No More Quossums Jerry

“If people will go believing that they 'know,' it is impossible to eradicate anything: it makes it impossible to teach them.” – FM Teaching Aphorism.

One thing I find curious about presenting PILANDES recently is the lack of questions I get. I have done two Trials at Ginza this last week. At the end of each exercise, I always ask:

“Any questions, comments or complaints?”

Nothing. I wonder why?

Asking questions comes naturally to me, so I find it hard to understand. The first time I tried to say the word “question” in English, it came out as “Quossums.” I was five years old. My mother told me that I followed her around the house asking question after question. One day, my poor mother had had enough:

“No more quossums, Jerry.”

“No more quossums!” I repeated like a parrot, “No more quossoms!”

Then there was a pause, then I asked:

“Why no more quossums mummy?”

I never gave up.

***

Questions — not answers — lead us forward. One of the teaching innovations that my teacher, Marjorie Barstow, used in teaching Alexander’s discoveries was making her students bring their questions to her. She always began her session by asking:

“What do you want to do today?”

It’s upside-down learning.

Usually, the teacher decides the topic, and the students follow. But in Marj’s Alexander sessions, the students decided the topic, and Marj followed. Once in her living room in Lincoln, Nebraska, we were discussing this topic and she turned to me and declared:

“I don’t tell my students anything until they have told me something about themselves first.”

Do you do this in your Pilates practice?

If you don’t already, it might be a revealing experiment: start each session with a question like: what would you like to explore today? Are there any exercises you want to focus on? Are you having any troubles? As I am discovering in my trials, it is not always easy for clients to know what to ask — don’t expect them to answer your question!

And if you are a client — why not bring a question to your next training session?

Anyway, although they had no questions, everyone in yesterday’s Ginza session — all 20 Pilates Educators & Clients — did tell me they felt freer and lighter while doing Little Swan by using the PILANDES protocols. For that, I am also grateful to my two BodyChance teachers — Sachiko and Fumika — who turned up that day and freely gave their time. Because they had questions too.

One reason I use the Trials to introduce you to the 5 Postural Joints is that they need Alexander-touch to become fully alive in you. I cannot do this in my PILANDES Letters. Think about it: can you post a kiss to your loved one? Likewise, Alexander-touch needs your presence. It is the touch that first leads you into having richer experiences, which lead to a deeper understanding of how you use the 5 Postural Joints in your Pilates exercises.

Come along — I’d love to meet you.

PILANDES 2026
LONDON: August 8 | 23
NEW YORK: October 24 | 25

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NEXT: FM Alexander: All the darned fools in the world believe they are actually doing what they think they are doing.