Conscious Use of the Self: How the Alexander Technique Frees Habit | Tommy Thompson Class 43

❝ What happens if, just before I commit to the movement, I let my neck be free? ❞

It’s a simple question. But it may be the most radical and transformative one you ask yourself today.

On March 4, 2025, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Tommy Thomson led a deeply immersive class in the Alexander Technique teacher training course—a class that reached beyond posture or movement mechanics and straight into the realm of how we use ourselves.

This class wasn’t about fixing the body. It was about reclaiming the conscious use of the self—the ability to pause, to direct, and to let go of deeply embedded habits that interfere with our natural design.

In the framework of the Alexander Technique, this means something very specific: Before responding to a stimulus, you learn to inhibit the habitual pattern—the tightening, the shortening, the automatic doing—and instead give a new direction. You choose not to collapse into your history. You choose to let your neck be free.

That direction—“Let my neck be free to lengthen so my head moves away from the body, forward and up”—isn’t poetic. It’s physiological. It initiates a whole-body response: the spine lengthens, the torso widens, the nervous system calms. And your thinking, sensing, and being shift with it.

As Tommy emphasized, a moment is a movement. The present moment isn’t just where we live—it’s where we choose. And what we’re choosing is not only what to do, but how to be.

That is the heart of the conscious use of the self. Not a technique layered onto action, but a foundational change in how we relate to motion, perception, and decision. The Alexander Technique gives us the tools to live inside that possibility—not as a temporary correction, but as a way of being that honors our design.

It’s not about carefulness. It’s about awareness. Not about improvement. But about non-interference. Not about getting somewhere. But about inhabiting the moment, fully supported. You don’t need to change your life to begin. You just need to stop—right before the next movement—and ask:

“What happens if I choose to be conscious of how I use myself right now?

Key Objectives of the Class:

• To cultivate inhibition: the skill of pausing before habitual reaction.
• To explore the conscious use of the self as the foundation of coordination, clarity, and support.
• To apply directional thinking—e.g., letting the neck be free—in real time.
• To experience how kinesthetic awareness allows us to sense and redirect misuse.
• To reinforce that in the Alexander Technique, use is not mechanical—it includes thought, feeling, and perception working in harmony.
  

This blog series is based on Tommy Thompson’s Alexander Technique classes. Each post follows the flow and insights of the class to expand both self-awareness and practical consciousness applicable to everyday life.

New here?

If you’re new to the Alexander Technique, you can start with the resources below.

• What is the Alexander Technique?
• Who is Tommy Thompson?

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Alexander Technique Class Flow at a Glance

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1. The Opening Question

❝How are you choosing to exist right now?❞

This isn’t a question about posture. It’s about presence. In Class 43 of the Alexander Technique training, Tommy didn’t just ask us to move differently—he asked us to relate differently to ourselves. He introduced the practice of the conscious use of the self not as a correction, but as a shift in perception. It begins in the moment before movement—with the choice to pause, to inhibit, and to direct.

Tommy’s Word

“We just live the life that’s given to us, or the one we see others living. But if you really want to discover what’s available—what most people can’t even perceive—then honor that concept of use. Because it involves your physical self, emotional self, and perceptual self.”

Tommy’s words call for a radical shift—not in how we perform, but in how we perceive. To honor the concept of use is to stop functioning on autopilot and begin inhabiting the body with awareness, direction, and inhibition. These are not mechanical techniques—they are conscious choices that reshape how we exist from moment to moment.

The Alexander Technique teaches us that when we stop interfering, when we let the neck be free, when the spine is allowed to lengthen and the back to widen—not through effort, but through non-doing—we uncover what’s already there: support, clarity, and quiet integration.

This is the heart of the conscious use of the self. Not something you add, but something you remember—moment by moment.

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2. Core Learnings from This Class

Core Concepts

At the heart of this class was a deepening study of the Alexander Technique’s foundational principle: the conscious use of the self—a living, moment-to-moment process of awareness, inhibition, and direction.

Tommy guided trainees beyond the surface mechanics of posture and into a far more essential territory: how we meet ourselves at the threshold of action. Through subtle physical prompts and direct questions, he invited us to pause at the moment of stimulus, to resist the automatic pull of habit, and instead offer a conscious direction—not as a correction, but as an affirmation of our natural design.

This was not about “doing something better.” It was about doing less of what interferes, and allowing the body’s own intelligence to emerge. We practiced catching ourselves in the act of shortening, collapsing, gripping. And then, giving ourselves a chance—not to fix—but to redirect.
As Tommy said, “The moment is the movement. And you belong to the moment when you make a choice.”

