Embracing the Unknown: How the Alexander Technique Transforms Habit Change

"Trying is only emphasizing the thing we know already." - F.M. Alexander

We’ve all been there: vowing to sit up straight, quit slouching, or stop clenching our jaws, only to fall back into old patterns within days. The problem isn’t a lack of effort—it’s that trying harder often means repeating the same strategies. This is where the Alexander Technique, offers a radical shift: real change begins not by trying harder, but by stepping into the unknown.

When we “try” to change a habit, we default to what’s familiar. If you “try” to sit straighter, you might stiffen your shoulders or arch your back—the same misguided tactics you’ve always used. This is why effort alone fails: trying is the recycling of old patterns. As F.M. Alexander, founder of the Alexander Technique, famously observed, “You can’t do something you don’t know if you keep doing what you do know.”

Habits are wired into our nervous system. To rewire them, we must interrupt the autopilot—and that requires venturing beyond the comfort of the known.

The Alexander Technique teaches us to recognize and undo harmful habits through two core principles: inhibition (pausing before reacting) and direction (consciously guiding movement). Unlike quick fixes, it’s a process of unlearning.

For example, chronic slouching isn’t just a physical issue—it’s also a deeply ingrained response to stress, boredom, or distraction. The Alexander Technique asks us to pause (inhibit) the urge to “fix” our posture and instead explore new ways of organizing the body, like balancing the head, neck, and spine (“primary control”) with minimal tension. This feels foreign at first because it bypasses the muscle memory driving the habit.

Doing the unknown is uncomfortable. Letting go of familiar tension in your shoulders might make you feel vulnerable; moving with ease instead of force could seem inefficient. But this discomfort is where growth happens.

Neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself—thrives on novelty. When we approach habits with curiosity rather than effort, we create space for new neural pathways. The Alexander Technique leverages this by:

1. Building Awareness: Observing habits without judgment (e.g., noticing how you grip a pen or slump when scrolling).
2. Pausing Before Reacting: Breaking the cycle of stimulus → habitual response.
3. Choosing Fresh Responses: Experimenting with lighter, freer movements.

The first time I deeply experienced the importance of going into the unknown was back when I was training to become an Alexander Technique teacher. As the training progressed I was challenged more for my own growth and learning, when I hit a point where I felt my trainers were asking the impossible of me. My usual reaction to this, and the one common to most people, was to add resistance to what I was being asked to do. Naturally this increased the interference to movement through undue tightening.

Eventually I decided it wasn’t my problem if my teachers were demanding the impossible of me, I'd let them take responsibility for things going wrong. And that's when I discovered how wrong you can be about going wrong.

Through the process I found I was liberated into a new freedom of movement. It was still psychologically confounding, but from then on I simply submitted to going wrong under the teacher's guidance, and repeatedly found I was wrong in that assumption. Of course, statistically sometimes things do occasionally go wrong, but the more you attempt to prevent that, the more often you generate an interference pattern that encourages going wrong in the first place. That's the paradox. 

1. Pause and Observe: Next time you catch yourself in a habit (e.g., hunching over a screen), wait. Notice the tension without trying to “correct” it.
2. Say “No” to the Usual: Resist the urge to “sit up straight.” Instead, let your intention be for the crown, or back of your head, to guide you upwards to release the spine into length.
3. Embrace Awkwardness: Allow the new pattern to feel strange. Trust that inefficiency today builds ease tomorrow.
4. Repeat Mindfully: Gradually integrate these pauses into daily life—while walking, typing, or even breathing.

The Alexander Technique isn’t about doing more—it’s about allowing more. By releasing the need to control outcomes, we tap into our body’s innate wisdom. It’s a practice of humility: admitting that our habitual “trying” may be the very obstacle to change.

As you navigate habit shifts, ask: Am I repeating the past, or am I willing to meet the unknown? The answer might just redefine what it means to change.

Final Thought: Transformation begins where effort ends. Let the unknown be your guide.

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