Pilates: It’s history and the man behind it.
Pilates: It’s history and the man behind it.
With the popularity of Pilates increasing every year, I think many of us have probably wondered where it all began. Is Pilates simply a new-age fitness trend, or has it been around for much longer than we realise?
In actuality, Pilates has been around for over a century and has helped countless people improve their strength, mobility and overall physical wellbeing. Behind the practice we all know today is a long history, from its creation by one man to its development into the worldwide fitness phenomenon it has become.
In this blog, we’ll explore where Pilates originated, the story behind the man who invented it, how it developed over the decades and how it has evolved into the different forms of Pilates we see regularly today.
The beginning…
Pilates was developed by a man named Joseph Pilates (although the practice’s original name was not initially pilates but rather Contrology which we will get into later). Joseph was born in Germany in 1883, it is reported that he grew up with various illnesses such as rickets as a child and other health challenges like asthma and rheumatic fever. Due to these ailments in his early life he made it a point to focus on his health, his physical body and its strength and conditioning.
He became fascinated by the human body and the different ways it could be trained and strengthened. Throughout his youth, he explored various forms of physical activity, including bodybuilding, gymnastics, diving, boxing and many more.
He also took an interest in disciplines for both the mind and body such as yoga and martial arts, developing understanding of movement, strength and physical conditioning. All of this eventually helped shape his own approach to exercise, built around the belief that a strong, healthy body and a focused mind go hand in hand. Little did he know that the method he was beginning to develop would go on to influence the fitness industry for generations to come.
The start of his methods…
Joseph found himself in England in 1912, and when the First World War broke out in 1914, he was interned in a camp on the Isle of Man alongside other German nationals.
Whilst there, he encouraged the other internees to recognise the importance of maintaining their physical fitness, even during such difficult circumstances. He began developing and teaching his own exercise methods, drawing inspiration from his existing knowledge of physical fitness, gymnastics, yoga and his interest in the connection between the mind and body. He was also fascinated by the natural movements of animals, particularly cats, which influenced his ideas around flexibility, control and fluid movement.
During his time in the camp, Joseph also began experimenting with different forms of exercise equipment on top of further developing his fitness methods. He wanted to find ways for people who were injured, unwell or had limited mobility to still participate in physical activity. With accounts suggesting that he adapted hospital beds by attaching springs to the bed frames, allowing patients to exercise against resistance even while bedbound and lying down. This is often credited as one of the inspirations behind the specialist equipment we now associate with Pilates, and popularly known as the Reformer. Although the exact origins of the equipment are difficult to establish, his time working with springs and resistance undoubtedly helped shape his later inventions.
Once Joseph returned to Germany after the war, he continued studying physical fitness, movement and conditioning. He was reportedly invited to train members of the German army by the German government, but ultimately decided that emigrating to America offered a better opportunity for him to develop his ideas and pursue his ambitions. Which turned out to be one of his best choices for his method and his personal life. He eventually emigrated to America in 1926, and as fate would have it,during his journey happened to meet Clara on the ship, who would later become his wife, business partner and an incredibly important part of the Pilates method’s development.
New York and its space for Pilates…
Once in America Joseph settled in New York with Clara where they opened their first studio. The studio was on eighth avenue and brought in many varied and diverse clients frequently. The studio became popular with elites in New York as well as dancers, gymnastics and circus performers whose professions relied highly on flexibility, control and mobility; the dance community were especially drawn to Joseph’s methods, recognising how his approach could help improve their strength, balance, flexibility and overall technique. His understanding of the body and the way it moved had continued to develop over the years, and his methods offered dancers a way to condition their bodies, improve their performance and support their physical recovery.
Word spread and Joseph and Clara’s studio became an important part of New York’s fitness and dance scene. What had originally started as Joseph’s personal interest in physical fitness had now developed into a method that was gaining recognition and attracting people from all walks of life and America had proved to be a great move for Joseph.
Throughout the course of his growing career Joseph developed an incredible inventory of mat exercises over 600 in fact as well as various pieces of apparatus such as the reformer, spine corrector, cadillac and wunda chair to support his work now.
The word spreads…
Joseph’s passion for physical wellbeing and his belief in the importance of a healthy mind and body extended beyond his teaching. He documented many of his ideas and philosophies in two books, Your Health, published in 1934, and his most popular Return to Life Through Contrology, published in 1945. These publications allowed him to share his approach to physical fitness and give people a better understanding of the principles behind his method.
Alongside his teaching and writing, Joseph was also a keen inventor, designing and developing numerous pieces of exercise equipment to support his work. He filed more than 26 patent applications throughout his career, not only for his exercise apparatus but also for innovative furniture designs that reflected his belief that everyday life could be improved through better movement, posture and physical awareness.
Even after his death, Joseph’s work and teachings continued to live on through a group of his closest and earliest students, who are now commonly referred to as the Pilates Elders. Having studied directly under Joseph and, in many cases, Clara, these individuals went on to establish their own studios, teach new generations of instructors and pass down the original principles of Contrology. This created a direct connection between Joseph’s original teachings and the Pilates classes we experience today.
Joseph remained dedicated to his method well into his later years, continuing to teach and promote his work even as he grew older. His commitment to physical fitness was reflected in his own impressive physical condition. Sadly, Joseph Pilates passed away in New York City in 1967, aged 83. However, his legacy was far from over. Through his students, their teachings and the continued development of his method, what began as Contrology has grown into the worldwide Pilates practice we recognise today renamed in memory as it grew wider around the world.