The Alexander Technique can help you sleep better by creating greater physical and mental harmony, enabling you to go through life with less strain. It is a way of learning how to use your body as it was meant to be used — easily, effortlessly, and without tension.

The Technique was developed over eighty years ago by an Australian actor, Frederick Matthias Alexander. Specializing in one-man shows, he was plagued by recurring hoarseness and breathing problems which prevented him from performing. When medical specialists could find nothing wrong with his throat, Alexander decided that there must be something wrong with the way he was using it. He studied himself with the help of mirrors and realized that his voice was being affected by the way he held his head and neck, which in turn related to the tensions in his body.

Over the years he taught himself new habits, not only solving his voice problem but discovering a new mental power and energy. He began teaching his technique to private individuals, including actors; today it is taught at five training schools in Britain, and is very popular among performers of all kinds, who are probably more aware of their bodies than the rest of us.

Small children know instinctively how to hold themselves correctly, but are soon thrown out of balance from schooldays onwards by things like badly designed school desks and too much sedentary work, as well as the stresses of modern living. Emotions are also reflected in the body; rounded shoulders can develop as a fear response to an over-critical or bullying parent, while over-anxiety can produce a head that thrusts forward instead of balancing easily on top of the spine. These muscular postures tend to become fixed, perpetuating the attitudes of mind they reflect.

Lessons usually last 30 to 45 minutes, during which the teacher helps you gradually to adjust the way you stand, sit and walk, using his or her hands to show the body how it should be, and gently guiding your muscles into new habits. It takes time for habits to be changed, and initially you may need to see a teacher two or three times a week; this is gradually tailed off, so that in time you will only need a lesson every month or two. During this re-education process, tensions are released, the stance becomes more natural, the ribs open up so that you breathe more naturally and deeply, and very often back and neck problems are relieved. As the client becomes more self-aware, he or she is able to go through daily life with less stress.

Despite the gentleness of the technique it can bring about profound changes not only in the body but in the mind, partly through the letting-go of old tensions, and partly through its focus on the present moment. This can result in a new, freer way of responding to stress, anxiety, decision-making and so on. For insomniacs, learning to adopt a different, more flowing attitude to daily activities can be extremely beneficial.

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Anti-Depressants/Sleeping Aid