Fascial Unwinding and the Alexander Technique

Unlocking the Psychophysical Library

Mika Hadar-Borthwick

Introduction

There are moments in life when healing unfolds not through doing more, but through listening differently.

The Alexander Technique and Fascial Release—particularly as explored through Cranio-Sacral Therapy—have each, in their own way, taught me how to listen to the body more deeply. They speak different dialects of the same language—of presence, attention, and trust in the body’s inner wisdom.

When combined, these two gentle yet potent approaches offer a powerful gateway to improved coordination, ease, and self-awareness. Together, they help release long-held tension, deepen proprioception, and invite transformation from within—without force, without correction.

Fascia Tells Our Life Story

Fascia is the vast connective web that surrounds and penetrates every muscle, bone, nerve, and organ. It gives shape and coherence to the body, responding constantly to both physical use and emotional experience.

As Ida Rolf described it, fascia is "the organ of posture." It doesn’t just hold us together structurally—it remembers. Fascia adapts, but it also absorbs; it stores patterns of strain, gestures of protection, echoes of injury, and even emotional responses that were never expressed.

In this way, fascia becomes a kind of psychophysical library, quietly archiving our life stories—both told and untold.

The Psychophysical System

F.M. Alexander’s insight into the indivisibility of body and mind remains as relevant today as ever. He used the term psychophysical to describe the integrated nature of the human being, where thoughts, emotions, movement, and breath form one undivided experience.

In this light, working with fascia is not only a physical process. It’s also a process of remembering, of giving space for the deeper layers of ourselves to be heard and released—not through effort, but through awareness and respectful contact.

A Personal Story

I arrived at this understanding not through theory, but through personal experience.

Years ago, after a serious car accident, I found myself living with chronic pain and physical restrictions that made even walking a challenge. Discovering the Alexander Technique was, quite literally, life-changing. It gave me back a sense of poise, a way to move with greater consciousness and less effort. Through regular practice, I learned to inhabit my body again—with presence, confidence, and a growing sense of lightness.

Yet some pain remained. The fractured coccyx from the accident, for instance, continued to echo discomfort into my everyday movements, especially when sitting. The Alexander work helped me manage it—but it didn’t fully resolve the deeper holding.

It wasn’t until I began exploring Cranio-Sacral Therapy and the delicate, intuitive process of fascial unwinding that something shifted within me. In those quiet sessions—without trying to fix or correct—the body released. The held tension in my coccyx began to soften and settle, as if responding to a long-awaited invitation. Other subtle pain patterns—particularly around the neck—melted away with deeper listening and less doing.

This experience changed how I work—not only with others but with myself.

To me, the Alexander Technique and fascial unwinding are now companions on the same path. The Technique brings clarity and direction; it restores the possibility of choice. Fascial unwinding, in turn, works like a quiet, inner hand—gently loosening bindings held beneath conscious awareness. When the two meet, the body remembers its original coherence. Healing doesn’t have to be pushed—it simply emerges.

Fascial Release: Unlocking Stored Patterns

Fascial Release, as practised in Cranio-Sacral work and related modalities, is a non-invasive, deeply intuitive process. It allows the body to unwind long-held patterns arising from injury, trauma, or emotional tension—without imposing anything from the outside.

When given the right environment—quiet, safe, and present—the body will often guide itself into spontaneous, subtle movements. These are not exercises, but expressions of inner intelligence, frequently shaped by forgotten or unexpressed layers of experience.

The Art of Listening

Fascial unwinding is less about doing, and more about allowing. A typical process may involve:

• Setting a clear and mindful intention (inhibition)

• Gently engaging the tissue with open hands

• Waiting and listening—noticing the first signs of movement

• Following that movement with patience and presence

• Pausing at the edge of resistance—not pushing, but holding space

• Allowing release to happen in its own time

• Trusting the process and remaining aware of the whole system

The Alexander Technique: Mindfulness in Use

The Alexander Technique invites a different kind of unwinding—one that takes place through attention, direction, and Inhibition-the conscious refusal to interfere. It’s an educational method that cultivates awareness of habitual patterns and offers new choices for how we inhabit and move through the world.

Key principles include:

• Inhibition: The conscious pause before responding

• Direction: A gentle mental intention toward length, width, and flow

• Primary Control: The dynamic, central coordination of head, neck, and back

Where fascial unwinding listens inward, the Alexander Technique guides outward—offering a framework for changing patterns with clarity and intelligence. It teaches us not to fix ourselves, but to relate differently to effort, movement, and thought.

Different Roles, Shared Presence

In fascial unwinding, the practitioner listens with their hands, offering a non-judgmental presence that allows the client's body to lead the way. The client remains passive, trusting the process and allowing what’s ready to move to emerge.

In the Alexander Technique, the relationship is more dialogical. The teacher and student share a field of conscious engagement—through touch, language, and attention. Here, the student becomes actively aware, participating in a process of self-discovery and redirection.

Both roles are based on presence and respect, but the mode of engagement differs. And in truth, the two can flow into each other.

Synergies and Integration

Bringing the two together, we enter a space where:

• Awareness deepens

• Tension patterns release

• Breath softens

• Posture becomes effortless

• Memory and movement harmonise

Together, they offer:

• A shared emphasis on inhibition and non-doing

• A softening of chronic or unconscious holding

• A respectful, non-invasive approach to healing and learning

• A focus on process rather than performance

• An invitation to embodiment, not effort

In Practice

In an integrated session, the two approaches might interweave:

• Begin in stillness, allowing the body to be met and listened to

• Use fascial listening to release the deeper, protective layers

• Introduce Alexander directions subtly, as awareness re-emerges

• Alternate between passive unwinding and active redirection

• End with space for integration—observing what has shifted, without needing to explain it

Benefits of the Integrated Approach

• Greater ease in movement and coordination

• Deeper release of physical and emotional holding patterns

• Increased postural awareness without rigidity

• Restored proprioception and self-trust

• A sense of wholeness and embodied presence

• Support for trauma release in a safe, non-verbal way

Conclusion

For me, this integration continues to evolve. I no longer see healing as linear or singular. Rather, I see it as a spiral—a gentle unfolding of the self, layer by layer.

The Alexander Technique brings a conscious framework. Fascial unwinding brings focused listening. Between them lies a field of deep listening, mutual trust, and transformation. That’s where I meet my clients-student —and myself.

In the end, the body is not something to control, but something to befriend. It remembers what we’ve forgotten. It softens when we stop trying to fix it. And it opens—beautifully, humbly—when we simply begin to listen and to direct.