Many people are familiar with William Hurt, the American actor who sadly passed away last month. Not so many people know, however, that Hurt, along with many actors – Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen and Alan Rickman to name a few – was a huge fan of the Alexander Technique. Not only that, but in 1998 Hurt featured in a full-length introductory film about it with teacher Jane Kosminsky. An updated version was released in 2007, and you can watch it here.
The video covers some of the basic procedures used in the Alexander Technique – such as chair work, ‘monkey’ and walking – but there is also an unusual ‘self-lesson’ in lying down. I say unusual because when Alexander Technique students are asked to lie down, the request is normally that they do nothing for around 15 minutes. However, Jane Kosminsky’s ‘self-lesson’ includes movement while lying down, and it’s therefore an interesting contrast to standard lying down work (here’s my audio guide for that if you’re interested). Below is the self-lesson section of Jane’s video which lasts about 20 minutes:
Jane wraps up her film by answering some of William Hurt’s questions, one of which is about the kind of commitment the Alexander Technique involves. Jane replies that she doesn’t want to begin to teach a student unless they can commit to ten sessions. I agree, and also ask beginners to commit to a series of lessons. The Alexander approach is something quite different to what most people are familiar with, and it simply takes a while to get your head around.
And as for taking the Alexander Technique further than a series of lessons, Jane explains it beautifully as follows:
Of course when people fall in love with the work, they continue to want to do it because – like anything else that’s of value – the more you use it and the more you stay with it, the more it’s there for you, and the more it unfolds for you. So that I still take lessons, I do exchanges with other teachers: I care to do that because it empowers me as a teacher and it makes me happier. I continue to grow in it, I continue to improve in it, and there’s no point in sharing this work unless you’re continuing to work on yourself. That’s the demand.
Jane Kosminsky on the Alexander Technique.