Quote of the Week
Hi All!
Since it’s August and my move to Pittsburgh is drawing ever nearer, I’m beginning my blog posting in earnest. Starting now, I’ll be posting to this blog two or three times a week, discussing various topics related to the Technique. We’ll start off each week on Monday with my Quote of the Week, follow it up on Wednesday with a Concept Spotlight, and finish up each Friday with an optional This Week in AT. So without further ado, let’s get started this week with one of my favorite Quotes:
“[The Alexander Technique] bears the same relation to education that education itself bears to all other human activities.” ~John Dewey, in an introduction to Use of the Self
This is one of my all-time favorite quotes related to the Technique. In his introduction to Use of the Self, Dewey discusses the importance of education to the well-being of mankind. In his view, education is the only way we have of influencing our development as a species. However, he argues that without knowing how to achieve and maintain a high standard of functioning, both physical and psychological, any efforts to educate will likely be misdirected and result in what he calls “mis-education.” As an example, consider an anatomist who has studied the human body in-depth and has a thorough knowledge of the working of each and every muscle. He may be able to tell you precisely which muscles should engage to stand up from a chair and which ones should not, but if he cannot actually coordinate his structure to do it in practice, then what use is his knowledge? The greatest amount of theoretical knowledge in the world is useless without the ability to apply it in practical situations.
The Alexander Technique, in contrast, is a method that grants its students a real, practical knowledge of the most efficient way to live, both physically and psychologically. In essence, it teaches you how to learn. Once you adopt the principles of the Technique to your efforts in everyday life, you will have far more success in learning anything you wish to learn.
