Joseph
Pilates was born near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880. His father was a prize-winning
gymnast and his mother was a naturopath. As a child, Joseph suffered from
asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. Because of this, he was determined
to dedicate his life to becoming
 physically stronger. He would spend hours
studying anatomy books, "learning every page, every part of the body; I
would move each part as I memorized it. As a child I would lie in the woods
for hours, hiding and watching the animals move." By the age of fourteen,
he was so successful in his goal that he was asked to model for a series
of anatomical charts. He also became a self-taught athlete who excelled
at skiing, diving, gymnastics, and boxing.
In 1912 Pilates
traveled to England where he made a living as a boxer and self-defense
trainer of detectives at Scotland Yard. Some reports claim that he and
his brother toured England with a German circus troupe doing a Greek statue
act. When World War I broke out two years later, he was considered an
"enemy alien" and was interned with other Germans at a camp in Lancaster
and later on the Isle of Man. At the camps he trained his fellow internees
in the physical fitness exercises he had developed and began assisting
the camp's hospital in helping the bedridden patients regain strength
and muscle control. To assist these patients in their exercises Joseph
adapted hospital beds with pulleys, straps, and bed springs, thus creating
what may have been the first exercises utilizing variable resistance--a
unique concept at least 50 years ahead of its time. These adapted beds
were the forerunners of the Pilates equipment we use today. He was widely
credited when none of the internees succumbed to an influenza pandemic
that swept the world in 1918. Tens of millions of healthy people died
from this virulent strain of flu, particularly the incarcerated populations.
After the war
he returned to Hamburg, Germany where he continued to develop his fitness
theories and exercises while training the Hamburg Military Police. During
this period several important movement innovators, such as Rudolf Von
Laban and Mary Wigman, had the good fortune to work with Pilates. By 1925
he had achieved a certain fame in his native Germany, and when the government
asked him to train the new German army he decided to emigrate to America
where he could pursue his own path with his work. On the ship to America
Pilates met his future wife Clara, a nurse. Upon arrival, the couple founded
a studio in New York City which is in operation to this day.
Pilates' studio
shared a building with several New York dance organizations and it wasn't
long before Pilates' fame spread throughout the dance and theatre community.
George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Jerrome Robbins, Ted Shawn,
and the dancers who worked for these luminaries all studied with Pilates,
as did Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Laurence Olivier,
and Jose Ferrar.
Joseph Pilates
practiced what he preached, a method he called "Contrology," and lived
a long, healthy life. He died in 1967 at the age of 87 from complications
due to smoke inhalation suffered during a fire in his studio. Clara continued
to teach the Pilates Method at the studio until her retirement in 1971
when she left the studio in the able hands of Romana Kryzanowska. Over
the years Pilates trained a handful of teachers to carry on his work.
We refer to these first generation instructors as the "Master Teachers."
Most notable amongst these are Eve Gentry, Kathy Grant, Carola Trier,
Ron Fletcher, Alan Herdman, and Ramona Kryzanowska.
Joseph Pilates
continually developed his theories, exercises, and equipment over the
course of his lifetime and consequently he taught many different variations
to different students at different times. This evolutionary process helped
to contribute to the many "schools" of the Pilates Method that exist today.
Ms. Kryzanowska's commitment has always been to maintain the integrity
of the original work as it was created and developed by Joseph Pilates.
She teaches what is known as the "Classical Style."
Today
the Pilates Method is used worldwide by dance companies, theatre groups,
movie stars, professional sports teams, spa clients, and fitness enthusiasts
at health clubs and gyms.
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