The Undivided Self: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress [Paperback]

Theodore Dimon Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1999

Outlining the basic principles of the Alexander Technique--the objective of which is to gain conscious control over one's actions--The Undivided Self challenges the concept that mind and body are interacting systems. Once we become aware of damaging patterns, we can learn to break these habits and establish a new, beneficial approach to health that will help control and prevent anxiety, pain, and distress.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A unique and welcome contribution to the published literature on the work of F. Matthias Alexander."
-Walter Carrington, world renowned teacher of the Alexander Technique; Director, Constructive Teaching Centre in London

About the Author

Theodore Dimon, Ed.D. is Director of the Dimon Institute in New York City. Dr. Dimon became certified to teach the Alexander Technique in 1983 at the Constructive Teaching Centre in London, England, and received both his masters and doctorate degrees in Education from Harvard University. He is the author of The Elements of Skill and Anatomy of the Moving Body. For further information on the Dimon Institute, please contact:

The Dimon Institute
737 Park Avenue #9A
New York, New York 10021

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (January 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556432941
• ISBN-13: 978-1556432941
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Alexander Technique

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WE MOVE THEREFORE WE ARE, August 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Undivided Self: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress (Paperback)

This is the finest book available explaining the deeper significance of the mind/body work done by F. Mathias Alexander, creator of the Alexander Techinque. But what I liked most about reading it was its wonderfully fresh perspective on age-old human problems. For thousands of years, philoshophers have pondered the human condition from the standpoint of someone sitting under a tree. What Dimon sees is that perhaps our greatest gift is our ability to decide to get up. From his perspective, how and where we go tells us more about who we are than we might ever have thought possible. I urge anyone curious about life and eager to improve his or her own to give this book a try.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars learn to gain a greater awareness in living, February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Undivided Self: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress (Paperback)

Ted Dimon has written the definitive mind/body book, explaining how it is possible to reduce stress and tension by learning to gain a greater awareness in living. He articulates his view by conceiving of mind and body as a functional system which can be brought under conscious control, making possible, not simply therapeutic improvement in health, but the potential for becoming fully conscious of action and behavior. The book also provides the foundation for a theory of stress that recognizes the possibility for education, and not treatment, as the basis for identifying the causes of stress.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an Alexander book for doctors and psychologists, August 29, 2000

By 

D. Jack Elliot (Omaha, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Undivided Self: Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress (Paperback)

Where F. M. Alexander's own writings read almost like philosophy, Dimon's book is more grounded, with the feel of a psychology textbook. It's a distinctly objective approach, an argument for the Technique with the logical impact of a medical journal.

Cautious or skeptical people who hear the success stories of others who have overcome physical problems with the Alexander Technique say, "OK, so what is the technique? How does it work?" It can be hard to get a straight answer - it's a complicated issue, and in any event the only way to really understand the Technique is to experience it for yourself with a teacher. If an intellectual introduction is what you're after, though, and if your approach to this sort of thing is more empirical, this is the book for you.