THE FUNCTION OF THE SUB-OCCIPITAL MUSCLES.

THE

KEY

TO POSTURE, FUNCTIONING.
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USE

AND

A. MURDOCH, M.B., C.M. S some of you know I have been interested for many years in the subject o f Posture, particulariy in its relation t o the work of F. Matthias Alexander, who has taught for more than 30 years that in the control o f the head lies the secret of correct use and functioning o f t h e body. Up t o now, his theory and practice have n o t received the attention they merited, the reason being, I think, that no Anatomical o r Physiological Mechanism could' be shown t o exist t o produce the effects which resulted. N o one could doubt the fact, that results were obtained, but as in so many other methods, the sceptical attributed them t o some form of auto-suggestion or other seiC deception. When I was elected President o f t h e Sussex Branch of the B.M.A." I used the occasion of the Presidential Address t o refer t o Alexander's work, and as the result of the publication of a Synopsis of it, i received a request from the Editor of the Journal ofMassage and Medical Gymnastics t o write a paper on Posture with special reference t o Alexander's Theory. While searching for fresh material for this paper, I examined the dissection of the Sub-occipital region as shown in the Edinburgh Stereoscopic Atlas of Anatomy, since which time I
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have also examined the dissected specimen in the Royal College of Surgeons' Museum. W i t h the idea dominant in my mind of the head being a weighty mass, poised on the summit of the vertebral column, the peculiar and distinctive arrangement of the muscles seen i n the Sub-occipital space seemed t o me t o be such a might have been designed purposely for holding the s head securely on the joint, and for giving it the necessary movements i n the delicate function of balancing, in a manner comparable somewhat t o the balancing o f the eyeball by the ocular muscles. The muscles in the group are the following : Rectus Capitis Posticus Major and Minor, Superior and Inferior oblique (posteriorly). Rectus Lateralis (one each side), Rectus Capitis Anticus Major and Minor (anteriorly). They all arise from the Atlas o r Axis, and their function would appear t o be that of moving the head at the Atlanto Occipital and .4tlanto Axial joints. This ring of muscles i s inside the large muscles of the neck, whose origins are wide-spread and whose insertions are connected with the Cervical Vertebrre as well as with the head, so that they are really body and neck muscles as well as head muscles. They are not purely head muscles like the Suboccipital group. The appearance in the photograph as well as in the dissected specimen i s as if the head were poised on the tips ofso many fingers, represented by the Sub-occipital muscles which act as so many muscula; ties between the head and the first t w o Vertebrre. I sought the opinion of the Assistant Curator of the Museum and Dr. Cave kindly wrote me this letter : in reply t o your queries, the head (skull) and first t w o vertebrzs are associated intimately on grounds of development
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the profoundest modifications in their structure and development i n consequence of their being handmaids of the Cranial Globe as functionally they are through life. Special ligaments specially differentiated muscles serve t o maintain this close association and the Upper Cervical Pole of the X-ray is simply a manifestation of this anatomic physiological entity-the Cervico-Cranium.'' Here then is an association of parts-Cranial Globe, Atlas and Axis and Sub-occipital muscles, related in development, in structure and function, but tlre function of the combination has never been alluded to, much less defined. My observations and Dr. Cave's views of the relationship between the Cranial Globe and the Vertebrzs and the Suboccipital muscles raise the following questiolis : Has this system, "this apparatus," any special function ? Does it contain a mechanism which we can d ~ r e c and use t o t control ourselves ? Has it any relation t o Alexander's theory of the Primary Control and his technique t o re-educate it ? The function of balancing requires a co-ordinating apparatus. Wright says " t h e Vestibulap apparatus serves t o adapt the position of the t r u n k and limbs t o that o f the head and it supplies afferent impulses which enable the erect position of the head and the normal attitude ofthe body t o be maintained." An extract from Dr. B. Kinnear Wilson's Modern Problems in Neurology (page 130), is most explicit a to the influence of the s head i n determining every attitude of the body, but like every other authority gives no indication as t o what muscular mechanism causes the " displacements " o r movements of the head. This i s the extract : "The apparatus for the auto
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gross anatomy (human and comparative) and function. The name I coined for this apparatus (Arris and Gale Lecture, 1932) was Cervico-Cranium, a term of convenience if not of s t r i c t Etymology. Both Atlas and Axis suffer
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unpublished,

regulation of attitude must be in being if cortical excitations are t o effect movements and acts. Winekler expresses the same idea when he says that with each displacement of the head a given attitude ofthe whole body i s determined and it follows that for each voluntary movement the body Finds itself in such a
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it, for i t s special function, and my suggestion is that the Sub-

