ASMR Analysis: Alexander Technique
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The Introduction
Talking about ASMR feels dirty, like I’m talking about porn, but just like porn, I know there are a lot of you closeted ASMR enthusiast. My goal with this series of posts, ASMR Analysis, is the break down, and poke fun at, videos that are made and posted specially to help others fall asleep and take away some of the stigma because I know to the uninitiated it can look a bit odd.
First, what is ASMR? It stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. The name is not very helpful, and personally, I find the name comically overcooked. It is easier to explain through example.
Okay, have you ever had someone braid your hair, listened to a grade school teacher read a book out loud, and felt a tingle at the base of your scalp that feels like Pop Rocks going off down your spine? Listened to a crackling fire while tucked in a flannel blanket that induced what can only be described as gentle, brain static?
Yes? That is ASMR! That light-headed, soothing, tingle at the scalp triggered by soft sounds and actions—a hair stylist washing your hair, a neck massage, flipping through a picture book—is a recently recognized phenomena with very little scientific research.
I am sorry to anyone that has not experienced these sensations. I won’t be able to help because, like an aversion to cilantro, it is something you either have or don’t have. Some people who don’t experience it still watch ASMR videos because they are very relaxing and can help with restlessness.
I’ve watched all types of videos, and with experience, you can learn what will set off your ASMR—triggers. Some people like to watch intentional videos which include an actor attempting to induce ASMR, e.g. pretending to be a doctor or teacher. They often speak directly to camera to create a one-on-one interaction. There are intentional videos for everything. Organizing office supplies. Cleaning an ear canal. Magical themes involving wizards and fairies. Opening boxes. Hairstylist. IT. A sales presentation. Physical therapist. They run the gambit of broad to oddly specific. Almost all ASMR artist are female. The most popular channels have very advanced sound systems built specifically for ASMR.
It’s kind of weird. I get it, but with some of the most popular videos reaching millions of views and with celebrity participation, it is safe to say ASMR is becoming mainstream.
My personal favorite content is unintentional ASMR which is material that served a different purpose before ASMR enthusiasts discovered its properties. The most famous example being Bob Ross. Think instructional videos, clinical tutorials, or mundane work—a physician checking vitals, a jeweler polishing a ring, or an origami master folding paper cranes. These videos are my go to because there is no secondary intentionality. These people are just doing a job. The subject is not trying to relax you—the very nature of what they are doing is relaxing.
The Video
One of the most popular videos in the ASMR unintentional universe is “Alexander technique lesson with Diana Devitt-Dawson” uploaded by Diana Devitt-Dawson in October of 2015. Feel free to watch the video now. Just don't fall asleep because I want you to read the rest of this post.
This seemingly bland video on posture has over four million views, and reading the comment section proves that the majority of viewers come with ASMR intentions. I advise everyone read the comment section. It’s a funny mixing pot of strangers.
This video features some of my favorite triggers: low-fi audio tech, delicate touches to the head and neck, mechanical instructions, and the pseudo-scientific reported by a soft spoken expert. I must account for, at least, 30-40 of the views on this one video. For me, it is equivalent to turning on a box fan or white noise machine before bed. Diana, our resident sandman, instructs Geeta, a gazelle in athletic wear, on the Alexander Technique, a fad health movement built around the belief that strong posture can alleviate medical issues and lead to longevity.
I've watched this video so many times, and I know what to expect, Diana's shtick, Geeta's graceful hesitance, and it all leads to further questions that are never answered within the context of the video. Where are they? How did Geeta stumble into Diana's clutches? How does the neck become free?
The Setting
Our props: background drapery, carpet, and a chair.
We are in a nondescript room. It must be well insulated based on the audio quality, but other than that, we could be anywhere in the galaxy. We could be in a classroom or church basement or a WeWork on Saturn. There are no background interruptions, no coughs or sniffles, and Diana and Geeta do not acknowledge an audience or camera crew. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Diana was filming this herself.
Diana's clothes could be placed anywhere from the late 90s to present, Dress Barn chic, but Geeta's workout attire and Garmin date it within the last ten years. The audio and visual quality is outdated, but that could be due to Diana's budget and does not pinpoint an exact date range.
This leads me to believe we are in an auxiliary room on a college campus, one with budget restraints, or a small business park. This could play into my assumed narrative that Diana picked up Geeta off the street while exercising around a campus. Geeta also says she is studying law, so we are definitely in a college town.
The dated set pieces but Geeta’s modernity lead me to deduce that this was filmed in 2010.
