For years my favourite form of exercise has been a version of pilates taught by Cassey Ho, founder of Blogilates. It seemed like about time to take a look back at the inventor of pilates, Joseph Pilates! I quickly discovered that he led a fascinating life, from his birth in Monchengladbach, Germany in 1883 to his death in New York City in 1967.
Pilates was a sickly child who turned to exercise to battle his ailments, including asthma.
He studied every kind of exercise and discipline he came across, including body building, gymnastics, yoga, tai chi, martial arts, and zen meditation.
As a teen he found work as a model for anatomical drawings.
In adulthood he became an avid skier, diver, and gymnast.
In 1912 Pilates moved to England where he taught self-defense to detectives at Scotland Yard and worked as a circus acrobat and professional boxer.
He was interned as an “enemy alien” during World War I. During this time he helped bedridden inmates by rigging springs to hospital beds so they could exercise against resistance. (This is the origin of the apparatus now known as the Pilates reformer.)
Pilates taught people to correct bad posture and inefficient breathing habits He claimed that the effectiveness of his system was proved by the fact that none of his trainees died during the 1918 influenza epidemic.
After the war Pilates returned to Germany, where his exercise method became popular in the dance community.
When asked to teach fitness to the German army, Pilates left for the United States.
Pilates and his third (?) wife, Clara, opened a studio in New York City. They shared an address with the New York City Ballet and many clients were ballerinas.
Pilates called his exercise system “Contrology” and emphasized the role of both mind and body.
When a former student opened a competing studio, Pilates allegedly threatened him with a gun and shut him down.
Pilates continued to train clients at his studio until his death at age 87.
Sources
- “Pilates Origins” via Balanced Body
- “History and Origins of Pilates & The Pilates Reformer” via Pilates Central
- “History & Origins of Pilates” by Laura Berkowitz via The Pilates Swan