Primary control

After unsuccessfully attempting to change each of the tendencies to misuse that he had observed in himself, Alexander concluded that they were “interrelated parts of a total pattern of which the principal part was the change in the axis of the head” (Jones, 1976: 16). The basic premise of the Alexander Technique is that all activity is dependent for its efficiency on the proper relationship of the head, neck and back, or primary control. When the primary control is properly directed, the other uses of the body tend to correct themselves and function as they should, as “the orientation of the head influences the organization of the whole organism” (De Alcantara, 1997: 27).

46 When the head leads the body in activity, it brings about a muscular harmony throughout the body, but if this relationship is disturbed, the whole system becomes disorganised.

Alexander, 1932: 60

…there is a primary control of the use if the self, which governs the working of all the mechanisms and so renders the control of the complex human organism comparatively simple.

The biologist George Coghill pointed out that the locomotor function in vertebrates involves two patterns: the total pattern, which is hereditary and innate, and partial patterns that are individually cultivated (De Alcantara, 1997: 25). The primary control is the mechanism of the total pattern, and it has an integrating effect on the coordination of the body as a whole (De Alcantara, 1997: 27).

De Alcantara, 1997: 26:

Ideally the total pattern (hereditary and innate…) should take precedence over the partial patterns (individually cultivated). In other words, every localized action – the activity of limbs, hands and fingers, and of lips, tongue and jaw – should be executed in harmony with the co-ordination of the head, neck and back.

Alexander developed a way of using his hands to make changes in a pupil that went far beyond simple postural adjustment and worked directly with this total, innate pattern (Jones, 1976: 31), accessing reflexes that operate automatically without the need for conscious control (Jones, 1976: 144). Through improving the use of the primary control, the body’s innate reflex systems are released and restored to operate effectively. These reflex responses work to maintain poise almost effortlessly (STAT, 1993), and bring about a kinaesthetic effect of ease and lightness in one’s movements (Jones, 1976: 145)1.

The head-neck reflexes are responsible for changing the distribution of tonus throughout the body (Jones, 1976: 42). Good use of the primary control, and hence

47 the quality of muscle tone, requires a combination of the upward stretch of the spine and the mobility of the head (De Alcantara, 1997: 33). The head balances freely on top of the spinal column, with the back lengthening and widening, and the shoulders broadening (De Alcantara, 1997: 31). As the head is allowed to tip slightly forward at the atlanto-occipital joint through inhibiting any customary tightening or pulling back (De Alcantara, 1997: 61), the stretch reflexes in the neck muscles are stimulated, resulting in a higher quality of muscle tone throughout the body (Dawley, 2001: 21). However, if the larger outside muscles of the neck become tense and contract the spine, they override these desirable stretch reflexes, creating undue tensions throughout the body. Inhibiting the “set or fixation” of the head brings about an improved distribution of tonus in the torso and limbs, resulting in better coordination and more control in all kinds of activity, “whether it is speaking, or writing, or playing the flute” (Jones, 1976: 179).

In researching the reflex pattern that occurs when someone is startled, (i.e. the stereotyped postural reaction to an unexpected loud noise), Jones (1976: 132) found that the resulting postural changes do not all take place at the same time, but always begin in the head and neck, before affecting the rest of the body. He goes on to say that the startle reflex is a model for other, slower response patterns such as fear, anxiety, fatigue and pain, which all show a similar pattern: the muscles in the neck are contracted, thus shortening the neck and displacing the head, after which the postural change continues down to the trunk and legs (Jones, 1996: 179). As these responses are much slower than the startle pattern, they can be changed through inhibiting “the first stage in the pattern, the head displacement, through which the rest of the pattern is propagated” (Jones, 1996: 179). Such inhibition gives a person the freedom to choose to respond in a more reasoned and appropriate way, instead of with a stereotyped reaction that may be harmful.

The misuse of the head and neck is always reflected as misuse in another part of the body, for instance as too much tension in one area, accompanied by a lack of muscle tone in another part of the body. Conversely, misuse in any part of the body can only be dealt with adequately once the primary control has been improved (Barlow, 1973: 40), confirming again the supremacy of the total pattern over the partial: “Condition

48 the total pattern, and the partial patterns will look after themselves” (De Alcantara, 1997: 33).

The misuse of the primary control has many causes. Apart from emotional states such as fear, anxiety or fatigue as mentioned above, the way a person uses him- or herself in any general or specialised activity can cause interference in the head-neck relationship. Bad postural habits in every day activities such as sitting, reading or walking can all cause the misuse of the primary control. A cellist might twist the head to look at the left hand, or a violinist might misuse the head, neck and back in an effort to hold the instrument up, exerting a most harmful effect on the primary control (De Alcantara, 1997: 32). Even attempts at improved posture can cause misuse of the primary control if a fixed, static position is adopted in an effort to be right.

The region at the base of the neck, known as the hump, is a “veritable maelstrom of muscular co-ordination” (Barlow, 1973: 42). The activities of the shoulders and upper-arms exert a distorting influence in this area, and the effects of stress and tension also accumulate in the muscles in this region. It is also from here “that the head itself – the structure that carries man’s most important sensory equipment of sight and hearing, taste and smell, and balance – has to be co-ordinated at rest and in movement” (Barlow, 1973: 42). Consideration of all these factors underlines how susceptible this area is to misuse, with a potentially harmful effect on the primary control.

Everyone is born with a primary control by virtue of having a head, neck and back, and while it mostly functions below the level of consciousness, it is possible to learn to use the primary control consciously, and in a more constructive way (De Alcantara, 1997: 26). This is accomplished not by doing something right, but through stopping the wrong thing from happening: the head is prevented from contracting into the spine (De Alcantara, 1997: 31). According to De Alcantara (1997: 31), there are many ways of changing the use of the primary control. For instance, a cellist can be prevented from twisting his neck in order to look at his left hand by having him look elsewhere. However, he believes the hands-on approach to be superior (De Alcantara, 1997: 32),

49 where Alexander teachers actively prevent the contraction of the head into the neck by using their hands, while guiding the pupil in carrying out everyday activities1.

Through improving the use of the primary control, positive changes can be made in all spheres of life. De Alcantara (1997: 34) gives the following three guidelines for solving problems (mental, physical, technical or musical): (1) the first consideration should always be to prevent interference with the natural workings of the primary control; (2) at best, all activities or exercises should enhance the natural workings of the primary control; (3) at worst, no procedure should ever require the misuse of the primary control.

Finally, the ability to use the primary control well depends on the reliability of sensory awareness, i.e. “the ability to gauge tension, effort and movement” (De Alcantara 1997: 194), which will be the subject of the next section.