What is Pilates? A History

So…what is Pilates

Pilates is a system of exercises developed by exercise innovator Joseph H. Pilates. Pilates improves your mental and physical well-being, increases flexibility, and strengthens muscles. Pilates uses controlled movements in the form of equipment or mat exercises to tone and strengthen the body. This method has proved itself, for over 80 years, as a safe and effective form of body conditioning and exercise.

In the words of Mr. Pilates himself, pilates “is (the) complete coordination of mind, body, and spirit.” He felt that through the repetition of his exercises you first develop mental control of your body, and then gradually and progressively you blend with the natural rhythms of your body.

Even in 1945 he correctly described our over worked, over stressed lives.

“Our bodies are slumped, our shoulders are stooped, our eyes are hollow, our muscles flabby, and our vitality extremely lowered, if not vanished. This is but the natural result of not having uniformly developed all the muscles of our spine, trunk, arms, and legs in the course of pursuing our daily labors and office activities.”

Principles of Pilates

Breath

Centering

Concentration

Control

Precision

Flow

Who is Joseph Pilates? And how did he come up with his system?

Joseph H. Pilates was born in 1880 near Düsseldorf Germany, son of a naturopath mother and gymnast father. He had a sickly childhood, suffering from asthma, rickets (weak or deformed bones), and rheumatic fever (an immune disease affecting the joints, heart, skin, nervous system and brain). Often teased as a child about his frail body, he was committed to finding greater fitness and health. At a young age he began building his stamina and strength. He was in prime condition by age fourteen, and had developed his body so completely, he was the model for a series of anatomy charts.

He studied anatomy books, and watched the movement of babies and animals as he lay in his woods. Later he studied such techniques as yoga, martial arts, Zen meditation, and the Greek and Roman body conditioning exercises. These inspired him to create his own set of exercises. Over time, these exercises, which he named “Contrology” became what we now know as “Pilates”.

Joe went to England in 1912 either to train as a boxer, to tour with his brother in a German circus troupe, or to train detectives in self defense. No one is exactly sure as the stories vary. When World War I broke out in 1914, his German heritage made him an enemy alien, so he was sent to an internment camp on the Isle of Man. This confinement did not quell his need for activity, and he soon was teaching others wrestling and self-defense. His fitness teaching skills were soon noticed and put to use with the camp disabled. As a nurse in the camp hospital, he used his series of exercises to help the bedridden regain muscle tone and strength. He added pulleys, straps, and springs to the beds to assist the patients in getting stronger. These inventions are the first conceptions for the Pilates equipment he later created and built. The prototypes for the equipment of today.
In 1818 the influenza pandemic broke out all over Europe, killing tens of millions of young and healthy people. This virulent strain spread all over Europe, and severely affected incarcerated populations. Joe proudly boasted, later in his life, that none of the people he trained and worked with on the Isle of Man contracted the flu.

After the war, back in Germany, Mr. Pilates continued developing his theories and exercises. He trained the Hamburg police department self defense and was their fitness trainer. Rudolf von Laban, a noted dance choreographer and movement analyst, and Mary Wigman, a famous dancer and choreographer, both began incorporating Joseph’s techniques in their work. By 1925, he had achieved fitness fame in Germany, earning the attention of the German government. When they invited him to train their new German Army, Joseph Pilates realized that the political climate in Germany might divert him from his work. He packed up his ideas and emigrated to America. Some also believe he may have come to America to train champion boxer Max Smelling.

On the ship to New York, Joseph met his future wife Clara. Soon upon arriving in New York they opened their first studio on Eighth Avenue. They shared the building with several dance organizations, so it did not take long for dancers to discover Mr. Pilates. His unique method soon spread through the dance community. Proponents included George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins, and Ted Shawn. Pilates did not just train dancers, he also trained the New York elite such as Katherine Hepburn, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Yehudi Menuhin, Mrs. Jean Vanderbuilt, and Guggenheim and Gimbel. As well as many wall street business men.

Joseph taught at the studio through the late 1960’s. In 1966 a fire damaged part of the back of the Eighth Avenue building which Pilates used as a store room. When he went back to investigate, the burned floor gave way and he fell through. Still being a robust 86 year old, he caught hold of a board and pulled himself back up. Joseph Pilates died a year later at age 87, possibly from damage caused by smoke inhilation.
Clara Pilates carried on the teaching of her husbands method until she passed on the studio to one of their protege’s, Romana Kryzanowska.

“The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being, mental calm, and spiritual peace are pricelss to their possessors… [and] it is only through Contrology that this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind, and spirit can ever be attained.”

Pivotal Motion Pilates