HISTORY of Pilates – The Man and The Method
“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. In order to achieve happiness, it is imperative to gain mastery of your body. If at the age of 30 you are stiff and out of shape, you are old. If at 60 you are supple and strong then you are young." - Joseph Pilates –
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. Being a frail child, he suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.
In 1912 Pilates lived in England working as a circus performer, boxer and self-defense instructor. During the First World War, he developed his technique of physical fitness further, by teaching his fellow internees. He also served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he worked with patients with varying degrees of disability.
He attached bedsprings to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs, thus leading to the development of the machine called the “Cadillac” which is used today in many Pilates Studios.
Pilates migrated to the USA in the early 1920s, and opened a 'body-conditioning studio with his wife Clara in New York in 1926. The studio carried the various apparatus designed to enhance his rehabilitation work. It soon became very popular, particularly with the dance community, as it offered a chance to improve technique or recover from injury. Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham, as well as the actor Jose Ferrer and the author Christopher Isherwood were among his first clients.
Joseph died in 1967 at the age of 87. His method of exercise was called Contrology. It was only after his death that it became known as Pilates or the Pilates method.
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. Being a frail child, he suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.
In 1912 Pilates lived in England working as a circus performer, boxer and self-defense instructor. During the First World War, he developed his technique of physical fitness further, by teaching his fellow internees. He also served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he worked with patients with varying degrees of disability.
He attached bedsprings to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs, thus leading to the development of the machine called the “Cadillac” which is used today in many Pilates Studios.
Pilates migrated to the USA in the early 1920s, and opened a 'body-conditioning studio with his wife Clara in New York in 1926. The studio carried the various apparatus designed to enhance his rehabilitation work. It soon became very popular, particularly with the dance community, as it offered a chance to improve technique or recover from injury. Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham, as well as the actor Jose Ferrer and the author Christopher Isherwood were among his first clients.
Joseph died in 1967 at the age of 87. His method of exercise was called Contrology. It was only after his death that it became known as Pilates or the Pilates method.
