Pilates

Private Pilates Studio

Caron Bosler

Benefits of Pilates

Pilates can benefit anyone. It is for the young, the mature, the disabled and the agile. It is unique because it tailors to suit the needs of the individual. The amount of variations possible within Pilates’ principles is countless. A young dancer can do Pilates to avoid surgery and injuries that come with overuse and keep performing. A mature person can do these exercises to improve posture, range of motion, and locomotion. One 75 year old client keeps coming back because he doesn’t have pain getting in and out of taxis anymore! No matter the intensity of the movements, everyone can benefit from exercises based on the principles of Pilates.

History of Pilates

Joseph Hubertus Pilates
1880-1967

Joseph Pilates was born outside Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880. He was sickly as a small child with ailments such as asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. He worked hard to overcome his symptoms through physical activities including gymnastics, skiing, and diving. He improved so much that by the time he was 14 years old, he was used as the model for anatomy charts. When Joseph Pilates was 31, he moved to England where he became a boxer, a circus performer, and a self-defense trainer.

When World War One broke out, Joseph Pilates was interned in England because of his German citizenship. During this time he started working with impaired patients. He began to develop equipment to aid the bed ridden patients. By attaching springs to the walls over the beds, muscle contractions were possible without the necessity for full locomotion. This was the crude beginnings of one of the main apparatuses: the reformer. After the war, Pilates moved back to Germany and continued working on his fitness regime.

In 1926, Joseph Pilates moved to America. On the boat over, he met his future wife, a nurse named Clara. Pilates set up his first studio at 939 Eighth Ave. While little is known about the studio’s early years, Pilates gained in popularity with the dance community. Dance Magazine reported in its February issue, 1956, ‘Virtually every dancer in New York, and certainly everyone who has studied at Jacob’s Pillow between 1939 and 1951, has meekly submitted to the spirited instruction of Joe Pilates’. Pilates documented his beliefs on health and exercise in a book called Return to Life. Outside the dancing community, however, little was known of Pilates during his lifetime. But then Pilates always used to say his innovations were, '50 years ahead of time.' (Friedman 1980, p.9)
Joseph Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 87.