Not as well known as Coca-Cola
by Emma Jarrett
For the past 5 years I have been teaching in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada. I wouldn't say it was remote, but the nearest Alexander Technique teacher works 8 hours to the south of me and the second nearest, 10 hours to the northeast. This has afforded me great freedom in being able to bring the work to a fresh audience. Very few people have ever heard of the Alexander Technique and fewer still have any idea what it's about. My experience is, however, that once a student listens to and interacts with the ideas, they can't believe everyone isn't doing it. On hearing my English accent, they assume that it is this geographical remoteness that has kept them in the dark and, had they lived in Europe, they would be surrounded by The Alexander Technique's presence in all disciplines. Many times I am asked “So this must be really well-known in Europe, is it?”
“Well”, say I, “Not as well-known as Coca-Cola.”
Over time, this has led me to wonder why work as wonderful and life-changing as FM's isn't as well-known as Coca-Cola. Surely, it isn't all down to advertising. I decided there must be other reasons that are holding our profession back from the recognition it deserves. Recently, two notable experiences have brought some of these reasons sharply into focus.
The first came from an e-mail I received from a keen student of mine, who is also a piano teacher:
I was in Calgary for a week, at a national music teachers' convention. One of the sessions was on Alexander Technique, so since I was there, I paid for some time with [the teacher].
Hmmm......... There does seem to be a schism between what she learned and what Donald Weed teaches. A big schism.
She said I was obviously well taught, because my body responded so quickly, but she was shocked that I don't do "semi-supine" or "monkey". In fact, she was so shocked that she kept going on and on and on about it.
I'm assuming that with maturity she'll learn more discretion.
How kind! And this may well prove to be true, but rather than relying on the passing of time or the ageing process, wouldn't it be more professional for teachers to receive some training in such “diplomatic” matters? Isn't our profession letting itself down by not providing this? Surely if we were taught how to treat each other better, more respectfully, then it would become less and less important that such “schisms” exist in our profession and more and more okay for our students to choose which school of thought appeals to them. We could then talk with them about their choices and experiences and we would all have the opportunity to learn.
On further reflection, it did occur to me that not so many years ago, I would have responded in just as “immature” a manner had someone come to me with a very different idea of what the Alexander Technique was. In fact, I cringe as I remember at least one rather public example. But rather than waiting for life to teach me enough lessons in “discretion”, I have actually received training in how to deal with people, how to address different ideas and beliefs and certainly how to not jump down someone's throat in an attempt to force my ideas onto theirs. And what a gift that is! Personally and professionally I am much better for it. This is most definitely one of my reasons for hoping that the principles behind the ITM training will become more the norm rather than the exception in our profession at large.
Another reason is because of something I learnt just last summer. I had the great fortune of having the opportunity to work with a very accomplished skier. Brian is well-coached, certainly well-motivated (with the desire to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics) and in good physical condition for his sport. But there is something missing in his training which is keeping him from the success he believes he deserves and could be enjoying.
Brian has been told by his coach that his problem is that he keeps trying to 'muscle' the movement and that he has to be able to relax more as he races downhill. In spite of his asking just about everyone he knows in the skiing world how he can achieve this, no-one seems to have the solution. Feeling the movement, watching videos of the right thing, watching videos of himself, going to yoga classes - nothing gave him the 'know-how' to change what he is doing as he skis. Until he came to my Alexander Technique classes.
What seemed so mysterious and impossible to accomplish is rapidly becoming Brian's standard of performance as he progresses through his lessons. Here was a person with a very keen mind and the right physical training, but he was missing the key to put them together.
He did not know that it was what he was doing in the manner of his performance that was causing his difficulty. He did not know that it was his lowered standard of using himself generally that was causing his specific difficulties. And he did not know how to solve these problems. Nor did his coaches. But we do!
Is there any approach other than the Alexander Technique that could address the issue of the mind/body relationship in terms of building up your mental discipline to be able to determine what it is you are doing, what it is you need to be doing, and what the route is to being able to ask consistently for what you want and thence getting it? I don't think so, and this is why we must get our message and our tools to the world at large.
The Alexander Technique is the missing link - perhaps the only link - that can bridge this kind of gap between performance and expectation. The work that we do can provide answers for so many people in all aspects of life if we will only get it to them.
I have to admit I had never seen this “missing link” so clearly before: that people like Brian could be so expert in their field - whatever that field may be - and yet still be causing themselves problems to which they didn't have the key. It is only since my ITM training that I can possibly articulate (or even realise) that the Alexander Technique is just such a key. It is only since my ITM training, with its emphasis on broad skills of mental discipline, rather than the narrow scope of “moving more efficiently”, that I realise that the work really is widely applicable, and that I am sufficiently well trained to be able to offer it far and wide.
In a future world where all Alexander teachers might be trained with this emphasis, understanding and professionalism so that they might provide this vital link and practical information to everyone who wants to get better, and who then, in turn, succeed in reaching their goals, how could the Alexander Technique fail to become as well-known as Coca-Cola?