Pilates

Pilates takes its name from Joseph Pilates. He was born in Germany in 1880. A sickly child, he was determined to make himself strong and fit. He combined Western and Eastern ideas about health and physical fitness, researching and practicing every exercise he could. He devised the Pilates Method as a new approach to exercise and body conditioning.

Pilates was working as a circus performer in England when World War 1 broke out and he was placed into an internment camp. While there he instructed other detainees in daily exercises, from there he began rehabilitating injured servicemen using an “apparatus,” that was the forerunner of the Universal Reformer, a bed-like frame with a flat platform which rolls back and forth on wheels within the frame; this carriage is attached to one end of the reformer by a set of springs.

After the War, Pilates returned to Germany but soon emigrated to America. In the late 30s, New York City was a Mecca for dancers, Pilates soon earned the reputation for his ability to “fix” dancer’s injuries. Luminaries like George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Hanna Holm studied with “Uncle Joe” and referred injured dancers to him. “Contrology” became a core element of many dancers training and rehabilitation. A number of such dancers became “first generation” Pilates teachers. Soon the Pilates Method had been discovered by those outside the dance community.

Joseph Pilates died in 1967, while his wife continued to teach until her death in 1976. Romana Kryzanowska, a student of George Balanchine, took over the running of the studio. In the 1980s, second generation teachers built their practices across the country and formalized teacher training programs began to appear. The Method was gaining wide acceptance, in 2000, Pilates filed a lawsuit to trademark the name; it was denied by the courts.

Following the trademark ruling, growing interest in mind body discipline and intelligent exercise options catapulted Joseph Pilates vision into a global phenomenon, known simply as “Pilates.”