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Joseph H. Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. He was a very sickly child,
suffering from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever and was also regarded
as being prone to tuberculosis. Despite his physical limitations, he strove
to improve his physical strength from an early age.
He started off as a bodybuilder and became an expert in many different sports, including diving, skiing, gymnastics, and boxing. He also studied Eastern methods of training such as Yoga and Zen Meditation.
In 1912 he left Germany for England to train as a professional boxer. When WW I broke out he and other German nationals were interned as enemy aliens and he was sent to work as a nurse. It was during this time at the camp that his experimentation with the springs in hospital beds led him to the development of the 'Universal Reformer'. By applying movement and resistance to muscles while the patients were in bed, he facilitated a speedier recovery of the injured soldiers.
After the war he returned to Germany and began training the Hamburg City police. In 1925 he was invited to train the new German army. Declining, he left Germany and emigrated to the US in 1926.
On the boat he met his future wife Clara. They settled in New York City, opening up a studio on 8th Avenue. Joseph H. Pilates' exercise method took off with dancers who found his method helped them recover from injuries and prevent new ones. By 1940 Joseph H. Pilates' exercise method had become widely accepted in the dance world as one of the best ways to develop a perfect
body.
The mainstream public was slow to pick up this form of exercise. Joseph H. Pilates was so fully focused on developing new ideas that he did not concentrate on marketing his method. Hollywood celebrities helped bring Joseph H. Pilates' exercise method into the American mainstream at the end of the 20th century. They were excited about the great results the method has had in shaping their bodies while giving them a 'kinder' alternative to the harsher forms of exercise that are still popular.
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© I.C. Rapoport
Joseph H. Pilates died in 1967 leaving his wife Clara in charge of the studio. Many of the Joseph H. Pilates students went on to open their own studios around the United States and have now expanded around the world.
Joseph H. Pilates was a man ahead of his time - developing deep torso strength and flexibility. The essence of his exercises was proper breathing and control over the body with the main focus being on the abdominal muscles. With his method the 'core' musclesare strengthened, improving posture and reducing the risk of injury for dancers, ice-scaters, athletes and people that are looking for overall fitness. |
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