A brief history of Joseph Pilates (pee-lah-tehz)

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. As a child, Joe suffered through many illnesses as a result of a weak immune system. He studied Yoga, Martial Arts, Zen meditation, and Greek and Roman exercises in hopes of becoming stronger both mentally and physically. Around the start of WWI, Joe was placed under forced internment with other German Nationals in England. Here he began devising his matwork regimen based on a series of exercises in which he called "Contrology." He was later transferred to another camp where he became a nurse and caretaker to those stricken with wartime disease and injuries. It was in this camp that Joe began playing with other forms of movement more suitable for people that needed physical rehabilitation. By rigging bed springs to the ends of hospital beds, he used spring resistance to help bring back mobility to those that were bedridden. Some speculate that it was the work of Joseph Pilates that made this particular camp resistant to the plague of 1918, not a single man was affected.

In 1923, Joe left Germany and immigrated to the United States. On his trip across the Atlantic Joe met Clara, the woman that would eventually become his wife. Clara was a nurse and shared Joe's ideals in the development of functional movement and muscular balance in the body. Together, Joe and Clara expanded and improved Joe's Contrology method. They added more equipment and established a studio in New York City.

The Pilates technique was very unique for its time. Joe and Clara encouraged movement in the early stages of rehabilitation at a time when rest and stabilizations were the most popular methods. They concluded that by reintroducing movement by using resistance and assistance early in the rehabilitation stages hastened the healing process. This process also re-educated the muscles to use the appropriate amount of effort for any given movement.

During their time Joe and Clara continued to learn, teach, and expand their systematic movement practice. Today, their legacy can be found in the master teachers that were personally trained by Joe and Clara, and the master teachers that will come after them. By now there are many different forms and styles of the Pilates method, but the uniting factors are the six principals that Joseph created as the basis of his work. Joe had a vision that through his unique method of mental and physical conditioning, one could live a more healthful and meaningful life.

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