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Josef Hubertus Pilates -
1880-1967
The
Pilates Method was developed over
70 years ago by the German athlete and pioneer
 in the field of physical therapy, Josef (Joseph) H. Pilates.
Growing up a sickly child, Joseph H.
Pilates (Pi -LAH-teez) devoted his life to creating exercises for ultimate
physical and mental fitness.
His invention of the Pilates technique began in the 1920's. At a British
internment camp during World War I, Pilates rehabilitated other internees
using hospital bed springs and his evolving exercises. It is said that
none of those patients caught the influenza that was sweeping all of
Europe at the time. The doctors attributed this phenomenon to the
stimulation of the immune
system by Pilates exercises.
On
a ship to America he met his future wife, Clara.
Shortly after
their arrival in New York, they set up an exercise studio in the same building that later housed the New York City Ballet. Martha Graham came to study with
Pilates, and George Balanchine sent his injured dancers.
By the 1940s
Joseph Pilates had achieved notoriety in the dance community -- and the Pilates technique became an integral part of dance training. Such legends of dance as Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Hanya Holm and Jerome Robins,
have all practiced Pilates and taught it to their students.
Over the years,
Pilates created more than 500 movements--each one designed to stretch
and strengthen muscles without putting stress on joints and ligaments.
This approach, combined with deep, coordinated breathing, created a legacy
of mind-body fitness that has lasted for 70 years.
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