I '

position as t o enable the appropriate contraction of the muscles t o be attained at the moment o f production of that voluntary movement." This is Alexander's theory in a nutshell, as the dominating influence of the head, which he called the Primary Control, was discovered by him more than 30 years ago, but " t h e apparatus " and i t s mechanism were unknown t o him. By means of the Primary Control it is possible t o condition all the known reflexes discovered b Magnus and others, as well as y those still t o be discovered regarding the inter-relations between the vestibule and the nerve muscle systems o f the body, whenever a change of posture o r a complete muscular movement has t o be executed. This. co-ordinating apparatus-the Vestibular apparatusis situated in the substance of the Petrous portion of the

occipital group i s the obvious and appropriate mechanism as they are handmaids of the Cranial Globe according t o Dr. Cave. These muscles are voluntary muscles and are, therefore. capable i f being used voluntarily, and as they have the special function of moving the Cranial Globe at the Atlanto Occipital and Atlanto Axial joints, I suggest that these muscles are the primary movers ofthe Cranial Globe-and constitute the primary mechanism used in the control of ourselves. Isubmit that these movements should be primary, and being due t o the action of voluntary muscles are, therefore, under control so that their use establishes a mechanism, man can use for conditioning his muscular reflexes, through the medium of the Vestibular apparatus. The neural control of the mechanism may be considered as the hlusciriar Control Centre and comparable t o the centres governing other systems o f the body, e.g., the Cardiac, the Respiratory, the Vaso motor centres, etc., but with this vital and important difference, that according t o the manner in which we use this Primary Control, we are actually imposing the external conditions under which all our vital organs and systems function. The limited movement at the Atlanto Occipital joint contrasts with the wide range of movement of the CervicoCranium at the middle of the neck t l l r o ~ l g h the action of the large neck muscles. T h i s again points t o a differeoce in function of the t w o groups of muscles. The First i s a comparatively small movement, within another very large movement, and I submit it has been overlooked i n experiments carried out on the functions of the labyrinth, and that the significance of the Sub-occipital system as the primary mover of the Cranial Globe has been missed-attention having been given solely t o the larger, freer, wider movements which take place at the middle of the neck, when the Cranial Globe with the Atlas and Axis move together. The smaller movement is the all
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Temporal bone and in close proximity t o the Atlanto Occipital joint so that the slightest mov5ment of the head at this joint would be communicated t o the de(icate media in the Vestibular apparatus through the action of the Sub-occipital muscles, and it is my suggestion that it is the delicatemovements of the Sub-occipital group at the Atlanto Occipital joint which activate the media in the Vestibule. That althoagh the movements at this joint are limited (30 degs. backwards and20 degs. forwards) they are enough for balancing and maintaining our muscular co-ordinations, which are constantly changing, because of our constantly changing postures and require movements that are as sensitive and delicate a those of the needle of the compazs. s The Cranial Globe containing the Vestibular apparatus i s a passive agent and requires some muscular agency to move
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important one of ~naintaining proper balance of the Cranial a Globe and so allowing the co-ordinating and regulating apparatus-the labyrinth t o (maintain proper and correct relationships between the Cranial Globe and the body. Such bringing of the whole of the muscular apparatus into correct co-ordination creates the correct conditions in our external body wall for the functioning of the vital internal organs and constitutes the Primary Control which Alexaiider has postulated and taken advantage of for more than 30 years, and which Magrius described but did not locate, many years after. The control of rhis function of the Cranial Globe through the action of the Sub-occipital muscles has been lost-it never has been co~sciously learnt-and w i t h it our power t o ~naintain a proper poise and posture, and from this loss come many o'f the disabilities from which man suffers. From the nature of rhe arrangement of the parts and the fact that man is the only erect mammal, it has been impossible t o investigate the function of these muscles in their relatlon t o the Cranial Globe, in the usual experimental manner, but Alexander, by a long series of experiments on himself, has been able t o devise a technique t o ,re-educate these muscles and bring back th-ir original iltirction with the result of an alteration i11 poise, posture and functioning as a whole, Invariably this re-education is accompanied by the disappearance o f maladjustments and usually of their associated symptoms of disease. In order t o understand the importance of Alexander's discovery and i t s significance, together with the perfection and simplicity of his technique, one has t o remember that i n no text-book of Anatomy or Physiology, o r Physical Culture, is there any hint of using the Cranial Globe as the organ o r key t o play such an important part as the apparatus for rectifylng defects o posture as such, o r t o connect sucli widely differing :
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conditions a Asthma and Flatfoot, or even Neurasthenia, with s the manner in which the Cranial Globe is poised relatively t o the Vertebral Column.

