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Pilates is a form of exercise emphasizing the balanced development of the body through core strength, flexibility and awareness in order to support efficient, graceful movement. It favors the use of breath and the quality of movement over repetition. Pilates elongates and strengthens, preventing injury by improving muscle elasticity and joint mobility. For those working back from an injury, pilates offers a low-impact rehabilitation which increases strength and improves flexibilty without inducing inflammation or overusing syndromes. Finally, if performed consistently, it gets you in shape. "In 10 sessions you'll feel the difference, in 20 sessions you'll see the difference, and in 30 sessions you'll have a different body." You can find more information on the benefits of pilates on my blog, Well, Well, Well...
The History of Pilates
THE MAN Most people don’t realize that pilates was created by the man, Joseph Hubertus Pilates, born on December 8, 1880 just outside of Dusseldorf, Germany. His father was a prize-winning gymnast and his mother a naturopath but his childhood was plagued by illness, including rickets, rheumatic fever and asthma. Determined to overcome these ailments, he took on various body-building regimens and eventually worked his way to health, even posing at age 14 as a model for anatomy charts. In 1912, he traveled to England to pursue a career as a boxer. When WW1 broke out in 1914, he was interned along with other German nationals in a camp for enemy aliens in Lancaster, England. There he taught wrestling and self-defense and encouraged others follow a fitness program he was developing. This regimen was the original set of exercises he would later call "Contrology". Here, he also built his earliest rehabilitation equipment for the bedridden by rigging bed springs and mattresses. Legend has it that when an influenza pandemic swept the world in 1918, none of Joe’s followers succumbed. After the war, Joseph Pilates returned to Germany where he trained the Hamburg Military Police in physical conditioning but in 1925, when he was asked to train the new German Army, he hastily emigrated to America. En route, he met a young nurse named Clara who later became his wife and an integral partner in developing and teaching his method.
THE CITY When he arrived in New York City in 1926, Joe began working in a boxers’ training gym at 939 Eighth Avenue, the same building where several dance schools and rehearsal spaces were located. By the early 1930’s, he and Clara had taken over the gym. As news of Joe’s skill at working with injuries spread, his client base expanded to include doctors, businessmen, gymnasts, tradesman, celebrity actors and members of New York’s high society. The 30’s and 40’s were the heyday of American ballet and modern dance and many luminaries such as George Balanchine, Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Dennis, Martha Graham and Hanya Holm sent their dancers to “Uncle Joe” to be “fixed". Contrology became an intrinsic part of many dancers’ training and rehabilitation. Every summer between 1939 and 1951, Joe and Clara taught at Jacob’s Pillow dance festival in the Berkshires, further integrating themselves into the dance community.
THE METHOD IN WRITING Joseph wrote two books. Your Health, originally published in 1934, explains Joseph Pilates early fundamental tenets of posture, body mechanics, and correct breathing.
THE PILATES DIASPORA Although the medical community was taking slowly to the Pilates method, it was quietly taking root in several Manhattan institutions such as New York University, High School of the Performing Arts, Dance Theater of Harlem, 92nd St. Y and Clark Center for the Performing Arts. By the mid-1960’s, successful students had taken Contrology to Paris, New Mexico and California. In 1966, a fire occurred at the Eight Avenue studio. Joe fell through burnt floorboards while attempting to salvage the studio and hung from a beam until he was rescued by firefighters. His death is believed to have resulted from smoke inhalation on this day. He was 87. His wife Clara continued teaching and promoting the method until her retirement in 1970. She died in 1976. Joe claimed his work was “50 years ahead of (his) time” |
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