With a reputation for results, Pilates has become one of the hottest fitness movements of the last decade. An American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) survey named Pilates as one 2008's top ten trends, and over 65 percent of all health clubs in the United States now offer Pilates. What is less commonly known about Pilates is its history, which offers unique and illuminating insight into the method's foundation, philosophy, and purpose.
Joseph Pilates was born in 1880 in Germany. A sickly child, he became dedicated to rehabilitating his body through exercise. By 14 years old, Joe became a model for anatomical charts. As an adult, he was a professional boxer, a performing gladiator in circus acts, skier, diver, author, and trainer. Joe incorporated practices from a wide variety of fitness philosophies, drawing from ancient Greeks and Roman regimens, yoga, and the Zen Buddhist philosophy. Taking the most effective methods from each discipline, he began forming his own unique forms of conditioning.
In 1912, Joe was training the Scotland Yard in England when World War I broke out. Since he was a German national, he was placed in an internment camp in 1914. Here, he continued to refine his exercise techniques. He spent time observing the people and animals living in the camp, he noted their movement patterns and how that impacted their overall health, and he applied what he learned to his regimes.
He also trained fellow inmates. In 1918, the great influenza epidemic swept across the globe, killing more people than the war itself. All of Joe's “mat work” pupils survived. Lacking traditional equipment, he created innovative tools to help bedridden prisoners. Bedsprings and bedposts, for example were the prototype for what came to be known as the Trapeze table.
After the war, Joe set sail to America. While aboard the ship, he met an arthritic kindergarten teacher named Clara, and used his exercises to strengthen her. Upon landing in the U.S., the couple became engaged, and opened a studio at 939 Eighth Avenue, New York City.
At first, Joe’s exercises were mainly taught to men: boxers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers. This was about to change. George Balanchine and Martha Graham discovered Joe’s studio. They realized they could send injured dancers to Joe, and have them quickly “fixed.” Pilates was on the road to becoming a secret weapon of the dance world.
Soon, the method spread beyond the elite circle of dancers, performers, and wealthy New Yorkers who were Joe’s original students. As some of his first student teachers began to spread out geographically, more people became exposed to the techniques.
In the 1970s, Ron Fletcher opened a Pilates studio in Los Angeles, where it was discovered by Hollywood celebrities. The media celebrity spotlight picked up on the trend, and soon Pilates hit the mainstream. The system of complete conditioning and rehabilitation was in demand all over the world.
Interestingly, in 2000 a lawsuit was filed to revoke the Pilates trademark. Many people wanted to sell Pilates equipment and classes. However, they could not use the “Pilates” name without permission. After a lengthy four-year trial, the judge decided that Pilates was a generic term, and ordered the patent office to revoke the trademark. As soon as this court decision was made, Pilates studios proliferated across the nation.
Variations on the exercise spread like wildfire. Some teachers learned exercises to fix their own bodies, so they passed those techniques along with their own modifications. Others focused on the system as a whole and stayed within the parameters of the original method.
Today, Pilates has segmented into a multitude of methods, each with varying degrees of effectiveness. However, some of Joe's original student teachers, known as “elders,” continue to teach to this day. Romana Kryzanowska studied under Joe and Clara Pilates for over 30 years, and her studio continues to teach and certify future instructors. There, students learn the techniques as originally taught by Joe himself, and are certified to teach after a regimen of demanding studies and exams.
Pilates, or “Contrology” as Joe called it, solved what he saw as a social problem—people living unnaturally sedentary lifestyles that negatively impact their mental and physical wellbeing. Modern habits, such as commuting or working at desks had detrimental effects on human health. By creating a system of purposeful movements that were invigorating and efficient, he conditioned the body with laser sharp precision in a short amount of time. A man of strong constitution and opinions, Joe dedicated his life to promoting his fitness philosophy. He stayed in top shape well into his eighties, and passed away from complications of emphysema in 1967, at age 87.
Michael A. Salvatore is a classical Pilates instructor In Boston. For further inquiries, please contact him at mas@salvatorepilates.com
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