We have all had the experience of seeing ourselves - perhaps in a mirrored fitting room where we could see ourselves from an unfamiliar angle, or on television - and being quite surprised by what we saw.
As a teacher of the Alexander Technique, I see the gap between this kind of feeling, on the one hand, and reality, on the other, all the time. A student will be absolutely certain (based on feelings) that he or she is standing or sitting one way when the reality is entirely different. Indeed it is often that difference - that untrustworthiness of feelings - that contributed to the dysfunctional patterns of posture and movement that led to taking Alexander Technique lessons in the first place.
It is often a fairly simple matter to help students bridge the gap between their feelings about their physical state and what is actually going on so that they can begin to effectively make useful changes in themselves. Sometimes it's as simple as getting them to really look at themselves in a mirror.
If you would like to do some Alexander "mirror work" yourself, here are a few suggestions:
Begin by standing in front of a mirror. A full length one is best. Pay special attention to the relationship of your whole head (not just your face) to the rest of your body. Notice how this relationship changes as you perform simple activities like talking, walking or raising an arm or leg.
How does what you see in the mirror correspond to what you think you're doing, and what do you feel you're doing? Which do you think is more accurate? Take plenty of time to explore these questions.
Experiment with changing the relationship of your head to your body, perhaps tilting it a little forward or backward from the top of your neck and observe what difference these shifts make to your movements and to your breathing.
F. M. Alexander, the developer of the Alexander Technique, found that the most useful change he could make was to mentally direct his neck to be free so that his head, followed by his body, could release in an upward direction - delicately, without any stiffening or undue effort.
