Marilyn Monroe may well have learned the Alexander Technique!

She certainly owned and read a good part of at least one of F M Alexander’s books,

‘Man’s Supreme Inheritance‘. Marilyn must have been quite serious about reading it, as she made notes in the margins of many of the pages.

It is always good to hear of well-known people that have learned the Technique, particularly when it is one of the world’s most easily recognised, glamorous icons such as Marilyn Monroe. She was always so poised, even in her stilettos and learning the Technique may well have helped her cope with the problems wearing such shoes can cause.

This photo shows her relaxing, bright eyed, alert and happy.

Marilyn left a bookmark in page 157 of Man’s Supreme Inheritance, indicating that other aspects of the Technique were also of interest to her. One section that was marked is where F M Alexander discusses how our ability to be able to allow changes in our point of view is important if we want to bring about changes in ourselves :

“…in both instances all depends on the point of view, we cannot be surprised that the mere promise to reform is usually futile, and we must furthermore realize that a changed point of view is the royal road to reformation.”

Change involves deeper aspects of ourselves that we often wish not to acknowledge. It is interesting that Marilyn was exploring such issues.

Care to follow in her footsteps? Why not try the Technique out?

University of York Research Finds Yoga Aids Chronic Back Pain

More good news for back pain sufferers and for complementary therapists! Another interesting research trial at the University of York, funded by Arthritis Research UK, has found that yoga helped people with back pain more than conventional GP treatment.

These results were then compared with the findings of the ATEAM Trial into treatments for chronic back pain (in which the Alexander Technique was found to be more effective than either massage and GP treatment) and it was found that:

‘The results suggested that the 12-week yoga group programme may improve back function more than exercise and manipulation, cognitive-behaviour treatment and six sessions of 1-to-1 Alexander technique, but not as much as 24 sessions of 1-to-1 Alexander technique’.

Interestingly, the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique Scientific Research Committee have pointed out that the ATEAM Trial also found significant reductions in pain experienced by the subjects having Alexander lessons, whereas the Yoga Trial did not report a significant level of pain reduction.

It is good that a body of research into the Alexander Technique and other disciplines is growing and that the findings are very encouraging and support our work as Alexander teachers.

As the comment below describes, people who just rely on drugs become habituated to them and then the drug don’t work. Learning techniques such as yoga and the Alexander Technique gives people tools that they can use throughout their lives to improve their body use and to lesson problems such as back pain.

Monthly Archives: November 2011

Marilyn Monroe and the Alexander Technique

Yoga Aids Back Pain – but not as much as 24 Alexander Lessons

University of York Research Finds Yoga Aids Chronic Back Pain