These are school pictures of Thomas, a young student of mine who developed “text neck.” The picture on the left is from 2015 before Alexander Technique lessons and the picture on the right is from 2016 after Alexander Technique lessons. Can you notice Thomas’s improved posture and alertness?
CHILDREN AND TEENS
How the Alexander Technique Can Help Children and Teens
Young children have natural and proper body poise and movement. They sit, stand, and move with ease and without tension. As children grow older they can lose this natural ability and develop unhealthy postural habits and tension. This condition or state is caused by the following:
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Unconscious imitation of adults and peers.
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Stressful situations and conditions.
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The perceived need and desire to “end-gain.”
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Protective response after injury.
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Poor design of classroom furniture.
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Teachers of the Alexander Technique community are seeing a great deal of postural problems in children at an alarmingly young age. These unhealthy habits become more difficult to change as time passes as children soon accept the unnatural way of using themselves.
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An example of imitation leading to poor postural habits is how children and teens mimic each other in the use of smartphones and tablets. When viewing the screens in these devices they pull their heads forward and down while collapsing their neck and back. This as you may have seen is called “text neck."