Category: History

Topics that help explain the history of pilates.

joseph pilates on the reformer

WAR YEARS

Pilates Instructor

In the last issue Joseph Pilates and other German nationalists were interned in a “camp” for enemy aliens in Lancaster, England.  During this time, he taught wrestling and self-defence and boasted that his students would leave the camp stronger than they were before they were interned.  Here is where he started devising his system of original […]

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Joseph Pilates

Where did Pilates come from? – The Beginning

Pilates Instructor

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. His father was a gymnast of Greek origin and his mother German and a naturopath. Naturopaths believe in stimulating the body to heal itself. His mother’s healing philosophy probably influenced his view on and approach to exercise as we will see. In time Joseph came to believe that modern day life-style, poor posture and inefficient breathing were the root causes of poor health. He decided to answer these problems with a series of physical exercises to enhance and help correct muscular imbalances thus improving posture, coordination, balance, strength, flexibility and increase breathing capacity and organ function. In essence, restore the body to its original, healthy state.

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