Alexander lessons involve learning to prevent those various wrong uses which we have built up through habit, allowing instead for our natural sense of good use to become re-established.

Teachers use a mixture of gentle manipulation with the hands, together with words of guidance to help point out and oppose the pupil's habitual patterns of use and release unnecessary tension. A particular quality of muscle tone is encouraged and developed here, allowing the body to become better aligned and balanced both in an immediate sense during the lesson, and more importantly in the longer term as well. The experience of this is very subtle and is demonstrated repeatedly by the teacher throughout lessons, and during the process, the student starts to build up a new manner of using themselves, together with a greater sense of self-awareness and recognition of their existing habits of use.

Lessons are most commonly taught privately on a one to one basis, lasting about 45 minutes or so. No special clothing is required. A few lessons can make a difference, and to develop an ability to practice the technique more independently, a course of around 20 lessons or so is often recommended as a foundation.