Books, DVDs & CDs

Many books and articles have been published on the Alexander Technique and some DVDs and CDs are also now available. While these can never be a substitute for direct experience, they can provide an idea of what the Technique is about, as well as providing useful further insights once you begin lessons. A selection of those which I think may be of most interest is listed below. These and other publications can be obtained from general bookstores/on-line suppliers or from specialist book and DVD/CD suppliers. Do check out the specialist suppliers; not only will you be supporting small independent businesses but sometimes they are cheaper than the multinationals, even including postage and packing.

• Books
• DVDs
• CDs

Books

• Body, breath and being. Carolyn Nicholls. D&B Publishing; ISBN 978-1-904468-42-4
  this would be a very good book to read when you first start lessons. It is written almost as a series of notes, explaining how Alexander Technique relates to daily life, and also has some great pictures
• Body learning. Michael Gelb. Aurum Press; ISBN 1-85410-959-6
  often regarded as one of the best introductions to the Alexander Technique.
• FM, The life of Frederick Matthias Alexander, Founder of the Alexander Technique. Michael Bloch. Little Brown; ISBN 0-316-86048-4
  perhaps the most comprehensive biography available.
• Freedom to change. Frank Pierce Jones. Mouritz; ISBN 0-9525574-7-9
  a commentary on the life of FM Alexander, combined with a description of the author's own scientific studies on the Technique.
• How you stand, how you move, how you live. Missy Vineyard. Marlowe and Company; ISBN 13-978-1-60094-006-4
  this comprehensive and thoughtful book will be of interest whether you are new to the Technique or have studied it for many years. It is also my personal favourite.
• The Alexander principle. Wilfred Barlow. Orion; ISBN 0-75284-390-7
  an account of the Technique by a medical doctor who trained as a teacher with FM Alexander.
• The Alexander Technique Manual. Richard Brennan. Connections Book Publishing; ISBN 1-85906-163-X
• The art of changing. Glen Park. Ashgrove Publishing; ISBN 1-85398-130-3
  the first half of this book comprises an easy-to-read introduction to the Technique.
• The art of swimming. Steven Shaw and Armand D'Angour. Ashgrove Publishing; ISBN 1-85398-140-0
  the Alexander Technique applied to swimming.
• The expanding self. Goddard Binkley. STAT books; ISBN 0-9519304-3-5
  a personal account of lessons with FM Alexander by someone who went on to train as a teacher.
• The use of the self. FM Alexander. Orion; ISBN 0-75284-391-5
  the most accessible of FM Alexander's four books.

Top

DVDs

• Art of swimming: The Shaw method
  the Alexander Technique applied to swimming.
• For dancers, The Alexander Technique, with Jane Kosminsky. ISBN 0-9674335-1-7
  Alexander Technique applied to dance, featuring workshop at the Juillard school (New York). Also contains archival footage of FM Alexander.

CDs

• The art of changing. Glen Park. Ashgrove Publishing; ISBN 1-85398-148-6
  an accompaniment to the book of the same name.