He then takes the unaccustomed feeling which accompanies his unusual stance as evidence that he is now standing straight. But there are many ways of standing badly, and he has simply shifted his usual way to a compensatory bad way at some opposite extreme. From Dewey s experience, the solution was to be found in Alexander s indirect approach. It does not rely on the student simply wanting to have better posture. His method was to carefully identify the underlying causes of a student s poor posture, and then show the student how to release them.
Students learn how to get out of the way of what happens naturally.
An Alexander Technique teacher will never ask you to straighten up as that produces the useless re-arrangement of tensions Dewey so well described. This approach has proved itself over the years and today the Technique is regarded by many as the most effective way to improve posture - and the overall quality of physical functioning. A good question. For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Robert Rickover's Alexander Technique topic, please visit the Discussions page . Used under License.