Who is Joseph Pilates?
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. His father was an award-winning gymnast and his mother was a naturopath, so he was exposed to the world of alternative wellness and fitness early in his life. As a child Pilates suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, but was determined to overcome his physical ailments and eventually become an accomplished skier, diver and gymnast. As a young man, he researched Eastern and Western forms of movement, including Yoga, and eventually trained as a rehabilitation nurse. The fusion of his early movement studies resulted in the development of Contrology (what is now known as Pilates).
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. As a child he suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, to help strengthen his own body he created a body conditioning system, his determination led to him becoming an accomplished gymnast, diver and skier During World War I, he was interned with other German nationals and it was during this time that he further developed his technique of physical fitness. Pilates immigrated to the USA in the early 1920’s opening a ‘body-conditioning studio’ with his wife Clara in New York City in 1926. The studio featured the apparatus that he designed to enhance his rehabilitation work. It soon became very popular with the dance community, offering dancers a chance to improve their technique or recover from injuries. Very quickly he became the best-kept secret in New York. The public took note and nowadays, one can find Pilates studios all over the world. Today, many famous athletes, dancers, models, actors, as well as business profes
Joseph Pilates was a sickly child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. In an effort to make and keep his body healthy he studied yoga, Zen and ancient Greek and Roman physical exercise regimes. At the outbreak of World War I, while living in England as a performer and boxer, Pilates was placed under forced internment along with other German nationals in Lancaster, England. It was at this time that he began devising the original mat work exercises that he referred to as “Contrology”. A few years later he was transferred to another camp where he began working with bedridden patients who were unable to walk or exercise. Joseph Pilates attached springs to their beds which enabled them to exercise their limbs, gain strength and improve at a quicker rate. This form of rehabilitation was the beginning of his spring based machines. To find out more about Pilates please visit the Pilates Method Alliance at www.pilatesmethodalliance.org.
Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph H. Pilates had a lifelong interest in body conditioning. As a frail child dedicated to becoming stronger, he later grew to become an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast, and boxer. While interned in England during World War I for his German citizenship, Joseph became a hospital orderly. During this time, he designed exercise apparatus for immobilized patients by attaching springs to hospital beds. This system formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning and specialized exercise apparatus, which he brought to New York City when he opened the first Pilates Studio in 1926.
Joseph Hubertus Pilates Joseph H. Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. He suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever as a child and because of this he was determined to overcome health problems through a dedication to physical fitness. By age 14, Pilates had already achieved his goals boasting a body of perfect fitness, which he modeled for German medical anatomy charts. He studied diverse movement arts including yoga, martial arts, boxing, ancient Grecian and Roman regimens. Pilates focused on developing mind and body together, specifically, by integrating the practice of spiritual and physical arts. At the breakout of World War I, Pilates was touring England. He was interned into a camp for “enemy aliens”. Here, he trained fellow detainees, and began to develop his original method of exercise, which he would call “Contrology”. Pilates built the first apparatus to rehabilitate those injured and diseased in the camp.
