"You can do what I do if you'll do what I did." F.M. Alexander

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the process by which Alexander made the discoveries that people have been experimenting with for over 100 years. In a certain way we all have to go through some version of this process as we learn from his work. Below is an abbreviated account of how Alexander discovered his technique of conscious control.

1. Alexander embarks on a career as a reciter of Shakespeare and other writers.
   
   
2. Early on he has trouble with his throat and vocal cords.
   
   
3. On one occasion he becomes so hoarse he can barely speak.
   
   
4. The rest and medication his doctors prescribed only work when he is not performing. Once back on stage his voice problems return.
   
   
5. Reasons that it must be something he is doing while performing that is causing the problem.
   
   
6. No one could tell him what it was. Decides to find out for himself.
   
   
7. Observes himself in a mirror speaking normally and reciting.
   
   
8. At first he notices nothing in ordinary speaking.
   
   
9. In reciting he notices that he was depressing his larynx, audibly sucking in breath, lifting his chest and hollowing his back, and pulling his head back and down.
   
   
10. Realizes these things also happened in ordinary speaking, but to a lesser degree.
    
    
11. Tries unsuccessfully to deal with each symptom individually.
    
    
12. Realizes they are interrelated parts of a single response pattern.
    
    
13. Determines pulling head back and down was the principal part.
    
    
14. Adds two mirrors in order to see himself in profile.
    
    
15. Observes there is an increase in tension everywhere when reciting.
    
    
16. Devises a set of directions{orders} to be done sequentially and simultaneously.They are: Allow the neck to be free. Head to go forward and up. Back to lengthen and widen.
    
    
17. Practiced giving directions for months without trying to “do” them.
    
    
18. Tried applying new directions while reciting, but reverted to old habits.
    
    
19. Realized that he could not use his senses to guide him because the information they provided was unreliable.
    
    
20. Decided he needed to continue directing consciously while reciting to avoid being directed by his "faulty sensory appreciation".
    
    
21. After working this way for a number of years the overall use of his body improved and he was able to recite without trouble.

Nicholas Tinbergen, in accepting the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1973, said this about Alexander's process: "This story of perceptiveness, of intelligence, and of persistence, shown by a man without medical training, is one of the true epics of medical research and practice."