughts only, not muscular “doings”! Every thought (conscious or
unconscious) has a corresponding effect in the body. The word “let” implies a gentle giving of
permission and freedom, not the placing of a body-part into a certain position by doing an action.
The effective sending of conscious directions/thoughts depends on simultaneous non-doing and
inhibition. These directions are best learned from an experienced Alexander teacher, because the
habit of trying to do those directions instead of just thinking them is so terribly strong. Practicing
them without a teacher’s guidance will most likely lead to increased overall tension, stiffening of
the neck, and possibly pain or discomfort.
6. PRIMARY CONTROL AND MOVEMENT
The dynamic head-neck-torso relationship is primary to all movement. “The head leads;
the body follows.” It is imperative to our well-being and to successfully accomplishing our goals
with mind-body integrity that the atlanto-occipital (AO) joint (where the skull meets the spine)
not be fixed, but free and available for spontaneous movement. This freedom, combined with
greater freedom in all the joints of the body, results in the efficient working of the postural and
reflex mechanisms throughout the organism, bringing about graceful poise and well-coordinated
flow. Optimal use and functioning depends on the freedom of the primary control (dynamic
head-neck-torso relationship).
When a student is “endgaining” (over-concentrating and fixing by narrowing focus on
obtaining a specific goal) with his/her instrument, the AO joint becomes locked, and all
movement is thereby impeded, becoming awkward, unnatural, and less coordinated. This also
happens when a student is experiencing any degree of mental or emotional tension, including
performance anxiety. (See www.BalanceandHarmonyAT.com for a link to my article on how to
deal with performance anxiety.)