history of pilates

Joseph H. Pilates was born in Germany in 1880 and died in New York in 1967. Being exposed to the kulture physique era of Europe of the early 20th century led him to devise a programme that would improve his own body and into the world of gymnastics, boxing and circus performing.

Prior to the First World War he was working in London training Scotland Yard detectives in self defence and subsequently spent the war years interned in the UK because of his nationality. Drawing on his experience and the work of his predecessors Freidrich Jahn, Per Heinrick Ling, Eugene Sandow, Vladislav Krajevsky and the likes he devised programmes for his fellow inmates and patients using springs attached to beds in order to maintain their health and fitness.

With the deteriorating political climate in Germany after the war he migrated to the USA in the early 20s and set up a studio in New York where he gained a strong following from some of the best known actors, dancers, singers and performers of the day. Performers dont rest when injured and he managed to exercise many through their problems when the only medical advice was to rest. Unlike Europe, exercise therapy was not popular in the USA in those days and this was an early example of how it could work.

The method has seen a resurgence in popularity over recent years and continued to expand since Joes death. As the importance of exercise is again being stressed in todays society we are seeing a return of the medical gymnastic approaches of the 19th and 20th centuries of which Pilates is one.

Scientific research is beginning to provide explanations for why this and other methods work as well as providing a clearer criteria for sorting the huge repertoire of exercises into a logical format.