On the Voice - Alexander or Feldenkrais: Which Method Is Best? | CU Experts

Overview

Forced to find a cure for his tendency toward hoarseness and respiratory illness, actor Frederick Matthias Alexander began noticing patterns of forced breathing, pulling the head back and depressing the larynx while watching himself speak in a mirror. Realizing that many habits of movement involved the whole body and mind, Alexander began to work on ways to change these physical habitual patterns. The Alexander Technique focuses on the spine and trains awareness of the body's habits, eventually allowing the user to transform bad habits into more productive habits. Moshe Feldenkrais also developed a technique that uses movement and attention to enhance the natural growth of humans through their lives. The Feldenkrais Technique is a system of psychophysical education that teaches awareness through movement and employs the use of kinesthetic imaging.