What is the history of Pilates?
German-born Joseph H. Pilates created the Art of Contrology, which is now called the Pilates Method. As a young child, he was often quite ill and worked hard to strengthen his body from the inside out through the study of boxing, yoga, gymnastics, bodybuilding, martial arts, among others. With the outbreak of World War I, he was placed in a work camp in England and began experimenting on hospital patients using bedsprings to apply movement and resistance to their muscles while still bedridden. Through this form of training, he found that his patients quickly recovered and became much stronger than ever before. In 1923 Joseph along with his wife Clara opened the first Pilates Studio in New York City. The Pilates Method promises musculo-skeletal balance, proper breathing, and spinal alignment. Mr. Pilates, as his students often referred to him as, created a system of exercises that combine control of the abdominals, ease of movement and mental focus. Joseph Pilates emphasized the belief
