Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara saw many clients and students go through their gym in New York. Among these clients and students there were some that went on to train under Pilates in his method of fitness and training. These became disciples of Joseph and Clara, carrying on the tradition of the Pilates method. Many of these disciples went on to start their own studios/gyms teaching the Pilates method to others. Some went on to develop their own interpretation of the Pilates method creating their own style which they then went on to teach to their own clients and students. These original students or disciples later became known as ‘the elders’ of Pilates.

Romana Kryzanowska is one of these elders. Romana Kryzanowsk was a ballet dancer who came to Joseph Pilates for rehabilitation of an ankle injury in the early 1940s. Within 3 sessions she felt improvement in her ankle. She continued with the Pilates until a move took her away from New York. Fifteen years later she came back to New York City and again went back to Joseph Pilates to help her rehabilitate a knee injury due to falling into a manhole. She went onto study the Pilates method and then started teaching at the Pilates’ studio. She later became the studio director when Clara Pilates retired. She remained the studio director until the studio closed in 1989 at which time she opened her own Pilates studio in Drago’s gym. She continues to teach there as well as offering workshops and seminars around the world. Romana is credited with keeping the classical legacy of the Pilates method alive.