This is the practical power and deep subtlety of the conscious use of the self. Not just a technique, but a way of living in tune with the organism we inhabit.

Five Key Messages

1. The change happens between stimulus and response. That gap is where choice lives.
2. Letting the neck be free is a conscious direction, not an effort.
3. Inhibition isn’t suppression—it’s the decision to allow a new possibility.
4. The body’s design doesn’t need fixing—it needs non-interference.
5. The conscious use of the self includes not only what you do, but how you perceive and relate to yourself.

Essential Terms

• Conscious Use of the Self
  The central principle of the Alexander Technique. This refers to the ongoing, moment-by-moment awareness of how we think, move, sense, and relate to ourselves. It involves recognizing habitual patterns, pausing through inhibition, and giving direction that invites the body to respond in line with its natural design. It’s not a correction—it’s a shift in being.
• Inhibition
  A conscious pause before action. It is not suppression, but an intentional decision not to follow a habitual impulse. Inhibition creates space for presence, for new choices, and for the body’s natural coordination to emerge.
  In Tommy’s words: “That’s the moment you explore yourself, instead of just living your life.”
• Direction
  A gentle, specific mental invitation that restores dynamic coordination through non-interference.
  The key direction in this class was: “Let my neck be free to lengthen so my head moves away from the body, forward and up.”
  This simple direction allows the spine to lengthen and the back to widen—not through effort, but through release.
• Interference
  Interference is what prevents the body’s natural reflexes from functioning: habitual contraction, over-efforting, or unconscious tightening. These patterns override innate coordination. As Tommy repeated: “The interference is contraction.”
• Cervical–Occipital Reflexes
  These are automatic postural reflexes involving the head and neck. They function naturally and effortlessly, but only when free from muscular interference, especially in the neck. When the neck is free, these reflexes support uprightness, balance, and sensory clarity without conscious control.
• Stimulus–Response
  The chain between what happens and how we react. The Alexander Technique focuses on the invisible moment in between—where inhibition can be applied. This is the moment where change becomes possible, and where direction can replace reaction.
• Kinesthetic Awareness
  The internal sense of movement, pressure, position, and balance. Often distorted by years of habit, it must be refined through direct experience. It is a core perceptual tool in the conscious use of the self—essential for noticing misuse and allowing redirection.

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3. Tommy’s Insights

In Tommy’s words during class, there are not only the core principles of the Alexander Technique, but also practical wisdom that can be applied directly to daily life. His words go beyond simple advice about movement and prompt us to deeply consider how we choose to exist.

4. Practical Tips for Everyday Life

What’s the Goal?

The goal isn’t to “improve your posture” or “sit up straight.” That mindset often leads to more tension, not less. The real aim—rooted in the Alexander Technique—is to restore your capacity for natural coordination by practicing the conscious use of the self. This means:

• Pausing before action instead of rushing forward
• Allowing direction rather than forcing control
• Trusting support instead of chasing perfection

You’re not trying to “do something right.” You’re learning to do less of what gets in the way.

How to Practice

The Alexander Technique isn’t something you add to your day—it’s something you bring into what you already do. Practice begins in the ordinary, automatic moments of daily life.

Try these three ways:

1. The Moment Before You Move
   Standing up from a chair. Reaching for your phone. Walking into a room. Pause. Ask:
   “What happens if, just before I move, I let my neck be free?”
   Then think the direction:
   “Let my neck be free to lengthen so my head moves away from the body, forward and up.”
   Don’t try to do it. Just think it. Let your body respond.
2. The Gratifying Moment
   In a moment of joy—listening to music, sipping coffee, or walking outside—observe how you use yourself when you’re happy. Can you stay aware?
   These are the moments when you can affirm your aliveness, not just correct dysfunction.
3. The Moment of Tension
   At your desk. In traffic. Mid-argument. When you feel yourself bracing or tightening—don’t try to relax. Instead, practice inhibition: Don’t respond immediately. Let your neck be free. Let your system unwind itself.
   As Tommy said, “There’s nothing wrong with you. But you can explore another option.”

What You’ll Notice

If you try this—gently, regularly—you may notice:

• More support, less effort
  Movement begins to feel lighter, more connected, less driven by will.
• Mental clarity
  When the body stops gripping, the mind settles. You’ll think more clearly.
• A shift in self-perception
  You stop trying to fix yourself. You start listening more deeply to what’s already there.

You may not feel dramatic change at first. But with each moment of conscious use, you’re laying down new patterns of presence—ones that support you not just physically, but as a person.

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5. Closing the Class

Key Takeaways

As the class came to a close, Tommy didn’t wrap things up with instructions—he left us with invitations. Not abstract ideas, but personal questions. Embodied ones.

