F.M. Alexander, the creator of the Alexander Technique, discovered the procedure of Inhibition through a slow process, decisively refining as he learned more over time. Though it is the primary procedure of the technique, it is often misunderstood or confused with other practices. To understand the procedure of Inhibition, we must do what F.M. asked his students to do, as well as what he did himself. We must set aside what we think we understand at first and be willing to step into unfamiliar and novel territory.

We often hear Inhibition described with short phrases or in comparison with other (familiar) wellness techniques. They include descriptions such as,

“Doing nothing.”

“Pausing.”

“Just stopping.”

“Relaxing.”

When studying the technique, it is easy to understand why these descriptions are often the initial understanding of Inhibition. The issue is that they bring about ideas of someone lying about, eyes closed, maybe even lost in a daydream. While I am a huge supporter of rest, relaxation, and daydreaming, these activities are separate from the procedure of Inhibition. Here is our opportunity to go beyond initial understanding and explore the full depth of what the Alexander Technique has to offer.

Before we begin, it is important to understand something particular about human behavior. We have all heard the phrase “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” It describes the way that habits are formed. When something happens (a stimulus), we react. If we repeat a particular reaction many times, it becomes automatic, a habit. This means that we are likely to respond to stimuli in repeated, habitual ways (without thinking about it). In some cases, this is an amazing life-saving occurrence, other times it leads us into unhealthy or detrimental experiences. In the Alexander Technique, we are concerned with re-educating unhealthy and unwanted habits so that we are no longer bound to them.

Inhibition is a specific procedural activity and is the first step in re-education. It can be defined as the refusal to give consent to a behavior or thought that would have otherwise occurred automatically. Inhibition happens when we are asked to meet a stimulus but refuse to do so. This applies to gross motor action, habitual muscular response, and patterns of thinking that we would have regularly indulged in.

Inhibiting is an activity that we do (I know, this sounds like an oxymoron), a choice to not allow ourselves to be tempted into habit, but instead, to keep the integrity of our use intact until we perform (or do not perform) in response to the stimulus. This is different from “resting,” or “relaxing” because it takes conscious control on continuously deeper levels to improve Inhibition, it is a skill. Inhibition uses conscious consideration to refuse to behave in an unconscious way.

At the beginning of learning the Alexander Technique we may learn Inhibition by saying or thinking “no” when given a stimulus. For example, when a teacher asks us to take a seat we can practice by thinking “no” and refusing to sit down. For many, this is abundantly novel and proves to be a great challenge. We are so used to reacting quickly that it is challenging to stop even gross motor action. This is true even when we know the only goal of the moment is to disobey the reactionary habit, to Inhibit, as is often the case in Alexander Technique lessons.

Later in study, students realize that Inhibition extends to more than these large movements. They learn that the stress of certain stimuli causes subtle reactions like the neck tightening, heart rate speeding up, or the rising of unhelpful emotions. All of these occurrences are examples of indirect habitual reactions to stimuli. Over time, students learn to Inhibit unhelpful stress responses that occur as the result of unwanted reactions (that they may not have previously been aware of).

Note: The Alexander Technique does not promote inhibiting all reactions. It focuses on Inhibiting reactions that one decides to be problematic. As mentioned earlier, some automatic reactions are essential to thriving.

Further, by repeatedly practicing saying “no,” not just when asked to take a seat, but in response to various and complex stimuli, students have the opportunity to stop automatic, habitual reactions (on continuously more subtle levels) during more and more complex activities.

By saying “no” and refusing to sit or respond immediately, we prevent something from taking place, namely, our habitual reaction. The time in which we spend actively choosing not to react habitually prevents us from falling into our old, unconscious pattern. Over time as we continue to refuse to act in the old way, we create space to act as we choose, in a way that will feel unfamiliar but that we have chosen intentionally.

