Years ago (1992), I was giving a lesson in the Alexander Technique to a young theater student. I was working with him seated in a chair and having difficulty getting him to “lighten up.” When my verbal suggestions and light (but still novice) hands-on cues failed to produce change, I happened to suggest that he imagine that he is a cheetah looking over a savanna for prey. Being a suggestion (an image) I had heard from a teacher before, it obviously worked for him in a way that my earlier approaches had not. He “shot up” in stature (without leaving the chair). This event of providing a student with “colorful” direction marked the beginning of years of experimentation with imagery… and numerous new levels of excitement and understanding in my work as well as pain relief and freedom within myself.

The development of the imagery initially began as a result of my effort to describe the Alexander Technique through illustration to people unfamiliar with it. Musing on my own drawings of simplified evolution brought about my first new principle, which relates to the appropriate relationship between the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body. This principle partly sprang from contemplating a portion of a principle of the Alexander Technique, which was “… back to lengthen and widen.” From there grew an awareness that imagery could provide new knowledge and additional principles of healthy posture and body use.