In estimating the importance of Alexander's discovery of the Primary Control and his manner of directing it t o restore better use and functioning throughout the body, one should contrast it with the barren results as regards the practical application t o our daily needs of the discovery o f the Central Control by Magnus through experiments on animals. The different results are due t o thefact that Alexander's experiments were done on a human being with all his critical faculties alert, and with the object of finding out bodily conditions affecting his use of himself and particularly the functioning of his vocal organs, which no treatment could keep from becoming inflamed and producing hoarseness which threatened t o ruin his career as an elocutionist. On the other hand the physiologist's experiments were made on animals whose postural conditions were always normal and whose use of themselves would always be correct, i.e., they would always do the same things in the same way. They could not be made t o use themselves wrongly for lengthy periods as man has done and so create bad postural conditions with their disabilities so that cause and effect might be investigated as in Alexander's case. There is, however, one striking illustration which proves the t r u t h of Alexander's theory, and that i s the effect of the use of the bearing-rein on a horse. By altering the position of the head relative t o the spine, the whole gait of the animal is altered, and as is well known, the power of the draughthorse i s so severely crippled that i t s use has been abolished. Speaking generally, an~malexperiments on posture dealt wlth the fundamental principles affecting the body with i t s
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head, trunk and limbs in their varying relationships and coordinations with each other, but not w i t h regard t o the " use " the animal could make of itself, o r of its various parts in the different postures brought about by these varying relationships and co-ordinations. But Alexander, having discovered the most important of these fundamental principles, viz., the role that the use of the head plays in creaticg, maintaining A d altering these relationships between itself and the trunl: and the limbs, has been a6le t o apply this principle-this natural law-and has created a new science of " use " in coflnection with poise and posture which should be the basis of every system of physical training and culture. The accepted principles affecting posture have been arrived a from observations on animals which have been mutilated. ; Decerebrate rigidity, muscle tone, the righting reflexes, tlie tonic neck reflexes, the labyrinthine reflexes, have all been investigated i n this way, but the phenomena exhibited in them are static compared with the dynarnic phenomena in the actual " use " of our body and i t s various members in i t s numerous activities. The important principles wbich Alexander discovered were not only that the position of the head relative t o the spine conditioned the co-ordinations of the rest of the body, but that the most advantageous relative position c f the head t o the spine was when it was being directed forwards and upwards. The use and direction of the head he called " T h e Primary Control," but experiments on animals have failed t o establish what constitutes Nature's real Primary Control, because the mechanism controlling it (the Sub-occipital muscular system) has never been the subject of experiment. The fact that the Cranial Globe has an independent movement of a limited extent at the Atlanto Occipital joint has been
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ignored, but as i n other mechanisms, it is the small primary movement bzfore succeed~nglarger ones which initiates and conditions the other movements-so it is here.

