The West shows a continuing interest in the Eastern-imported techniques and wisdom that extol transcendentalism and respect for the laws of the Universe. Such techniques are very numerous, some better known than others, such as Yoga and Zen, the latter now having become terms of common linguistic usage and suffering a loss of meaning as a result.
Even though the techniques in question seek a goal of unity, there is in the Western style of living very little that is compatible with the needs and life patterns of the societies in which such techniques originated.
Applying the directions for adopting the meditation postures presented by certain schools is often a great challenge for the Western rational mind and divided thinking.
Such thinking hardly comprehends that establishing the right conditions for meditation does not come naturally, that it is not enough to will, and that adopting a position propitious to detachment leads often to something other than a fresh encounter with oneself and the world outside.
Because the Alexander Technique teaches how to allow to the postural mechanisms to function freely, enabling the body to adopt postural patterns specific to an imposed position, it can help the meditation aspirant to consciously create the right physical conditions to enable him/her to achieve a more complete unity of self in the context of a given meditation exercise. The specific directions given by instructors will be understood much more concretely when the aspirant will have had the experience of a body accepting without resistance to be directed consciously towards a better equilibrium and within a broader sphere of awareness, embracing internal and external perceptions.
