THE HISTORY OF PILATES
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1883. Little is known about his early life, but he appears to have been a frail child, suffering from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.
Pilates lived in England working as a circus performer during 1912, he was also working as a boxer and a self-defense instructor. During the First World War, Pilates was interned with other German nationals. During this time he developed his technique of physical fitness further, by teaching his fellow internees. During the latter part of the War, he served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he worked with patients unable to walk. He attached bed springs to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs, leading to the development of his famous piece of equipment known as the 'Cadillac'.
In the early 1920s, Pilates emigrated to the USA. It was on the boat trip from Germany to America where he met Clara, who become his wife, friend and business partner. Clara was working as a nursery and kindergarten teacher at the time. Once settled in NYC they opened a studio, 939 8th Avenue in 1926. The studio featured much of the Apparatus designed to enhance his rehabilitation work. Pilates gained a strong reputation in the dance community by working with artists such as Martha Graham, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins; with his ability to return performers back to the stage post injury. Originally, 60% of the clientele were men. Very little was spoken in their original studio as English wasn’t Josephs first language. They relied heavily on hands-on corrections to teach the method. "They wouldn't talk, they would sculpt you" is how Pilates Elder Mary Bowen describes being in the studio.
In 1932 Pilates published a booklet called 'Your Health' and followed this with another called 'Return to Life Through Contrology' in 1945. Through these writings and his students, his method was passed on after his death in 1967 at the age of 83. During his lifetime this method of exercise was called Contrology. It was only after his death that it became known as the Pilates Method.
.. “All new ideas are revolutionary. When their underlying theory is proven through practical application, it becomes a matter of time for them to develop and to flourish. Such revolutionary ideas simply cannot be ignored. They cannot be kept in the background..” – Your Health, JH Pilates.
Pilates died in 1967 where Clara and long-term assistant, Romana Kryzanowska were to take over the NYC studio. While Joe is the man behind the method, it was his wife Clara that became the real teacher in the studio after his passing, and allowed the method to be passed on to different apprentices, ‘The Pilates Elders’. Clara established the tradition of evolving and adapting the Pilates method to suit the individual needs of clients. This tradition is still carried out today by educated Pilates Trainers.
In his 1945 book “Return To Life Through Contrology”, Pilates highlighted principals:
Mastery of mind | Concentration | Patience | Breath | Flow | Alignment | Control | Precision | Persistence | Co-Ordination | Flexibility | Relaxation
Today, many who take on the Method, follow the six Principals of Pilates written by Friendman & Essen in The Pilates Method of Physical and Mental Conditioning: