Who was Joseph Pilates?
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. Very
little is known about his early life, but according to various biographies,
he appears to have been a frail child, suffering from asthma, rickets
and rheumatic fever. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments
led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.
In 1912 Pilates lived in England working as a circus performer, boxer
and self-defense instructor. During World War One, he was interned with
other German nationals and it was during this time that he further developed
his technique of physical fitness, designed for a confined space, by
teaching his fellow internees. During the later part of the War, he
served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he began
working with non-ambulatory patients. It was here that the inspiration
for his famous piece of equipment the “Cadillac” was born,
as he attached springs to the hospital beds to help support the patients’
limbs while working with them.
After the War, he returned to Germany where he trained the police in
Hamburg and worked with others such as Rudolph von Laban, the innovative
modern dance pioneer.
Pilates emigrated to the USA in the early 1920’s, opening a ‘body-conditioning
studio’ with his wife Clara in New York City in 1926.The studio
featured the apparatus that he designed to enhance his rehabilitation
work. It soon became very popular with dance community, offering dancers
a chance to recover from injuries and to improve their technique. Very
quickly he became the best-kept secret in New York. Word of mouth traveled
and everyone came to Joe’s- from dance legends Ruth St. Denis,
Ted Shawn, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham to actor
Jose Ferrer and author Christopher Isherwood.
In 1932, he published a booklet entitled “Your Health”
and in 1945 “Return to Controllogy”. Through these writings
and his students, his Method was passed on after his death in 1967 at
the age of 87. Pilates always felt that his work was fifty years ahead
of its time.
Further Development of the Pilates Method
The popularity of the Pilates Method only began to spread in the late
‘80’s and early ‘90’s when the media took notice
of the Method (and the celebrities who practiced it) and books and videos
helped to reach out to a growing public following. While the Method
has evolved and integrated current biomechanical thinking, the roots
of the technique are steeped in the philosophy and movement patterns
designed by Joseph Pilates over 70 years ago
