The Serenity of Sachiko's Stillness

Seven tiny adjustments. Sachiko didn't notice a single one. When she stopped fidgeting, a new world appeared in her body.

"I get stiff in my neck all the time."

"When? What are you doing?" I ask back.

"During Pilates, I feel it."

"Which exercise?"

"All of them" she replies.

"Let's pick one," I suggest, "and see what we discover."

As I watch her come to the mat and get into position, I am more interested in her little "postural" movements. She does a lot of adjusting as she goes down to the mat, sits in seiza, comes forward from her hips, and then stops in the crawling position.

For a moment, we are both silent.

How does your neck feel now? I ask her.

Stiff. she answers simply.

Did you notice all the adjustments you made once you got into crawling position?

Sachiko looked at me blankly. She had no idea what I was talking about. I understood why she was confused by my question: PILANDES demands a new level of sensitivity to your movements. This is moving into your own dog's nose territory.

You made about seven little adjustments, I explained to her, after you arrived in position.

One feature of these little adjustments is that they slide away from your awareness.

Over time, she had put together a string of little fixes and repeated them so often she no longer noticed them occurring. Soon they feel as natural as breathing and become an integral part of your movement practice.

But they are not integral. They are not natural. They are manufactured.

Next time you are at your Pilates studio, watch how people prepare to do an exercise. How do they get into position? You will see this fidgeting. Now find out if you do it too? In PILANDES, you will discover how often you impose unnecessary voluntary movements on your postural integrity.

What would happen if you just became still?

We're going to do it again, I suggested to Sachiko, but this time in one clean movement. First, think about where you want to arrive. Rehearse it in your mind as you cue your postural directions.

Cueing your postural directions involves integrating a subtle reorganisation of your whole self, based upon the 5 Postural Joints. This time, as I guided Sachiko with my touch, she got into crawling position then stopped dead: no wiggling, no adjustments, no fidgeting.

Quiet. Still.

How does your neck feel now?

A look of wonder came into her face: I feel so free.

This is the serenity of stillness – getting everything you wanted without pushing to get it.

Welcome to the world of PILANDES. Come and try it for yourself.

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

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NEXT: PILANDES is the Alexander Technique (almost)