Teachers at Backlund Pilates
Madeleine Backlund - Owner & Founder
Madeleine was first introduced to Pilates while living in the USA in the early 1980's. She later became a keen client of Alan Herdman for seven years before training to become a Pilates instructor with Trevor Blount in 1990.
Through Pilates Madeleine developed a deeper understanding of the body and movement whilst becoming simultaneously strengthened and more balanced, both physically and mentally. These great results, combined with her feeling that the culture of modern living in terms of body awareness, often neglected the many basic principles taught in Pilates - inspired her to want to teach and share the method.
Her first studio in Harley Street (Harley Street Pilates) was established in 1994 and Madeleine became well known for all her remedial work, working in contact with many osteopaths and physiotherapists. Madeleine has maintained a dedicated client base, and many have been attending since she first started teaching in 1993, staying with her at her various studio locations.
Madeleine's strengths lie in her positive attitude and her unique teaching manner. Her ability to teach the technique through demonstration and clear communication reflects her understanding that it is of huge benefit for clients to develop for themselves a more solid understanding of the technique, rather than just 'learn the moves'.
Madeleine looks for the intuitive qualities she believes are so important for teaching in both her staff and her trainees, who she is confident share and compliment her philosophies with their own unique approaches, contributing to the calm, uplifting and encouraging atmosphere in the studio.