JOSEPH PILATES

German born Joseph Pilates was living in England, working as a circus performer and boxer, when he was placed in forced internment in England at the outbreak of WWI. While in the internment camp he began to develop the floor exercises that evolved into what we now know as the Pilates Mat Work.

As time went by, Pilates began to work with rehabilitating other detainees who were suffering from diseases and injuries. It was invention born of necessity that inspired Pilates to utilize things that were available to him, like bedsprings, to create resistance equipment and exercises for his patients, and ultimately the Reformer.

Pilates was drawing on strong personal experience in fitness. He had been an unhealthy child, which led him to seek out and study many kinds of self-improvement systems. Pilates drew from studies in Eastern practices such as Yoga and Zen. He was also inspired by the ancient Greek ideal of man perfected in development of body, mind and spirit. Pilates studied anatomy and developed himself as a body builder, a wrestler, gymnast, boxer, skier and diver.

After WWI, Pilates briefly returned to Germany where his reputation as a physical trainer/healer preceded him. He worked briefly training the Hamburg Military Police in self-defense and physical training. In 1925 he was asked to train the German army. Instead, he packed his bags and took a boat to New York City. On the boat to America Joseph met Clara, a nurse, who would become his wife. Pilates went on to establish a studio in New York and Clara worked with him as he evolved the Pilates method of exercise, invented the Pilates exercise equipment, and trained students.

Pilates called his work Contrology. He defined Contrology as “the comprehensive integration of body mind and spirit”. Pilates was a firm advocate of quality over quantity with regard to exercise. He was looking for efficiency in movement. Each movement had to be accomplished with full attention and done smoothly with control. With that goal, Pilates created exercises that develop what we now call, core strength, in order to maximize the ease and flow of each movement. He was also very much convinced of the importance of breathing fully. Pilates encouraged students to breathe deeply, even using the lungs in a bellows like way, so as to truly fill and cleanse the lungs.

"A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy calisthenics or forced contortion."
quote: J. Pilates

Pilate’s New York studio put him in close proximity to a number of dance studios, which led to his “discovery” by the dance community. Many dancers and well known persons of New York depended on Pilate’s Contrology training for the strength and grace it developed in the practitioner, as well as for it’s rehabilitative effects. Until exercise science caught up with the Pilates exercise principles in the 1980’s, and the surge of interest in Pilates that we have today got underway, it was chiefly dancers and elite athletes who kept Pilate’s work alive.

Pilates taught in New York from 1926 to 1966. During that time he trained a number of students who not only applied his work to their own lives but became teachers of the Pilates Method themselves. This first generation of teachers who trained directly with Joseph Pilates is often called thePilates Elders. Some committed themselves to passing along Pilate’s work exactly as he taught it. This approach is referred to as “classical style” Pilates. Other students went on to integrate what they learned with their own research in anatomy and exercise sciences, creating a group of ‘contemporary teachers and styles’ of Pilate’s work.

Joseph Pilates passed away in 1967at the age of 87. He had maintained a very fit physique throughout his life, and many photos show that he was in remarkable physical condition in his older years. He is also said to have been quite a flamboyant personality. He smoked cigars, liked to party, wore his exercise briefs wherever he wanted, and could be an intimidating, though deeply committed, instructor. Clara Pilates continued to teach and run the studio for another 10 years

 

PILATES... ‘WHERE IT ALL BEGAN’

Muscular Therapy offer Mat Pilates based on the original exercises from Joseph Pilates.

 

We can teach 1-2-1, 1-2-2 and also classes which take place in Britannia Village Hall, Victoria Dock E16.

Classes are aimed at beginners/mixed ability.

 

 

BRITANNIA VILLAGE HALL IS ON AUDLEY DRIVE E16