Most people react to stress by misusing their bodies. One common pattern of misuse is actually similar to our reaction to an unexpected loud noise. This reaction is called the startle reflex and manifests itself in the body with scrunched up shoulders, a tight neck, a tight jaw, throat tension, locked knees, a tight belly, and gasping for a breath. When under the constant stress of making presentations, managing employees, pitching your unique product, and/or meeting deadline after deadline, many people actually exhibit varying degrees of the startle reflex pattern in their bodies throughout the day. When the pattern persists like this and becomes the way a person holds his or her body all the time, this misuse can cause a variety of symptoms such as tension, neck and back pain, fatigue, headaches, voice problems, and breathing problems. This reaction to stress can interfere with your ability to present yourself and/or your product in the best way possible, and leave you feeling a loss of control and more tired than you should be. This begins to undermine your confidence which has repercussions on your ability to be successful.

Lessons in the Alexander Technique teach people how to observe and eliminate their own unique habits of misuse. You will begin to sit, stand, and move in a free, released, coordinated way, the opposite of the manifestations of a 24-hour startle reflex. This is key to learning to be comfortable and in control while working long hours under constant stress, avoiding injury and allowing you to maximize your skill and enjoyment of what you do.