In order to understand how Pilates came to be, it is important to know about the life of Joseph Pilates. He was not only an innovator of exercises that has lasted beyond his years of life, but also an innovator of unique equipment to help facilitate the resistance exercises he established. It is not well known that the pilates equipment we work on today was inspired by hospital beds and beer barrels.
Joseph Pilates was born in 1883 in Germany. He was a sickly child, suffering from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever and bullied for being weak. Perhaps, because of these things, he acquired an anatomy book and studied every part of the human body. He studied not just anatomy but learned how every muscle worked. He taught himself how to breathe more efficiently, how each part of his body was meant to move and he cured himself. (Wow!) He studied yoga and martial arts and went on to become a gymnast, boxer, circus performer as well as a model for anatomy charts with his well developed physical stature. (Double Wow. It’s a little like Captain America but without the serum.)
In 1912 he went to England. There are a couple of different accounts of what he was doing there and perhaps both are true. It is said that he was touring with a circus and that he was also training Scotland Yard Detectives in self-defense. When WWI broke out he was put in an internment camp with other Germans. He refined his exercises and kept everyone moving during their confinement. He helped those who were bed ridden by using the springs in the bed to help them perform the exercises. (The first “pilates” apparatus was conceptualized.) He was recognized for successfully keeping everyone healthy in the camp during the devastating flu epidemic through what he called his controlology method and his deep belief that it balances the mind, body and spirit. It not only kept people healthy but it was also helping those with injuries.
After the war he returned to Germany and continued to work on his techniques. His work was gaining popularity in the dance community by Rudolf von Laban and Hanya Holm. In 1926, there are accounts that suggest he was asked to train the German Secret Police. That year, he emigrated to America.
He and his wife Clara opened their exercise studio on 8th Avenue on 56th St. in Manhattan where there were a number of dance studios. He stayed in that spot and continued to train clients until his death in 1967. “At some time or other, virtually every dancer in New York, and certainly everyone who has studied at Jacob’s Pillow between 1939 and 1951, has meekly submitted to the spirited instruction of Joe Pilates.” – Dance Magazine, February 1956 issue.
Pilates has continued to evolve through the students he taught like Carola Trier, Kathy Grant, Romana Krysanowska, Ron Fletceher and they have passed their knowledge on to the next generation. Pilates, as a trademarked name, did not officially occur until 1996 but that is a whole other article.
This history and his journey is fascinating. To know that the equipment I use was first created from hospital beds and beer barrels and the man that created them did so through the need to heal himself and then others is inspiring and gives value to the way I teach.
Information for this article was taken from Balanced Body, “Pilates Orgins” and Jillian Hessal, “Who was Joseph Pilates?”
For further information or to schedule an appointment please contact Wendy Borof at Alison Palmer Physical Therapy and Wellness Center 970-729-0678 or pilatesbalance@icloud.com We are located in the Cimarron Lodge at the bottom of lift 7. Wellness is the full integration of mind, body and spirit. We look forward to helping you towards a healthier life.