When we look at very young children, we can easily see an alertness and poise that allows them to sit, stand, move and even fall without any strain at all. This is one of the reason that it is always such a pleasure to watch them at play. Yet rarely do we see the same natural poise in adults. Most people have unconsciously developed habits to hold all their stress and strain in their bodies and these habits, override their instinctive coordination and their most natural functions--breathing, balance, relaxation, flexibility. Instead, we gradually become disconnected from any awareness of our bodies at all… until they start to cause us pain and keep us from doing everything we might want to do.

Is there a solution? Yes, and it is surprisingly simple. It is possible , it is even natural to integrate the various systems of the body, so that the body can function seamlessly as a whole, just like it does when we are happy and rested. The secret to all this lies in the relationship between the head, neck and back. FM Alexander discovered that when we unconsciously interfere with this crucial relationship, as most everyone does, then we create distortion and strain throughout the entire organism and, without realizing it, we repeatedly misuse our bodies.

Years and years of misuse may result in specific symptoms, such as headache, backache, stiffness or, it may appear as being out of touch with our own bodies that we only notice when they hurt. What we do not notice is the enormous handicap of being so out of touch. The body and the mind are one system. Lack of physical poise, impeded breathing, affect our energy level, our state of mind and our ability to cope with life, let alone enjoy it.