In this post, Dr. Rajal Cohen discusses how the Alexander Technique concept of faulty sensory appreciation or debauched kinesthesia intersects with the science of sensation and perception. Alexander Technique teachers refer at times to faulty sensory appreciation, unreliable sensory appreciation, or debauched kinesthesia to explain why a student may feel […]
Posts
Study Summary: Alexander Technique Lessons Reduce Knee Pain and Co-contraction in Subjects with Knee Osteoarthritis
This post summarizes research by Stephen Preece, et al, “Reductions in co-contraction following neuromuscular re-education in people with knee osteoarthritis,” published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders in 2016. It was originally published at Alexander &. A study on the Alexander Technique and knee pain was published last month [Editor’s note: August, 2016] in […]
The Physics of Sit-to-Stand
This essay by Tim Cacciatore and Patrick Johnson on the biomechanics of sit-to-stand was originally published in STAT News, Fall 2016. pdf version pdf version (Japanese) Sit-to-stand is one of the essential movements that Alexander Technique teachers use to teach. We generally leave the mechanical details of the movement aside […]
Study Summary: “Lighten Up” or “Pull Up”? Alexander Technique-type Instruction and Parkinson’s Disease.
This post summarizes research by Rajal Cohen, et al, “Lighten Up: Specific Postural Instructions Affect Axial Rigidity and Step Initiation in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” published in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair in 2015. It was originally published at Alexander &. Word came last week [Editor’s Note: February, 2015] about a new study published in […]
Study Summary: How Posture Interferes with Movement—Evidence from Standing Up Slowly from a Chair
This essay by Tim Cacciatore discusses his 2014 study, “Neuromechanical Interference of Posture on Movement: Evidence from Alexander Technique Teachers Rising from a Chair,” published in the Journal of Neurophysiology. The study documents the striking difference between healthy, untrained subjects and Alexander teachers in standing up unusually slowly and smoothly […]
Study Summary: Twister—Measuring How Alexander Technique Lessons Affect Postural Tone
How do you measure postural tone? In this essay, Tim Cacciatore and Korina Biggs describe Cacciatore et al’s 2011 study, “Increased dynamic regulation of postural tone through Alexander Technique training,” published in Human Movement Science. The researchers use a novel device, dubbed “Twister,” to detect marked differences in background postural […]
Study Summary: From Jones to Stevens to Cacciatore—What Can We Learn about AT from Sit-to-Stand?
Chair work and the movement from sit-to-stand is one of the most common procedures used in Alexander Technique lessons. In this essay, Tim Cacciatore discusses the general research literature on sit-to-stand, assesses earlier studies of AT and sit-to-stand by Frank Pierce Jones (1959) and Chris Stevens (1989), and summarizes his […]