Joseph Pilates

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. Pilates was a sickly child, specifically suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, therefore in order to improve his health, he turned his interest in physical training including diving, skiing, boxing and body-building.

During the First World War, Pilates worked as a nurse in an internment camp. While imprisoned, he provided exercises for the injured in order to improve their recovery. By ulitizing spring from the hospital beds, he created a resistance training which improved the flexibility and strength of the injured. Moreover in 1926, Pilates migrated to New York where together with his wife Clara, opened their first exercise studio next door to New York City Ballet. As a result, Pilates method became quickly popular with the dance society, where ballet dancers where visiting the studio for healing their injuries together with increasing their flexibilities. Back then, Pilates method was mostly treated as a physiotherapy session.

In 1967, Joseph Pilates passed away due to smoke inhalation. However, his Method of Contrology (Pilates Method) did not fade away. Instead, the physical industry owes a lot to Joseph Pilates, and one can admit that his method was years ahead of its time. For most, Pilates is a way of life, and it is unbelievable how popular the method is across the world.