The Players
Diana and Geeta are a female production of Waiting for Godot—they are all we have, and they are all we need. The accents? I am not an expert. It is definitely a country that the British empire once controlled. Australia?? (On further inspection, I would confirm that it is Australian.)
Geeta is the more alluring of the pair. She is the participant, the puppet. We know that she is athletic, tall, academic, and she has great skin. Geeta is that girl you see at the gym warming up by the treadmill, gracefully swinging her leg back and forth at her hip joint. I bet she knows how fast her mile is. There is reference to a bike by Diana, so we can assume Geeta rides a bike as well. Triathlete? Ugh, I am just tired just thinking of Geeta's schedule. At the end of the day, Getta is unknowable. She is little more than a beautiful demonstration dummy. There is obviously more to her, but the subject of the video is not Geeta’s history, her wants, her dreams and fears. She represents one simple action—sitting in a chair.
Diana. More know-able (and at the same time not) because she is the instructor. She is selling the Alexander Technique, so of course it is easy to locate her on the internet, to a degree. We also have her full name. I do not think she is the original uploader of this video. I believe the owner of the account added her full name because I recall a different name the first time I discovered it.
A cursory search of Diana reaps satisfying results. She is originally from Australia, studied in London, and returned to Australia in the late 90s. A lot of the Alexander Technique affiliate links are not up to date, so there is no recent information through that avenue, but on further investigation, I was able to locate a set of articles related to Diana.
Strap in, everybody. Diana has close connections to an unsolved murder.
The Mystery
When I found her name linked to an article on a missing male model from 1986, I thought for sure this had to be a different Diana, but the location was Australia. How many Diana Devitt-Dawsons are there on one continent? I was able to confirm her identity in one source that included a photograph. Yes, this scholar of posture, this siren of ASMR, is connected to a murder.
The story is actually quite sad and theatrical.
Diana was in London when she received a call from her brother, Mark Johnston. He was in love with a woman met while traveling through Europe, and he intended to return to Australia to settle his affairs before moving to France to start a new life with his partner. Diana was the last person in her family to talk to Mark. Upon his arrival home, Mark disappeared after a night out at a pub in Sydney. There are beliefs he was heading to his attorney's house to collect a sum of money he was due. Money that would be used to start life in France.
This is where things get a little dicey because I would not consider the publications who wrote about this case as great sources—the most reputable being The Daily Mail.
Mark was male model. He had worked with Coca Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken. He was also a known gambler and a cocaine dealer. Mark sounds like a colorful side character in a Martin Scorsese production. Gambling and cocaine made for easy connections to a known Sydney mob boss, “Neddy” Smith, who is currently serving a life sentence for an unrelated murder.
Remains found in 2007 during the construction of a new plant were suspected to be Mark, but they were not confirmed until 2018 with the aid technique advancements. Supposedly, there are many unidentified remains and rumors regarding this set of land and its ties to the mob as an unofficial dumping ground for Neddy Smith’s associates.
The now popular theory regarding Mark’s death is his prior mentioned attorney hired the mob boss to finish off Mark Johnston in order to keep from settling their fiduciary affairs, some sources stating that Mark was owed upwards of $ 500,000.00.
The saddest tragedy of all being—besides losing your brother while living on the other side of the world—the unknown lover in France was never located. It must have been a wind swept romance without formal introductions between the two parties families and friends, but it must have been love nonetheless for Mark to return so quickly to Sydney to collect his debts. Maybe he had a change of heart for his life in Sydney, striving for a simple one in the French countryside. What did the woman think when Mark never returned? Did she think Mark was just some f**k boy passing through, leaving behind broken commitments? Was there a woman at all?
The Conclusion
Honestly, I did not expect this type of derailment when first setting out to write this post. It was going to be a straightforward analysis of ASMR, poking fun at the setting and subject, but it only serves to prove that there is a hidden story to everything and everyone. Most secrets just aren’t written about in The Daily Mail.
I thought about reaching out to Diana, but then thought it best not to. First, I am not a reporter. Second, I don't think she would reply. Third, what would I even ask? It would be nearly impossible to restrain from asking about her brother, how that affected her, how she can so softly touch strangers’ backs and necks while personal tragedy sticks to memory.
It wouldn't be ethical to reintroduce that to her if she had made peace with it. I do have some morals.
So this is all I have. A video that makes me happy, that soothes. And then I have a mystery. The two are forever linked. I don't know if I can separate my knowledge of Mark while watching Diana so studiously work through the motions with Geeta. It just goes to show, we should never meet our heroes because they all suffer the tragedy of being human.
