FM Alexander, the founder of the Alexander Technique, experienced vocal problems as an actor. Whenever he spoke on stage he began to develop a strange hoarseness in his voice. The medical professionals of his day could not help him, and so he resolved to find out whether there was anything he was doing to himself which could have caused it.

Thus began a long voyage of discovery in which Alexander used mirrors to observe how he moved. The process is described in detail in Alexander’s book The Use of the Self. In her helpful retelling of this story, Missy Vineyard recounts how,

Reviewing his progress, Alexander realised that he had several unconscious beliefs about his body. He believed that he would know if he was doing something harmful to himself. He believed that as long as he was not sick, his body would function normally. And he believed that, with sufficient practice, he could make his body do what he wanted. But his observations in the mirror disproved them all. He had not felt what he was doing with his neck muscles, and so had not been aware of his tension as he spoke. He had actually been damaging his body by this unconscious tension, causing his hoarseness. And he could not make his body do what he wanted.

Missy Vineyard, How you stand, How you move, How you live, pp.8-9.

This was the impasse which Alexander reached. Rather than being a predicament unique to him, he began to realise that most people faced the same dead-end when attempting to change harmful habits. You might summarize this unfortunate tangle as follows:

Alexander ball of tension

It was this impasse that led Alexander to develop his Technique as a way of overcoming habits of tension that get in the way of our best overall functioning. Just click here to find out more.