If the ideal position of the Cranial Globe is aswaterston describes, that of being ~ o i s e d tiie Atlas Vertebra without on undue muscular effort, the11the actions of the large muscles of the neck do not contribute t o it-in fact, as is Iknown, their action is the very opposite for the tension exerted gives a condition of rigidity in the neck instead of one of no undue muscular effort, which results when tlie Cranial Globe i s properly poised on the Atlanto-occipital joint. Tlie only other muscles which can poise t i i e Cranial Globe on its joint and which cannot produce rigidity of the neck are the Sub-occipital muscles, and these with the Atlas and Axis t o whic3 they are attached, are tlie handmaids of the Cranial Globe, and it is hardly speculative t o suggest that the function of the handniaids i s t o move the Cranial Globe at i t s own special joint, nor can it be speculative t o suggest that this function subserves the halancii:: of the Cranial Globe on its joint. if this be so then the very f i r s t movement in balancing takes place at the Atlantooccipital joint, and is the result of tlie Sub-occipital muscles, so that this is the primary movement and is the Primary Control of all other movements of the body. It is the master reflex and conditions all other reflexes, and is the result of the " use " of the mechanism consisting of tiic Cranial Globe with i t s Vestibular Apparatus operated on by i t s handmaids the Atlas and Axis and their Sub-occipital muscles.
In this connection Professor Dewey writes in Introduction t o The Use of Selfi page XVlll : "The school of Pavlow has made current the idea of conditioned reflexes. Mr. Alexander's work extends and corrects this idea. It provesthat there are certain basic, central organic habits and attitudes which condition every act we perform,
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every use we make of ourselves. Hence a conditioned reflex is not just a matter of an arbitrarily established connection such as that between the sound of a bell and the eating reaction in a dog, but goes back t o central conditions within the organism itself. "This discovery corrects the ordinary conception of the conditioned reflex. The latter as usually understood, renders an individual a passive puppet t o be played upon by external manipulations. 'The discovery of a Cenrral Control which conditions ail other reactions brings the conditioning factor under conscious direction and enables the individual through his ow~nco-ordinated activitie; t o take possession of his own potentialities. it converts ?he f?ct of conditioned reflexes from a principle of external enslavement into a means of vital freedom." The connection between this mechanism and Alexander's theory of the Primary Control is obvious as it provides " t h e means whereby " t h e Primary Contrsi can be employed in our " use " of ourselves, and gives it an anatomical and physiological basis. Alexander had no data t o help him when he set out t o discover how he " used " himself, so that all his observations and deductions from ;hem are new and constitute a new science of " use," and are described in detail i n his book The Use of S e l t so that any other observer can repeat his experiments and either confirni or refute his statements and his conclusions. Alexander was by profession an elocutionist whose voice was always failing him. In his search t o find out why and prevent it happening, he found that just as there had been no cure from specific medical treatment, so there was no cure from specific treatment directed t o his manner of using his voice. He was forced t o realise that the specific bad use of his vocal organs was part of and accompanied by an unsatisfactory and bad use of
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himself generally. He, therefore, patiently set himself t o correct and overcome this and establish a more reliable general use and wliich he found was accompanied by a more reliable specific use of his vocal organs. As regards evidence of his general bad use it will be sufficient t o mention here that when he began t o recite, he found that his head was drawn backwards and downwards, that his chest and shoulders were raised, his larynx became depressed, his breathing became noisy and laboured, and that his spine was shortened, and that there was an Increasing hoarseness of his voice. He endeavoured t o find out which of these happenings was primary and found that it was the position of the head that conditioned all the rest, that i f he could direct his head i n a forward and upward direction and keep that direction in being, a new " use " and better functioning began t o appear., He found that his spine lengthened, that his chest and shoulders were no longer raised or his larynx depressed, that his manner of breathing was changed and that his hoarseness had disappeared, and with it the physical signs of chronic inflammation of the vocal cords. Experiments on hirnseli and observations on other people showed Alexander that this position of the head backwards and downwards relative t o tlie spine was practically universal, and that it became exaggerated whenever any effort was made in doing work o r indulging in any exercise. It i s the central fact in man's rnai-adjustment. It causes a shortening of the stature through the increase in the curves of the vertebral column, which in turn causes compression of the intervertebral discs so that a modified collapse is started beginning at the cervical curve and extending throughout the whole length of the vertebral column. The reason for this is apparent when it is reaiised that the curves of the spine counterbalance each other-lumbar over sacral-dorsal over lumbar-cervical over dorssl-but there is nothing t o balance the cervical curve, except the counter-pull of the Cranial Globe in the opposite direction. The greater weight of the