• “How are you choosing to exist right now?”
• “What happens if you don’t do what you always do?”
• “Can you stay with yourself before you act?”

The real takeaway wasn’t something to memorize. It was something to return to—a living awareness of how you relate to movement, to perception, and to yourself. It wasn’t about being right. It was about being real. It was about recognizing that presence is a skill, and you can practice it anywhere—any time.

Core Insights

• The body doesn’t need correction. It needs cooperation.
  Your system already knows how to support you—if you stop interfering.
• Inhibition is freedom.
  It’s not about holding back. It’s about reclaiming the space between impulse and action.
• Awareness is not being careful.
  Being careful is rigid. Being aware is responsive. It’s alive.
• Use of the self is more than movement.
  It’s how you relate to thought, feeling, and perception—in real time.

These insights aren’t just reflections. They form the practical heart of what we train in, and they come alive through the ongoing practice of the conscious use of the self.

A Final Invitation

Tommy didn’t ask us to commit to perfection. He asked us to try—to meet our daily moments with a little more awareness, a little less automatic doing.

Try it in tension. Try it in joy. Try it when you’re listening, or walking, or hesitating. And especially:
Try it when you don’t feel like trying anything at all.
Because that is when the old patterns are loudest—and when change matters most.

This class wasn’t about doing more. It was about becoming more conscious of how you’re already using yourself. And discovering that you can choose differently, again and again. That’s not just technique. That’s freedom. It’s the freedom to choose who you are, in this moment.

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6. One Key Practice

There’s one thing that changes everything—if you remember it when it matters.

“Let my neck be free to lengthen so my head moves away from the body, forward and up.”

Say it to yourself—not as a command, but as a direction.
Don’t try to get it right. Don’t do it—think it.
Use it in the most ordinary moments:
Before you stand. Before you turn. Before you speak.

This simple invitation—without force, without correction—can shift how your entire system organizes. Because change doesn’t begin in what you do. It begins in what you choose not to do. That’s the practice.

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7. Three Questions to Ask Yourself

Real change doesn’t start with answers. It starts with the right questions.

Ask these—not to fix yourself, but to find yourself in the moment:

1. What happens if, just before I move, I choose to let my neck be free?
   → This opens the possibility of direction instead of reaction.
2. Am I using myself in a way that supports me—or in a way that repeats what I already know?
   → This invites awareness, even in what feels familiar.
3. Can I notice the moment before I act—and stay with it, just a second longer?
   → This is where inhibition lives. This is where freedom begins.

You don’t have to get the answers right. You just have to keep asking.

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8. For Those Who Wish to Learn More

Recommended Books

• The Use of the Self  – F. M. Alexander
  This is the foundational text by the creator of the Alexander Technique himself. In clear and personal language, Alexander describes how he discovered the power of inhibition, and how the conscious use of the self affects everything from voice to movement to well-being.
  The chapter “The Evolution of a Technique” offers a timeless look at what it means to stop, redirect, and allow your design to work for you. It’s philosophical—but profoundly practical when read slowly and applied thoughtfully.
  
• Body Learning – Michael J. Gelb
  This widely loved introduction makes the Alexander Technique accessible to modern readers. With relatable examples and everyday language, Gelb helps readers understand how their habits of use shape their experience—and how small changes in awareness can create large shifts in posture, emotion, and thinking.
  Ideal for those beginning to explore the conscious use of the self in daily life.

Official Website of Tommy Thompson

www.easeofbeing.com
This is the official website personally managed by Tommy Thompson, offering a wide range of resources and programs to deepen your understanding and practice of the Alexander Technique:

• Private session reservations and inquiries
• Workshop and seminar schedules
• Overview of international teacher training programs
• Essays and articles on the Alexander Technique

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9. Next Class Sneak Peek

What if the way you tune your instrument, adjust your seat, or breathe before a phrase is already showing you who you are? In the next class, we don’t work to improve posture. We step into something quieter, and far more radical: Use is Self. How you use yourself — the use of the self — is not separate from who you are. It is who you are.

Class 44 invites a different kind of change — not by fixing from the outside, but by entering the moment, and letting the moment shift you. What becomes possible when you stop correcting — and start listening? Not to the shape, but to the self inside the shape.

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10. Join the Alexander Technique Journey

Did this class leave a small resonance within you? Feel free to quietly hold it in your heart or share it in just a sentence or two. The comments are always open. Your one simple word may leave a gentle ripple in this ongoing journey.

The journey of Resonance Flow continues across social media as well. Let’s continue this journey together.