Don't Chase The Dragon: Why the Alexander Technique "Wow" Feeling Isn't the Goal

One of the easiest traps to fall into when learning the Alexander Technique is the desire to repeat that first big “wow” moment—the feeling of lightness, ease, or spaciousness that often follows a lesson. It can feel like a sudden awakening, as though a weight has lifted and the world has shifted. You stand up, walk around, and feel… amazing. Lighter, taller, freer, as if years of tension have melted away. It’s understandable to want to bottle that feeling, to chase it down and hold onto it forever.

But here’s the crucial, perhaps counterintuitive, truth of Alexander work: Chasing that specific "wow" feeling is like chasing a dragon – elusive, ultimately unproductive, and a sign you might be misunderstanding real progress.

That incredible feeling of lightness and ease you experience post-lesson is primarily a feeling of contrast. It’s the dramatic shift away from your deeply ingrained, unconscious habits of tension, compression, and misuse. Your nervous system, suddenly freed from its usual patterns, shouts, "Whoa! This is different! This feels incredible!" It’s the shock of the new, the relief of release.

1. It’s Rooted in the Old: That intense "wow" feeling only exists because you started the lesson (or your own Constructive Rest/Semi-supine) with significant habitual interference. To recreate the intensity of that contrast, you’d paradoxically need to reintroduce or maintain a significant level of that old tension and compression first, just so releasing it feels dramatic again. This is the opposite of progress.
2. It Keeps You Starting Over: If you measure success solely by whether you recapture that initial high, you’ll constantly feel like you’re failing or back at square one. You’ll be trying to manufacture a specific sensation rather than cultivating a new, quieter way of being.
3. It Distracts from Subtlety: Real, lasting Alexander progress is often subtle. It happens in the background, rewiring your responses, creating more space and ease as your new baseline. It’s not always fireworks; often, it’s the absence of a familiar ache or the quiet ability to pause before reacting. 

Here’s the beautiful, liberating paradox: A diminishing "wow" feeling is often the clearest sign you’re making genuine, integrated progress. 

• Why? As you consistently apply the Alexander principles of inhibition and direction in your daily life, your baseline level of unnecessary tension lowers. The habitual "noise" you started with decreases. Therefore, the contrast between your usual state and a state of improved use becomes less extreme. The shift is still happening – you’re still releasing interference and finding greater ease – but the jump isn’t as jarringly dramatic.
• You haven’t lost the ability you’ve changed the starting point. The dragon isn’t gone; it’s become smaller and less fearsome because you’re no longer feeding it with the same level of unconscious habit.

The real value of the work shows up when that “wow” starts to fade. This doesn’t mean the Technique has stopped working; it means your system has recalibrated. What once felt dramatic and unusual now feels normal. The habits that created the old sense of heaviness or compression are no longer so dominant. You may not feel the same contrast, but you’re living the benefit.

 So, if not the big "wow," what should you look for? 

1. Reduction in Deep-Seated Habits: Notice that the old, familiar grips and collapses (slumping at the desk, tightening your neck when stressed, holding your breath) happen less frequently and with less intensity. They lose their automatic, overwhelming power.
2. Quicker Recovery: On "bad" days (which still happen – we’re human!), you find it easier to notice the old pattern creeping in and have the tools to gently redirect yourself. You bounce back faster.
3. Subtle, Sustainable Ease: A background sense of more space, easier breathing, a feeling of being more grounded and present without the intense high. Movement feels more fluid and less effortful as a general rule.
4. Finding "Room" in the Moment: Instead of needing a massive shift, you consistently find small moments of "more room" – a little more length here, a little less tightening there, available to you throughout your day. It feels accessible and manageable.
5. Improved Functioning: Less pain, more stamina, greater clarity of thought, enhanced coordination, the practical benefits stemming from reduced interference.

Put simply, progress in the Alexander Technique often looks like this:

• The big highs become less frequent.
• The bad days don’t feel quite so bad.
• The range between “good” and “bad” narrows.
• You can spot tension or compression earlier, and gently redirect yourself in the moment.

Don’t mourn the fading intensity of the initial "wow." Celebrate it! It means the Alexander Technique is doing its deep work, integrating into your nervous system. You’re not constantly starting from a place of high tension; you’re operating from a quieter, freer baseline.

The aim isn't to recapture the fireworks of contrast. The aim is to live with less interference, more choice, and a sustainable sense of integrated ease. It’s about letting go of the dragon chase and settling into the calmer, more spacious landscape you’ve been creating.

So when you notice the "wow" feeling is subtler, smile. It’s not a sign you’ve lost the magic. It’s a sign the magic is becoming your new normal. That’s real progress. That’s freedom.