Joseph Pilates

Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1880, and was absolutely passionate about health and fitness.  Having been a sickly child, he was determined to create a strong body for himself.  He worked so hard on his own fitness and body building that he was used as a model for anatomical drawings at the age of fourteen.  From there, he went on to become a gymnast, skier, diver, boxer, acrobat and circus performer! 

In 1912, he came to England as a professional boxer and taught self-defence at Scotland Yard.  During the first world war he was interned here, as a German national, in a prisoner of war camp.  He used his time in captivity to explore, develop and promote his ideas.  He was adamant that his method had prevented fellow captives from being taken ill in the influenza epidemic of 1918, which took many lives outside the camp.  He also acted as a nurse in the hospital there, helping patients to exercise while they were still bedridden, also using the springs of a standard hospital bed for resistance. It is generally acknowledged in modern times, that the more active and happy patients are during their convalescence, the speedier and more likely their complete recovery.

After the war, he returned to Germany to train the Hamburg police force in his technique and work with many other movement pioneers of the day; most notably Rudolf von Laban, creator of Laban dance notation.  After a short while, he escaped Hitler's new political regime by emigrating to America .  En route he met and married Clara and together they set up his first studio in New York in 1923.  He seemed to tap into the new modern dance world that was developing and he became an instant success: he trained new contemporary technique pioneers and choreographers such as Martha Graham and George Balanchine.  They found that they could still exercise while injured, and like his hospital patients back in England , they found that they could recover more quickly than usual from injuries.

By looking at the way people and animals use their bodies throughout their lives, by watching the way small children move with naturally good posture and alignment and also by studying a variety of martial arts and fitness ideas from all over the world, he came up with his ‘Contrology' method as a way of life for everyone. He insisted that his fitness regime would help stave off disease and relieve the tension produced by new rigours of modern 1930's life, which by then included the telephone and the car.

If he were alive today, I am certain that he would claim that his Pilates regimen is even more needed in today's world than it ever was before! After all, computer gaming and general computer use, plus long commutes have been placing more and more of a burden on our bodies and mind over the last few decades. Pilates would claim that his regimen can help us stave off disease and keep a healthy body and mind even in these unfavourable conditions! And he certainly knew what he was talking about...