So what is Pilates?

By definition, Pilates is a type of mind-body exercise performed on a floor based mat or using special apparatus to improve physical strength, flexibility and posture, as well as enhancing mental awareness and well being.

The methodology was named after the man who invented it: Joseph H. Pilates.

He was born in Germany in 1883 and throughout his childhood he suffered from rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever. He was described as a sickly child and soon started to study yoga, martial arts, boxing and gymnastics; transforming himself into a strong and healthy young man. He later moved to Britain, where it is said that he taught self defense at Scotland Yard, as well as performing in a circus act, and posing as an anatomy model!

When WW1 broke out, Joe was interned on the Isle of Man at a work camp, and started to design his own method of physical training which he practised teaching on the soldiers at the camp. He originally called his method ‘Contrology’, which consisted of 34 mat exercises, and he later claimed that none of the soldiers who moved with him caught the Spanish Influenza, which at the time was striking the rest of the population hard.

He ended up working on the hospital wards where many injured soldiers had become bedridden and needed a way to still keep strong. This was where he first invented the Pilates equipment. He rigged up lever & pulley systems using springs from the hospital beds which cleverly allowed men who couldn’t lift their limbs themselves to still mobilise and strengthen their joints and muscles, but without the usual force of gravity pulling them down.

The success that Pilates witnessed in the war camp only drove his passion for developing his method further.

He continued to share his skills with others until he moved to New York City in the 1920’s. He then set up a small space in a boxing hall which happened to be situated close to many of the professional ballet companies in the city at that time. It wasn’t long before top choreographers such as George Balanchine were sending their injured dancers to Joe in order to rehabilitate them back to stage much quicker and with more efficiency than ever before.

The method stayed as an underground movement mostly for dancers and gymnasts for quite some time, until in the early 1990’s American celebrities and the mass media started to hear of the huge health benefits that the regimen provided. It was from there that modern day Pilates was born. As we move forward to present day, it is becoming an ever increasingly popular tool of doctors, physiotherapists, osteopaths and other health care professionals as a way to provide patients with a safe environment for rehabilitation.

It is thought that Contrology/Pilates is so beneficial because it not only gives the physical body a ‘work out’, but also provides a focus and concentration to the mind, which brings about a whole body connection; a syncing of all bodily systems. Joe wrote in his book which describes the method:

“Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind & spirit”.

What I myself have found after years of studying Joe’s methods along with classical dance and other movement forms is that his exercises are still just as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago. With today’s busy working schedules and fast paced ways - don’t we all need a moment to breathe and focus inwards, to look after and care for ourselves?

As a final nod to this, I leave you with my favourite Joseph Pilates quote:

“Why boast of this age of science and invention that has produced so many marvelous wonders when, in the final analysis, we find that man has in the race for material progress and perfection, entirely overlooked the most complex and marvelous of all creations - Man himself!”

Thank you Joe.

With that thought in mind, I encourage you to move more, to feel more.