Joseph Pilates

 

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1883.  A sickly child with asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever, he overcame these ailments as a child with exercise and athletics.  Because of his determination, his weak body was transformed into a strong and healthy one.  From a young age, he studied many disciplines including yoga, martial arts, bodybuilding, gymnastics, boxing, recreational sports, and dance.  He also observed animals, particularly cats, and attributed their lithe athleticism to their constant stretching and relaxing of muscles.  These findings were incorporated into his own unique exercise method.

While placed in English internment camps during WWI, Joseph Pilates rehabilitated fellow internees and wounded soldiers.  Often bedridden, the “patients” exercised from beds that he had engineered.  The bed frame and springs were rigged to provide resistance.  During this time, his system of therapeutic exercise was being cultivated.  These makeshift contraptions eventually evolved into the official apparatuses of the Pilates method – the Universal Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair, and more.

After the war, he continued to grow his method.  He reached more people, opened a studio, and created protegés.  From the early twentieth century until now, people from all walks of life have never stopped doing Pilates and reaping its benefits.  Joseph Pilates’ legacy has stood the test of time.