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anterior half o i t h e Cranial Globe and the muscular contraction of the Anterior Recti muscles bring the Cranial Globe forward relatively t o the spine whenever the powerful contractions of the large extensor muscles of the neck and the contraction of the Pasterior Recci ~iiuscleshave beer, inhibited. This inhibition of the contraction of the large neck rnuscles allows the cervical curve t o become lessened, and with the resulting decompression of the inter-vertebral discs, the spine lengthens in an upwards direction carrying the Cranial Globe with it. These t w o movements become blended into one-a forward and upward one-and because they both depend essentially on the inhibition of the contraction of the extensor muscles ofthe neck, the one movement cannot take piace without the other happewng almostsimultaneously. Whatever the explanation, a movement does take place of the Cranial Globe at the Atlanto Occipital joint resulting in the Globe being poised without undue muscular effort and the new use of the Primary Control has come into being. The alteration in the alignment of the Vertebral column beginning in the neck through this new use ofthe Primary Control, gives a more stable pillar ofsupport for the Cranial ~ l b b e and a point d'appui from which the neck , muscles can really act a antigravity muscles. This new direcs tion of muscular pull i s tranfmitted throughout the whole muscular systern and enables them t o exercise their true role of su?port--they keep the bones of the skeleton in their proper relation t o each other and to their joints. I t knits the whole torso into one unified whole and keeps it so under all conditions of use. It creates the external conditions under which the vital internal organs function, and as can be demonstrated by X-ray on the screen, it alters their manner of use and functioning. Very few people know or care how their Cranial Globe is actually carried relatively t o their spine-their only concern is that it should be comfortable and feel right, but wherever it is carried the Cranial G'lobe i s in " control " and thik " control "
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Alexander called the " Primary Control," and being i n " control " it must condition our sensory \Kinesthesia as well as our muscular co-ordination. Rut as we do not consciously use and direct o u r Primary Control, our sensory appreciation has become unreliable as a guide and register of any changes i n our co-ordinations during our use of ourselves, and yet it is only so from lack of use, so that, as Alexander argued, it can be made reliable i f we re-discover how t o use and re-educate it in that use. The practical bearing of this state of unreliability is that in the process of re-education, movements that are c correct "and in accordance with the new usefeel " w r o n g " and continue t o do so until a new standard of reliability has been reached and a new register established. This wav a most important discovery and next in importance t o the discovery o f t h e Primary Control, as without this knowledge the Primary Concrol could not be used o r directed t o alter anything i f the old K i n ~ t h e t i csensory appreciation were accepted as the guide t o any new use. The direction of this function of " control " through using the Cranial Globe with i t s mechanical agency-the Atlas and Axis and their Sub-occipital muscles-has t o be learnt if man wishes t o use himself with all his powers and faculties t o the greatest advantage. It should be taken as the measure of reliability in the " use " o f t h e individual, while the standard of functioning of any system or 'organ should be estimated. in relation t o the standard of his general " use " and not simply in relation t o the " use " and functioning of any specific organ. The vital importance of the proper use of the Primary Control cannot be overestimated and the simplicity of i t s mechanism enables it t o be regained through the re-educating technique devised by Alexander more than 30 years ago. His use of the Cranial Globe in its capacity of Primary Control was entirely empirical as he knew nothing of the mechanism by which the Cranial Globe is poised and balanced on its joint on the top of the vertebral column, and yet t h e technique i s just such a t o s
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re-educate the muscular part of the mechanism, while inhibiting the rest oi the neck muscles in their wrongly directed z.ctivity. It has t o be realized that this wrongly directed activity resulting from bad use of the Primary Controi has created a condition in which the muscular pull i s assisting instead of resisting gravityand that this has t o be overcome before the correct use and direction of the Primary Control can become operative and effective i n bringing about new use and functioning throughout the body.

