News
Introducing Mr Pilates
Joseph was a sickly child. He suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. But it was this disadvantage that motivated him to react and to build - literally - a new body for himself pioneering what would later become one of the most effective fitness regimes ever.
Born in Germany in 1883, by the age of 14 he had learned and practised enough body building, qigong and yoga to be able to model for anatomic charts. Very single-minded, and with a critical attitude towards the social use of his time, he convinced himself that the "modern" life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health.
When he moved to England in 1912, he earned a living as a professional boxer, circus-performer, and self-defense trainer at police schools and Scotland Yard. Nevertheless, the British authorities interned him during World War I along with other German citizens in two different internment camps, where he taught wrestling and self-defense, boasting that his students would emerge stronger than they were before their internment. It was here that he began refining and teaching his minimal equipment system of mat exercises.
Disappointed with Germany's political and social conditions after the war, he emigrated to the United States. He and his wife Clara founded a studio that became very popular among dancers, with devoted followers like George Balanchine and Martha Graham.
Today the Pilates technique enables dancers and athletes to control the movements by creating a flow through the use of appropriate transitions. Once precision has been achieved, the exercises are intended to flow within and into each other in order to build strength and stamina. In other words, the Pilates technique helps you become remarkably strong with the ability to move freely.
Born in Germany in 1883, by the age of 14 he had learned and practised enough body building, qigong and yoga to be able to model for anatomic charts. Very single-minded, and with a critical attitude towards the social use of his time, he convinced himself that the "modern" life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health.
When he moved to England in 1912, he earned a living as a professional boxer, circus-performer, and self-defense trainer at police schools and Scotland Yard. Nevertheless, the British authorities interned him during World War I along with other German citizens in two different internment camps, where he taught wrestling and self-defense, boasting that his students would emerge stronger than they were before their internment. It was here that he began refining and teaching his minimal equipment system of mat exercises.
Disappointed with Germany's political and social conditions after the war, he emigrated to the United States. He and his wife Clara founded a studio that became very popular among dancers, with devoted followers like George Balanchine and Martha Graham.
Today the Pilates technique enables dancers and athletes to control the movements by creating a flow through the use of appropriate transitions. Once precision has been achieved, the exercises are intended to flow within and into each other in order to build strength and stamina. In other words, the Pilates technique helps you become remarkably strong with the ability to move freely.