A bit of Pilates’ history
Before we dig into what Pilates can do for your body let’s learn about the inventor of this special exercise system.
Article by Anett Racz (click here)
“In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in twenty you will see the difference and in thirty you will have a whole new body”. These are the words of Joseph Pilates, who invented and promoted the Pilates method.
He was born in Germany in 1883. He studied yoga, zen meditation, martial arts and he did gymnastics and bodybuilding. In 1912 he moved to England where he worked as a professional boxer, a circus-performer and a self-defence trainer. At the outbreak of World War I the British authorities interned him with many other German citizens. He started to teach his fellow prisoners self-defence and a series of exercises that combined physical fitness with breath control. That was when he devised the basics of his minimal equipment mat exercise which he developed into a comprehensive system of physical exercise - he called it “Contrology”. In the beginning his method was used for the rehabilitation of injured veterans with resistance exercises. After WWI he immigrated to the USA. On the ship to America he met his future wife, Clara. The couple founded the first pilates studio in New York in 1923. The studio soon established a loyal clientele and became popular among ballet dancers who attended for training and rehabilitation. After his death, at age of 83, many of Pilates’ followers started to teach variations of his method.
This great man spent all of his life establishing this unique fitness system. He designed more than 500 mind and body movements and wrote several books. Pilates is beneficial to everyone, of any age, gender, and ability. It’s a low impact body workout that can improve your mood, strengthen, lengthen, tighten and tone your body, and improve your posture.
Now you know a bit about pilates in general. Next time I will talk about how pilates works and how it can help with common modern problems, such as back pain. Keep reading!