How do we practice inhibition? Take for example, receiving a table turn from an Alexander Teacher. You lie on the table in semi-supine, arms resting at your sides. Then what? Do you close your eyes? Most people will have the automatic response of closing their eyes when they meet the stimulus of lying on the table. This could be because we have wired the connection that lying down means it is time to sleep, or because table turns tend to have a calming effect.

Because of this, some Alexander teachers gently ask their students to keep their eyes open on the table. Would you believe how many students almost immediately close their eyes after the teacher’s suggestion? Almost every one! (I am guilty myself.) If a teacher asks you to keep your eyes open, it is not just because they want you to stay awake, it is because they are giving you the opportunity to practice Inhibition, to tell yourself “no” each time the desire to close your eyes arises.

Note: Inhibiting the desire to react habitually to this particular stimulus will be easy for some students and extremely difficult for others. This is true for each person’s response to each stimulus, everyone will have different reactions (and intensity levels of reactions) to differing stimuli.

When you lie on the table and think or say “no” to closing your eyes, you are interrupting a pattern. You are not allowing yourself to continue on the path that you would have otherwise. You will have to tell yourself “no” many times throughout the table turn. Then you will have to do it again during your next table turn, and for many table turns after that. Eventually one day you will lie on the table and the desire to close your eyes will be gone, because you will have rewired a new pattern, one that recognizes a chosen response to let your eyes stay open during table turns.

For Inhibition to bring about lasting change, the particular reaction in question must be fully Inhibited. We must truly interrupt the pattern of reaction, not just pause it. A teacher’s guiding hands will be a huge help in this process. Alexander Technique teachers are trained not only to guide a student in activity, but to detect the subtle muscular action that takes place in response to stimuli. While a student may not detect some reactions (because they are familiar and habitual), a teacher will be able to detect the activation of muscle that shows that Inhibition of a particular reaction has not fully taken place. When lack of inhibition is detected, the teacher will inform the student so that they can wait until the desired level of inactivity has occurred.

Over time, refusal to consent to our habitual reactions weakens the unwanted neural pathways and makes space for us to choose new, unfamiliar responses. They are “unfamiliar” because they are not habitual and will feel strange and unusual at first. When inhibition itself becomes habit, we give ourselves more space to decide on appropriate, desired responses. We then have the ability to prevent excess stress and choose responses that can help us meet the needs of any situation.

Inhibition is not a procedure that we can learn immediately. It takes slow practice over time to make lasting changes. The Alexander Technique is a tool to increase impulse control and reduce stress in a world that asks us to move fast and do more all the time. Therefore, it makes sense that to resist the pressures of such strong habitual desires to do more, the procedures of learning the technique must be slow, thought out, and centered around choosing less unconscious behaviors.

Finally, the Alexander Technique happens in a state of consciousness. Our concern is intentionally bringing unconscious patterns into our conscious thinking so that we gain the ability to decide if they promote our well-being or not. If we find that they do not promote our well-being or do not meet our needs, the technique gives us the tools (procedures) to rewire and re-educate ourselves and make more intentional choices. In this way, Inhibition is quite different from “relaxing,” or “pausing.” Inhibition is the conscious decision to fully refuse to consent to a behavior, thought, or belief that would have otherwise occurred in response to a stimulus.

The Alexander Technique does not just help us relax or stop for a moment, it guides us towards preventing the things we do to ourselves that cause our problems. F.M. himself was surprised when he realized “…IT WAS WHAT I WAS DOING MYSELF that was causing the throat trouble which had defied all previous treatment.” (UCL pg. 23). Fortunately, he left us the tools to guide ourselves from familiar, unwanted reactions to unfamiliar, chosen responses that may not have been previously accessible.

So, the next time someone asks you to describe inhibition, what will you say? How will you support procedural Inhibition as opposed to the separate practices of resting or relaxing? How will you give yourself the option to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar in your daily reactions?

Want to know more? Check out Cassie’s Alexander Technique page.