Healthy Living Books Books

Rating: - An excellent clear guide to The Alexander Technique
This is that rare book on the Alexander Technique, one that manages to explain the key principles in clear English. It is an excellent introduction and, in conjunction with lessons from a certified teacher, is sure to bring the reader the very best results from the technique.

If other reviewers bemoan the fact that lessons from a certified teacher are still required, they will have missed the point of the technique. Whilst a book can provide much useful information, nothing can substitute for the experience of a teacher. Teachers qualify after a rigorous 3 year course and it would be unlikely that a single book could ever be a substitute for some lessons. What this book does admirably is to explain what the technique is and how it works and to motivate the reader to take the technique further with one-to-one lessons or group workshops.

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Rating: - Expensive glossy brochure with no real practical information
This book is printed on high quality glossy paper, alas that is all the quality it has. For a book with the title The Alexander Technique Manual I would have expected lots of information on techniques, instead the reader is bombarded with suggestion to go and see an Alexander Technique teacher - perhaps the book should be called "Sales brochure" instead of manual. Although the author puts forward a few ideas for posture, they are very sparse and constantly refer to how a teacher would show you rather than instruction on 'how to'. When you finish reading the book, you are left with a feeling of why did I buy it? As the author himself states "the experience of the Alexander Technique can never be described in a book or conveyed by speech." pity that isn't printed on the cover, it would have saved me the money for my first lesson with a teacher. The Alexander Technique is no doubt a marvellous aid to sufferers of back and joint problems and reducing stresses in the body, but this sort of expensive book does nothing to further the cause. The info in this book could have easily been printed in B&W on far lower quality paper with a much lower price tag, and not lost anything as a result....