The Alexander Technique

Does it work? In my experience, yes (although see also "Is there any evidence for it?" below), but it's not a cure-all. My teacher said right from the start that she only expected to be able to improve my problems, not cure them.

Who does it work for? People with musculoskeletal problems, including everything from a muscle-related bad back, to repetitive strain injury to headaches caused by tense muscles, or even problems with your voice.  If poor posture, bad physical habits or overusing your muscles is contributing to your pain, then the Alexander Technique can help.

Who doesn't it work for? Anyone whose pain isn't caused by muscle tension, poor posture or poor muscle habits, e.g. people with neuropathic pain or tooth pain. I'm not sure how it would interact with arthritis or slipped discs.

What is it? It's one-on-one lessons in how to use your body more efficiently, in both your posture and your movement, for instance how to use your muscles less and bones more to stand or sit or walk more efficiently and how to use as few and relax as many muscles as possible. Your teacher will help you examine how you do things and teach you how to permanently change your habits. Some do this purely through touch, for instance placing their hands on your feet while you are standing so that your feet subtly alter their position for the better, others also include verbal explanations to help you understand how the theory works and apply it.

Where can I get it? If you live in the UK you can find a qualified teacher here: http://www.alexandertechnique.co.uk/searchgeo If you live in Frankfurt, I highly recommend this one (who also speaks fluent English): http://at-ffm.de/index_english.htm.*

How much does it cost? It's not cheap. Expect to pay about £45-£50 per hour depending on things like who the individual teacher is and where they practice, and you'll probably need at least 10 lessons. I ended up going about once a week for 6 months, having initially thought I'd give it a try for 10 sessions, but having found it so helpful I just kept going until I moved away from the area. Because it's lessons not therapy the impact lasts for as long as you remember the lessons. The idea is that it will stay with you forever.

Is there a cheap/free version? You can listen to podcasts about the theory and tips and tricks here: http://bodylearningcast.com. You can also buy books on the topic or read about it on the Internet. My own experience is that going to see a real teacher really helped beyond what I could learn from books or the podcast (although I then found episodes of the podcast a good refresher).

Does the individual practitioner matter? Yes. They all have to go through the same training, but some of them come out of it much better at it than others. If your teacher isn't doing a good job for you you'll probably know within 3 lessons at most, probably even fewer, as you should feel some benefits by then.

Is there any evidence for it? There have been a number of trials. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/alexander-technique/Pages/clinical-trial.aspx. I had previously heard that the trials had shown the Alexander Technique to be successful, but I've recently read that there is conflicting evidence, which makes me think that they may have run more trials where that didn't have positive results. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/08August/Pages/BackpainandAlexandertechnique.aspx.

Are there any negative side effects? It's not cheap, so your wallet will get lighter. With my first teacher I didn't think any negative consequences were possible, as my body's pretty delicate and I only ever came away feeling better or the same, never worse, but when I tried another teacher in London she suggested I try getting off the table differently in a way that made my back worse for a few days, so if you're delicate enough you can end up putting strain on a part of your body that really doesn't like it. However, I think it's unlikely to be much worse than the things you can accidentally do to yourself in your own home in the first place (sadly for people with HMS that encompasses quite a lot of damage).

Are there any positive side effects? Yes! I used to have poor posture. Now I have lovely posture, which is not only better for my muscles but also looks better. I'm also noticeably less clumsy, especially at eating. We actually spent one of my lessons going through how I use plates and cutlery in realistic situations for me (not because I wanted to be less clumsy, but because it's a regular part of how I move and I wanted to do it more efficiently and make sure I wasn't hurting myself). These impacts have both been permanent. It's now been three years since my last lesson and the improvements have lasted.

Was it worth the money? To me: definitely. If I still lived near my excellent teacher in Frankfurt I think I'd still be popping in for the occasional maintenance lesson.

Anything else worth knowing? It worked faster and better if I put effort in and applied the principles outside the lesson, but even if I had done nothing outside the lesson, I think my posture and pain would still have improved from what we did in the lessons alone. My teacher at no point tried to teach me about anything other than the technique (e.g. diet) or explain how or why it would be my fault if it didn't work (two pet hates of mine) - although I came to it with fairly strong core muscles from Pilates and it's my understanding that if you have very poor muscle tone, they will recommend you do exercises such as Pilates to get your muscles strong enough to do their job. I also found that applying the principles to other things like Pilates was very helpful.

What are your experiences with the Alexander Technique, good or bad? What was it good for? What didn't it work for? Is there anything you'd recommend doing or not doing? Or do you have any questions? Leave a comment below to join the discussion.

* My teacher doesn't even know I'm writing this blog, and I'm not getting anything in return for recommending her or the Alexander Technique.