The father of Pilates - Joseph Pilates

Joseph Pilates (1880 - 1967) was born in Germany and grew up as a very sickly child with rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever. His passion for health and fitness developed through his determination to look good, be healthy and learn about human anatomy, which all together fueled the development of this exercise form. He designed a series of about 500 exercises to strengthen and elongate muscles.

By age 14 he was an accomplished skin diver, gymnast and skier. Throughout his youth Joseph researched various forms of exercise to grow in his knowledge of how the body functions in movement, studying yoga, Zen meditation and several Greek and Roman exercise regimes which helped to deepen his knowledge of human anatomy.

In 1912 he left Germany to go and train as a boxer in england, but due to World War 1, Pilates was incarcerated as an enemy alien in Lancaster during which time he started teaching his fellow inmates his form of exercise. This helped the inmates to live healthier lives within the camp especially during the influenza epidemic of 1918.

He was then sent to the Isle of Man to work as a nurse and care for patients due to his exercise and rehabilitation knowledge where Pilates used hospital beds and springs to aid these people in getting stronger as few could stand or sit up. Pilates watched his patients improve as he focused on their core, stretching the arms and allowing the body to move freely with a stable centre, and firmly believed in the power of positive thought, hence the mind body connection emphasized within this form of training.

He then returned to Germany to perfect his method and was asked to train the German army but refused, saying that he was there to heal, not to train others to harm. He then left for the US, during which time he met his wife Clara. It was here that Pilates drew the attention of dancers (Martha graham being one) and started training them, and from there it boomed, growing into the most popular form of exercise today. The success of Pilates is mainly attributed to the versatility of its principles. These principles allow exercises to be modified to suit almost all ages and conditions if the instructor is anatomically knowledgeable and precise.

To honour Joseph Pilates we thought we’d bring you 14 facts about the Father of the discipline.

1. Joseph Pilates was one of nine children and grew up in abject poverty. His mother is said to have been an early form of naturopath, and he was small, suffering from poor vision and weak immunity.

2. Pilates' first ever client was his mother who was often near crippled by the demands of domestic labour. He showed her stretches and gymnastic exercises to help alleviate her pain.

3. There are suggestions that while interned in England, he joined a circus. While the circus claims were never substantiated, reliable sources say he did perform “feats of strength and balance” with a vaudeville troupe.

4. Pilates was originally named “Contrology”: the art of control over mind and body in equal measure.

5. The origins of Pilates can be traced back to the time Joseph Pilates spent in an English internment camp at the beginning of World War I. It was here he created and taught inmates a unique form of muscle toning and strengthening exercises.

6. He got his inspiration for the reformer here also, by using bed springs to create resistance in movement.

7. Mat moves = vintage Pilates! Joseph Pilates’ original sequence of 34 mat-based exercises (the roll up, single and double leg stretch, the hundred etc…) are still incorporated into classes today (save for a few modern variations).

8. The “magic circle” was the first Pilates machine; and was made from the steel bands wrapped around beer kegs.

9. Pilates is a physical fitness system: it is not a derivative of yoga even though Pilates studied yoga!

10. While the mat is your best friend, Pilates cannot be complete without apparatus! Apparatus is how we achieve the “right” method in our practice.

11. Joseph Pilates’ principles for optimal health:

• Proper diet and sleep must accompany exercise.

• Fresh air and sunshine daily.

• Wear loose clothing outside and embrace the sun’s rays.

• Always have food on hand, but only refuel when nutrients are needed.

• Do not fear the cold in winter.

• Do not overdo exercise: muscle fatigue can ignite poisons in the body.

• Sleep: use a firm mattress, no more than one pillow, and have a quiet, dark room.

• Baths: clean your pores! Dry brush daily.

12. “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.” – Joseph Pilates

13. “In 10 sessions, you will feel the difference. In 20, you will see the difference. And in 30, you’ll be on your way to having a whole new body.” – Joseph Pilates.

14. Joseph Pilates died at age 87