Who & What is Pilates?
Joseph Pilates at age 57 (1937) and on the Pilates reformer Joseph H. Pilates (1880-1967) was born in Germany. He was a sickly boy with asthma & rickets. He was determined to overcome his ailments. He developed exercises and apparatus over the course of many years that assisted him in developing a physique that was strong, powerful and moved with ease. He shared his method of exercise with injured soldiers while they were interned on the Isle of Man during World War I. During that time, the 1918 Flu epidemic inflicted and killed many in England. The interned soldiers were spared; it may be in part because Joseph Pilates exercises required the body to fully move, facilitating the movement of the lymphatic system, and consequently boosting the immune system. In 1926 Joseph Pilates immigrated to the United States, meeting his future wife Clara on the boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean. Joseph & Clara settled in New York City, setting up the first official “Pilates” studio. During his lif
Joseph Pilates at age 54 (1937) and on the Pilates reformer Joseph H. Pilates (1883-1967) was born in Germany. He was a sickly boy with asthma & rickets. He was determined to overcome his ailments. He developed exercises and apparatus over the course of many years that assisted him in developing a physique that was strong, powerful and moved with ease. He shared his method of exercise with injured soldiers while they were interned on the Isle of Man during World War I. During that time, the 1918 Flu epidemic inflicted and killed many in England. The interned soldiers were spared; it may be in part because Joseph Pilates exercises required the body to fully move, facilitating the movement of the lymphatic system, and consequently boosting the immune system. In 1926 Joseph Pilates immigrated to the United States, meeting his future wife Clara on the boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean. Joseph & Clara settled in New York City, setting up the first official “Pilates” studio. During his lif
