History of Pilates

Joseph Hurbertus Pilates, 1880 – 1967

On this machine one can perform plies and other exercises without putting any weight on the joints (so beneficial for those with injuries or other joint problems), and against resistance (so that the muscles are worked harder).

After the War, Pilates emigrated to the United States.  On the ship to America he met his future wife Clara.  The couple founded a studio in New York City and directly taught and supervised their students well into the 1960’s.  Pilates and his method, which he and Clara originally called “Contrology”, refers to the way his method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles.  This method focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine.  In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.  Together they soon established a devout following in the local dance and the performing arts community.  Well known dancers such as George Balanchine and Martha Graham became devotees and regularly sent their students to them for training and rehabilitation.  Pilates practiced what he preached and lived a long healthy life. He died in 1967 at the age of 87.

In 1912 Pilates moved to England earning a living as a boxer, circus performer and self-defense trainer. During World War I he was interned with other German citizens in a camp in Lancaster where he trained other inmates in fitness and exercise.  It was here that the beginnings of the true Pilates Method began to take shape.

Much of Pilates early work was based on the rehabilitation of ill or injured people.  During his internment, when Pilates worked as a nurse he had experimented devising an exercise regime by attaching springs to hospital beds, so that patients could begin to work on toning their muscles even before they could get up.  Springs used as resistance were the cornerstone of his method and Pilates designed a machine that he called the ‘universal reformer’, a sliding horizontal bed that can be used with up to four springs, according to the exercise and the strength of the individual.  On this machine one can perform plies and other exercises without putting any weight on the joints (so beneficial for those with injuries or other joint problems), and against resistance (so that the muscles are worked harder).

After the War, Pilates emigrated to the United States.  On the ship to America he met his future wife Clara.  The couple founded a studio in New York City and directly taught and supervised their students well into the 1960’s.  Pilates and his method, which he and Clara originally called “Contrology”, refers to the way his method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles.  This method focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine.

In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.  Together they soon established a devout following in the local dance and the performing arts community.  Well known dancers such as George Balanchine and Martha Graham became devotees and regularly sent their students to them for training and rehabilitation.  Pilates practiced what he preached and lived a long healthy life. He died in 1967 at the age of 87.

Quote: “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”

– Joseph Pilates –  Return to Life Through Contrology

WHAT IS PILATES?

The Pilates method is more than just a series of exercises it is an entire approach to exercise, a way of moving the whole body.  We now know, through research, that the Pilates method of body conditioning is not only fundamental in preventing injury for all people in all walks of life but can also be used to help rehabilitate people suffering with many types of injury.

Pilates is essentially a combination of t’ai chi and yoga.  The quality of movement of Pilates is very similar to t’ai chi, and many of the positions in Pilates are influenced by yoga.  What makes Pilates different from both, however, is the focus on the body’s centre or “core strength”.   Core strength emanates from the muscles that lie from the pelvis into the rib cage and diaphragm.  These muscles work to maintain posture and support the spinal column and pelvis.

There are two different types of class:

• mat-based, undertaken either seated or lying down, using gravity as resistance
• equipment based which can be far more challenging, and expensive, as specialised apparatus may be used to increase resistance

In Pilates we concentrate more on the deeper core muscles.  Pilates uses a sequence of exercises to work these deep core muscles, by adding the challenge of weight to the core (lifting your leg), by adding balance (standing on one leg while maintaining neutral), or by adding movement (circling your leg).  Your core is also stabilised by another group of muscles, the pelvic floor, which assist in stabilising the pelvis and spine.

The ability to stabilise the core, while at the same time being able to move the limbs effortlessly, not only reduces the risk of injury (especially to the spine) but improves our posture, giving us that longer leaner look.  Remember that Pilates is not a cardiovascular or fat burning workout – in order to lose body fat and work your heart and lungs, you will still need to engage in large body movements or activities that make you breathless.

THE BENEFITS

Quote: “In 10 sessions you will feel the difference, in 20 you will see the difference and in 30 you will have a whole new body.”

– Joseph Pilates