The following are some of the results which happen when the direction o f t h e Primary Controi has been acquired and. become the habit of the individual. As pt~eviouslystated, the antigravity muscles take up their true role of support throughout the body and by creating new external conditions influence the functioning of the vital internal organs individuaily and collectively as a unit, through the co-ordinating effect of the Primary Control. The evidence of the X-ray shows that the whole respiratory act i s altered and the shape of the chest has undergone changes from the alteration o f t h e alignment of the ribs t o their vertebral articulations and from the different pull of the respiratory muscles. The high prominent chest disappears and a widening o f the back of the thorax at i t s base takes place where Nature has placed the greatest area of lung tissue. W i t h these changes in respiration and the increase in the size of the thorax at i t s base the heart benefits ; and the circ~~laeion generally is improved because the general muscle tension is so much lcss. The venous return is heiped by the new antigravity pull of the muscles acting throughout the body, while the new support frorn the abdominal muscles t o the abdominal pool equalises the circulation and enables the individual t o stand for long periods without fatigue. The unfatiguahle antigravity muscles are now acting againstgravity and assist in this standing viitiiout fatigue. The digestive system benefits by the new use and direction o f the Primary Con?roi and this benefit begins w i t h the act of swallowing. When the head is backwards and downwards, the bolus i s simply passed through the pharynx and drops down a comparatively inert esophageal tube into a stomach in much the same condition, whereas w i t h the Cranial Globe directed forwards and upwards, the muscles of the pharynx seize the bolus causing firm pressure t o be exerted on the tonsils with expression o f tonsillar secretion for some sound physiological reason-thereafter the bolus is passed down an actively peristaising ;esophagus t o be received by an already peristaking stomach, which i s seen t o be t w o inches higher than is the comparatively inactive stomach when the head is carried backwards and downwards. The further progress of
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It remains t o describe the results of the technique through using the Cranial Globe as the organ for re-educating the self t o recapture and use i t s Primary Control and so t o correct defects of poise and posture, with the disabilities resulting therefrom. In this connection it should be stated clearly and with emphasis that it is not necessary that one'should show an obvious physical defect in order t o be regarded as suffering from the effects of lack of the correct use of the Primary Control-in fact, the most accepted poise as taught i n the Services and in schools can be shown t o be producing a wrong use of the Primary Control and, therefore, physical defects and deterioration of health.

