The Three Pillars of PILANDES

It’s funny how ideas evolve and then suddenly jump out and touch you when you least suspect it…

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The 3 Pillars of PILANDES first danced in front of me in answer to a question from Naru – CEO of zen place – as we were discussing this project last year. Originally, I had called my new course “Alexander BodyMapping Certificate”. However, I had been playing around with calling it a name I had invented 2 years before:

PIL = Pilates
ANDE = Alexander
S = two together

PILANDES see?

Anyway, I was a little nervous about this name, so I casually mentioned to Naru the possibility of renaming the Course PILANDES?

“I love it,” he replied immediately, “but tell me – what do Pilates educators get out of PILANDES? How can it help them attract clients?”

Ahh… I thought. That’s a question a CEO will ask!

And immediately – as though some force was taking me over – I found myself saying:

“Three things!”

Naru looked up…

“PILANDES Touch, PILANDES BodyMapping & PILANDES Cueing – those are the three pillars,” I remarked, marvelling at how quickly my answer had popped out.

And there it was: stated for the first time, but not invented then, just…

Crystallised → Formed → Consolidated.

Of the three pillars, my most controversial and unexpected was my new protocol of touch. Some Alexander teachers may not agree with my intention to make touch a key feature of PILANDES…

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PILANDES Touch

Alexander teachers usually spend decades mastering this skill.

But here I am introducing you to Alexander Touch right at the start – when usually you study it only after completing two years of training. Empirical evidence suggests that Alexander Touch reaches deep into your brain’s sub-cortical areas to directly engage and energise your Postural Movement System (PMS). It is one of Alexander’s fundamental discoveries and is the key reason it has survived since its beginnings in 1894.

PILANDES Mat course opens the door to using Touch in your sessions in an entirely new Alexander-informed way…

At the start, PILANDES Touch serves as a tool for attention pointing – like gaining an extra tongue to talk with. You use touch to invite your client’s attention to more than one area. For example, as you cue a client on their leg movements in Leg Circles, you simultaneously touch them at the base of the head, reminding them that their legs hang from the back of their neck.

When you come to a Trial, you will gain your first experience of Alexander Touch.

For most people, this is the most outstanding moment of their Trial experience. It seems almost “miraculous” that a movement you have done hundreds of times can be transformed so dramatically with the lightest of touches. Or that Roll-Up – which you have rarely been able to do – just naturally happens two times in a row at your trial.

These “miracles” are born from Nature’s PMS – guided by Alexander Touch – and coupled with constructive PILANDES Cueing, the second pillar.

Come to my one-day overview in London or New York.

NEXT: PILANDES Cueing – Think Different.

Stay Tuned.

2026 Workshops

LONDON:
August 8 – PILANDES
August 23 – Trauma-Informed AT

NEW YORK:
October 24 – PILANDES
October 25 – Trauma-Informed AT

Information and Bookings