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Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880.
As a child, he suffered from many ailments,
including rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever.
Because of this and teasing from his peers, he
was determined not to be a weak child. He
dedicated his life to learning about the human
body and how to become stronger and more
lean. By the time he was only 14, he was
already posing for anatomical charts.
As a child, he suffered from many ailments,
including rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever.
Because of this and teasing from his peers, he
was determined not to be a weak child. He
dedicated his life to learning about the human
body and how to become stronger and more
lean. By the time he was only 14, he was
already posing for anatomical charts.
| More information can be found at: www.romanaspilates.com www.classicalpilates.net www.pilates-gratz.com |
2007-2008 Copyright Pilates Corps, Inc. All rights reserved.
At the age of 32, he moved to England to work as a circus performer and boxer.
He had already begun to develop his own method of exercises to correct problems
he was seeing. He attributed poor health to such things as improper breathing,
poor posture and lack of mindful movements.
During World War I, he was imprisoned in a camp with other German nationals. A
bad flu was going around and Joseph Pilates was credited for keeping those men
healthy and fit during this time. It was also here that the makings of the first Pilates
equipment took form. He invented the "Cadillac" as it became known as, to aid
himself in working with the men that could not get out of bed. Taking bed springs
out, he reattached them to poles at the corners of the bed to give the muscles
resistance, so he didn't have to physically do this himself.
After the war, he emigrated to the US. On the boat, he met Clara, a nurse who
became his wife. They set up their studio in New York City teaching a method they
called, "Contrology," using the mind to control the muscles in the body.
Modern dancers of that time, including George Balanchine and Martha Graham,
began to send their students to Joseph Pilates. Word spread and it became a
very popular way for athletes to rehabilitate ailing joints and muscles, not to
mention keep them in top physical form. Romana Kryzanowska was sent to Joseph
Pilates when she was a teenage dancer with an injured ankle. More than 60 years
later, she is still teaching the method to her devoted students.
Joseph Pilates continued to teach well into the 60's. He died in 1967 at the age of
87. Today, his work can be found in studios, health clubs and gyms around the
world. He always knew that one day his method would be universally adopted.
He had already begun to develop his own method of exercises to correct problems
he was seeing. He attributed poor health to such things as improper breathing,
poor posture and lack of mindful movements.
During World War I, he was imprisoned in a camp with other German nationals. A
bad flu was going around and Joseph Pilates was credited for keeping those men
healthy and fit during this time. It was also here that the makings of the first Pilates
equipment took form. He invented the "Cadillac" as it became known as, to aid
himself in working with the men that could not get out of bed. Taking bed springs
out, he reattached them to poles at the corners of the bed to give the muscles
resistance, so he didn't have to physically do this himself.
After the war, he emigrated to the US. On the boat, he met Clara, a nurse who
became his wife. They set up their studio in New York City teaching a method they
called, "Contrology," using the mind to control the muscles in the body.
Modern dancers of that time, including George Balanchine and Martha Graham,
began to send their students to Joseph Pilates. Word spread and it became a
very popular way for athletes to rehabilitate ailing joints and muscles, not to
mention keep them in top physical form. Romana Kryzanowska was sent to Joseph
Pilates when she was a teenage dancer with an injured ankle. More than 60 years
later, she is still teaching the method to her devoted students.
Joseph Pilates continued to teach well into the 60's. He died in 1967 at the age of
87. Today, his work can be found in studios, health clubs and gyms around the
world. He always knew that one day his method would be universally adopted.
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