It can be stated, without fear of contradiction, that the bulk of clviiised mankind misuse their Primary Control and are, therefore, suffering from disabilities In consequence, although again the bulk of mankind might assert that they had never been ill o r felt ill, but this state of "feeling," as Alexander proved, i s a most deceptive guide and in no way proves that any individual i s as fit mentally and physicai.ly as he could be, i f he had been in full possession of and exercising the correct use of his primary control'from his birth. The proper use of the Primary Controi keeps the individual up t o concert pitch so far as providing the best conditions for the functioning of his organs, and he would still be subject t o his inborn qualities o f constitution and t o the influence of his environment which may be a help o r a handicap t o his mental and physical health.
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the food through the intestinal canal should be similarly assisted o r retarded by the manner of use of the Primary Control, i.e., whether the head is directed forwards and upwards or backwards and downwards. The new direction of the pull of the abdominal muscles creates a support that has t o be experienced t o be believed and reduces the girth of the sagging abdomen by many inches. The support of the Perineum to prevent the Prolapsing of the bladder-the womb and the bowel i s effected in the same way and for the same reason. These are only some of the obvious happenings as t h e result of this new use and direction of Nature's Primary Control, but they are mentioned as they are capable of demonstration and proof, and constitute the beginnings of a clinical physiology based on experiments on the intelligent erect human being i n the process o f the re-education i n the use o f his Primary Control by his mental directive agency. If the adduced are correct and the deductions sound and the observations are corroborated, it follows that the practice o f medicine must include knowledge of this use and direction of Nature's Primary Control, for our patients' use of themselves i s a most important factor in determining their health o r illness. It must become the basis of diagnosis as of treatment for the o b v i d k reason that the manner of functioning of all our organs depends on the manner o f their use. The description of the anatomical basis of the Primary Control has been necessary, but the fact remains t h a t unless the mechanism is directed by the mental directive agency. nothing can result from simply understanding i t s anatomical basis, unless the enquirer submits himself t o the same series of experiments and 'experiences as Alexander did. The knowledge that the anatomical basis i s a system of muscles may be rather a hindrance than a help if he tries t o make the muscles do what he thinks they ought t o do, in view of t h e fact of Alexander's disconcerting discovery. that when he t r i e d t o do anything i n a new way he always did it i n the old way.
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In the writer's opinion. Alexander succeeded simply because he relied on repeating his orders for the neck muscles t o relax until he could relax them when the Cranial Globe moved forwards and upwards i n the manner and for the reasons already given. Having got this knowledge of improved poise by the mental orders t o his neck muscles and by actually seeing in his mirrors that the Cranial Globe moved forwards and upwards, he was satisfied that this was what he had t o do. because he found his hoarse voice was improving and his throat getting better. Another great discovery was the fact that it was necessary for him t o issue the orders for the neck muscles t o relax in order that the Cranial Globe might be able t o be directed forwards and upwards voluntarily before he attempted t o do any single act. He was able t o do so as the result of his long series of experiments and experiences, and able also to keep these orders going during the performance of any and every action. it simply means that before any action there must be a pause-a refusal t o react t o the stimulus t o dountil the neck is ordered t o relax and t h e Cranial Globe directed forwards and upwards in order that the Sub-occipital muscles may take charge and maintain 'he Globe in its proper relation t o the Atlas and so t o the Vertebral column.' The Cranial Globe thereby becomes freed and able t o be used and directed as Man's Primary Control. The further orders in the technique a a result of his exs periences are that " The spine shall lengthen and the back widen." a they actually do. s These orders are never varied or the procedure of the technique altered. In, contrast to this simple and scientific procedure, 1 wish t o read an extract from Chapter II on "Physical Education in Schools," from the report of the B.M.A. Committee on Physical Culture : " Formal training consists of systematic physical exercises designed t o ensure the harmonious development o f the body.
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It includes exercises performed without apparatus, with portable apparatus and with fixed apparatus. Each ofthese exercises is designed for the purpose of producing certain specific effects. which taken together bring about the desired physical development. Apparatus helps t o extend the range of effects and there must, therefore, be some loss if it i s omitted from the training.
"The necessity of raising the national standard of physical efficiency requires no demonstration. While it is true that certain sections of the more youthful population show a commendable enthusiasm for health-giving physical activities, the general neglect of bodily fitness is evidenced In the examples of physical deterioration which are so common in daily life a s t o be accepted as inevitable. Men and women, especially those of middle age, who have allowed their bodies t o fall into shapeless proportions and ungainly postures and their limbs t o become shrunken and deformed, are a reproach t o our sense of physical fitness. The absence of adequate education in the care of the body has led many t o accept without thought the deformity of their bodies as something beyond their control. One problem ofphysical education is to bring home to the individual the knowledge that the body, like the mind, can be directed by the will ond to inculcate pride in the proper control of both." Both these statements fin italic) are directly contrary to Alexander's experience. W i t h regard t o the second heclaims that it can be demonstrated (and he is willing t o demonstrate it) that in the case of a person who needs re-education. because of some physical deterioration o r defect '$directiono f the will " can only result in bringing about an exagerating o f the manifestations of bad use and functioning already present in the pupil. He would equally challenge the first statement that harmonius development " cannot be ensured without the employment of the Primary Control, of the existence of which the B.M.A. Committee were evidently unaware, but the conscious employment of which on the part of the pupil would bring about the result the Committee desire as an indirect result of the working o f t h e organism as a whole.
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