How do postural problems originate?

Posture is an interplay between "hardware," i.e. the bones and muscles, and "software" — how the brain tells the muscles to act on the bones to produce movement.

Some people experience pain or discomfort because they have been injured in an accident or born with a deformity. However the average person isn't born with distorted hardware — instead they create dysfunctional patterns of support through improper "use" of the body. Over time, these habits gradually become habitual.

For example, instead of elongating of their spines, most people compress them — often asymmetrically. Eventually what begins as a small distortion grows into a bigger one that then spawns a second generation of accommodation.

So the question becomes: how can you make the most effective use of the hardware by re–scripting dysfunctional software?

Which Activities Can Exacerbate Problems?
Think of all the skills you use in a typical day: walking, sitting, standing, chewing, speaking... the list goes on. If any or all of these activities have become distorted or unbalanced over time, Alexander Technique sessions can help "reprogram" the software glitches that underlie them.

Those who engage in repetitive motions such as driving, typing, horseback riding or playing an instrument are especially at risk, because the software dysfunction is reinforced and magnified by repetition. This also creates greater and greater dysfunction of the underlying bones and muscles.​​