The Alexander Technique can be understood and applied through various principles.                             The following are the most essential principles of the Technique:

Primary Control: Primary Control is an innate postural reflex and organizing force in the human body. It is a natural and dynamic momentum that counters gravity, leads the torso upwards, and elicits the lengthening of the entire spinal column.  F.M. Alexander used the term specifically to describe the dynamic relationship of the head, neck, and torso.  The quality of this primary relationship directly impacts the quality of a person’s movement and overall functioning.  The Alexander Technique seeks to restore this natural and dynamic relationship.

Awareness: F.M. Alexander used the word “awareness” to describe an increased knowledge and understanding of how we use the mind, body, and senses in activity.  With awareness we learn to observe habitual tendencies in movement, increase understanding of the mechanics of the human body, and refine sensory awareness.  The Alexander Technique seeks to improve the awareness of how we use ourselves in movement.

Inhibition: Inhibition is the space between stimulus and response. F.M. Alexander intended this word to describe a temporary suspension or delay in how we respond to a stimulus. Inhibition gives us the time and space to move in a way that is different from our habits, allowing room for new and improved patterns of movement.  With inhibition we learn how to stop interfering with our greatest efficiency of movement.

Direction: Direction can be defined as the energy we send through our bodies to perform an activity.  Because of the force of habit, many of us misdirect our energy; sending too much or too little to the wrong places.  The Alexander Technique teaches us how to redirect our energy to more efficiently perform any movement, task, or activity.  As we direct ourselves into movement, we are speaking to our bodies with our thinking.  Direction is a tool for guiding and supporting the body in accordance with the principles that govern human movement.

Use and Functioning: Alexander spoke of the “self” as a whole entity, an inseparable unity of body and mind. "The Use of the Self” can be described as the total manner in which a person reacts to any movement, task, or activity.  The quality of use directly affects the quality of functioning in an individual.

Faulty Sensory Awareness: Alexander is often quoted as saying, “Everyone wants to be right, but no one stops to consider if their idea of right is right.”  Because our habits of movement feel right to us, it is often difficult to know when they are actually putting us in the wrong.  The Alexander Technique teaches us to rely not upon our feeling, but upon our thinking, to gain a more accurate sensory awareness.

Ends and Means: If we set out to achieve a desired result in any activity, without stopping to consider how to best achieve this result, we will invariably respond in a habitual way.  Alexander referred to this phenomenon as “end-gaining”, and found this to be a major obstacle to changing habits.  Through Inhibition we learn to stop end-gaining and to pay attention to the quality of how we achieve our end.  Alexander described this as paying attention to the “means-whereby”.  It is the principle of gaining a desired end by emphasizing process rather than result.