Frederick Matthias Alexander was born in Tasmania in 1869. After a time in his early twenties in Sydney, he moved to London, England in 1904 where he worked as an actor and reciter.
While reciting Shakespeare Alexander regularily developed a clergyman’s sore throat. Since doctors couldn’t find any physical reason for his problem, he came to the conclusion that something he did himself had to cause his bad condition. When he saw his habits in the mirror, however, he was unable to change them immediately and free himself from them.
Through years of research and experimentation, Alexander developed a method that made it possible to recognize habitual patterns, overcome the limitations they create, and move more freely and healthily.
Alexander wrote four books, while “The Use of the Self”, first published in 1932, is probably his most important. From the early twenties of the 20th century, Alexander began to train students to teach his technique.