The Role of Imagery in the Alexander Technique: Why It Can Be Unhelpful

The Alexander Technique is a method of re-educating the mind and body to move with greater ease, efficiency, and awareness. While the technique has helped countless people improve their physical coordination, reduce tension, and enhance performance, there is an ongoing debate about the use of imagery within its practice. Some teachers and practitioners argue that imagery can be a useful tool, while others believe it can be counterproductive, which is what FM Alexander also believed. 

There's an element of individual personality at play here, some teachers and pupils really enjoy playing with imagery, and feel they benefit from it. I wouldn't go so far as to criticise those that do, but I would encourage them to at least be mindful of it's limitations.

Imagery, in the context of movement and "bodywork", involves using mental pictures or metaphors to guide physical actions. For example, a runner might imagine their spine as a string being pulled upward to improve their posture, or thinking of the pelvis as a bowl of water, kept level to avoid "spilling" and maintain pelvic neutrality. While imagery can be a powerful tool in certain disciplines, its application in the Alexander Technique is more nuanced—and often problematic.

To understand why imagery can be unhelpful, it’s important to first grasp a few core principles of the Alexander Technique:

• Inhibition: Learning to pause and prevent automatic, habitual reactions.
• Direction: Sending conscious mental directions to the body to encourage natural alignment and coordination.
• Awareness: Cultivating a heightened sense of self-awareness to recognize habitual patterns of tension and movement.

The Alexander Technique is fundamentally about unlearning harmful habits and allowing the body to move in a more natural, integrated way. It emphasizes process over outcome, and thinking over doing.

1. Encourages End-Gaining: End-gaining is a term used in the Alexander Technique to describe focusing on the end result (e.g., standing up straight) rather than the process of how you get there. Imagery often encourages end-gaining by creating a mental picture of what the body "should" look like or feel like. This can lead to forcing or manipulating the body into a position, rather than allowing it to find balance and ease organically. Imagery also tends to be static which encourages end-gaining and fixed behaviour.
2. Can Reinforce Habitual Patterns: Imagery is often based on familiar concepts or metaphors, which means it can inadvertently reinforce existing habits. For example, imagining the body as a "marionette being pulled up by strings" might seem helpful, but it could also encourage pulling the head back or lifting the shoulders—common habits that the Alexander Technique seeks to undo. Instead of fostering new, more efficient patterns, imagery can perpetuate old ones.
3. Overcomplicates the Process: The Alexander Technique is about simplicity and clarity. It encourages direct, conscious thinking rather than relying on abstract or metaphorical ideas. Imagery can add an unnecessary layer of complexity, making it harder to focus on the fundamental principles of the technique. For example, rather than imagining the head being pulled upwards by a helium filled balloon, the Alexander Technique would encourage simply thinking about allowing the head to release upward in relation to the spine.
4. Distracts from Sensory Awareness: One of the key goals of the Alexander Technique is to develop a clear, unbiased awareness of how the body is functioning. Imagery, however, can create mental constructs that override or distort this sensory feedback. For example, imagining the spine as a "straight rod" might lead to overcorrecting and stiffening, rather than allowing the spine to find its natural, dynamic alignment. This can disconnect practitioners from their actual experience, making it harder to notice and release unnecessary tension.
5. Risk of Misinterpretation: Imagery is highly subjective, and what works for one person might not work for another. A metaphor that resonates with one individual could confuse or mislead someone else. This variability can make it difficult for teachers to communicate effectively and for students to apply the principles consistently. This was F.M. Alexanders main concern with the use of imagery, you can never tell what someone is going to do with it.

Instead of relying on imagery, the Alexander Technique emphasizes "thinking in activity." This involves:

• Inhibition: Becoming aware of what interference patterns to normal functioning looks like, and learning to prevent (inhibit) them.
• Non-Doing: Avoiding the urge to "fix" or "do" something to the body, and instead trusting the process of inhibition and direction.
• Process-Oriented Thinking: Prioritizing how you move rather than the outcome of the movement.

By focusing on these principles, you can cultivate a more accurate sensory awareness and develop healthier movement patterns without the interference of mental constructs.

Whilst I don't personally offer imagery to my pupils, it's not uncommon for pupils to have or develop imagery of their own. In this case, if I can observe that their imagery is being associated with the good coordination I've helped them to unlock, it's not necessarily unhelpful. It can produce a Pavlovian type response, although it must be said that Alexander was against employing Pavlovian thinking. And all though imagery may unlock a door for someone to better coordination, once you're through the door you no longer need the key. Also, as changes unfold, an image that was useful today, may not be useful tomorrow. I encourage my pupils to not cling to specific imagery, that it can out live it's usefulness.

There's also grey area in considering thought experiments, which I occasionally use, which although may include imagery, are directly analogous to physical reality. As such, I personally don't consider thought experiments to be "imagery". Metaphors can also be useful, but I think it's possible to question whether metaphors are imagery.

While imagery can be a valuable tool in other disciplines, its use in the Alexander Technique is often unhelpful. It can distract from sensory awareness, encourage end-gaining, reinforce habitual patterns, overcomplicate the process, and lead to misinterpretation. Instead, the Alexander Technique invites you to engage in clear, direct thinking and to trust the natural intelligence of the organism. By letting go of imagery and focusing on the principles of awareness, inhibition, and direction, you can move with greater ease, freedom, and coordination.