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A Brief History of Pilates.

admin — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:17:10 +0000

Joseph Pilates, creator of the Pilates group of Exercises was sickly as a child. He suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. At age 14, he remedied his health status by engaging in exercise and body building, and in doing so, became the model for anatomical drawings.

With determination and dedication to his exercise, Pilates became skilled in sports like skiing, diving and gymnastics. In 1912 he worked as a self defense instructor for Scotland Yard, in England. When World War I came, Pilates, a German national, was named an “enemy alien” like most other German nationals at the time. During his capture, he started perfecting the methods of the Pilates exercise, and started teaching it to the other interns. He would make use of springs attached to hospital beds to enable bedridden patients to do exercise, with resistance. Pilates was first designed as a reconstructive form of exercise, mostly for those injured and unable to move freely, or else confined in a bed or a chair. The crude “exercise machines” was the basis for his later designs.

In 1918, an Influenza epidemic struck England, but none of his trainees were among the thousands killed, this strengthened his claim for the exercise’s efficiency. After being cleared of accusations, and his release, Pilates returned to Germany to perfect his method. The dance community, through Rudolf Van Laban, highly regarded Pilates’ techniques and adapted his exercises. In 1926, Pilates immigrated to the United States, after being asked to teach his techniques in the German Army. This is where he met his wife Clara, and with her, he opened a studio in New York, with the New York City Ballet. In the 1960’s most of Pilets’ students are New York Dancers. One of which, George Ballanchine, also had Pilates teach the ballerinas at the New York City Ballet. As time passed, his method became popular, not only in New York, but also everywhere in the United States.

Two of Pilates’ Students, Carola Trier, and Bob Seed, on the other hand, opened their own studio, demonstrating the methods and techniques, taught them by Pilates himself. Carola Trier, found solace in fleeing to the united Sattes, when she escaped a Nazi Holding Camp, and found Pilates in 1940. Having pertinent dance background and the techniques under her belt, she became a contortionist, only stopping when getting injured in 1940. Due to this, Pilates helped Trier to open her own studio in 1950.

Bob Seed, aformer Hockey player, and an avid student of Pilates opened a studio across form Joseph’s and tried to make a competition out of it by opening early in the morning. Some people say that Pilates threatened Seed one day, and told him to leave town, and indeed he left.

When Pilates died, he left no instruction as to how to continue the line of Pilates work, nevertheless, his wife Clara, continued with the Studio, already known as the Pilates studio. Romana Kryzanowska, a student who studied with Joe and Clara around the 1940’s continued their work and became director of the studio in 1970.

Also in 1970, A man named Ron Fletcher, a Martha Graham dancer, opened his own studio in Los angeles. He attracted many Hollywood stars, and this so impressed Clara, that she gave him permission to cary on the pilates name. Fletcher however, brought on improvements to the regiment

About the author:

Authored by Michael Bens – For more great information on how to lose weight, get in shape, and live healthy, visit Gabae Weight Loss for great resources, training and motivation!

Written By: Michael Bens

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The History of Pilates It All Began With One Sickly Child

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 12:50:16 +0000

A look into the history of Pilates helps you understand the tremendous power that this form of exercise has to help strengthen and transform your body. Unlike yoga, which has a tradition that goes back thousands of years, one individual developed the Pilates Method at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In 1880 in Dusseldorf, Germany, a sickly baby named Joseph Pilates was born. As a young child he watched as his friends ran, jumped and played games activities that he could not do because of his frail, weak body. That is when the Pilates Method really began. Pilates was determined to find a way to improve his health and physical strength and stamina. He set off on a lifelong quest for fitness and exercise. Pilates not only overcame his physical frailties he mastered them. He became an accomplished yogi, boxer, gymnast, and skier.

During World War I, Pilates was interned in England where he worked as a nurse with injured war victims. Pilates was convinced that exercise could help rehabilitate their badly damaged bodies. Many of these patients were not able to move, but that did nothing to deter Pilates determination to help them gain strength and mobility. He rigged up their hospital beds with straps and springs and created a series of exercises to help move their joints through a greater range of motion. The exercises also helped his patients develop muscle strength, flexibility and endurance. Eventually, many of these people were able to get up and move around by themselves.

In 1923, Joseph Pilates and his wife moved to New York City where they opened up a studio and began working to rehabilitate injured dancers. Some of the most famous dancers that they worked with were George Balanchine and Martha Graham. Word of the dramatic results that came from using the Pilates method spread, and soon it became the exercise of choice for not only dancers, but also entertainment stars and professional athletes. For a long time, this unique form of exercise was limited to this elite community.

That has all changed. Now millions of people are familiar with the Pilates method of exercise. They have discovered for themselves that Pilates can help them gain the strength, flexibility, and balance of a professional dancer, without having to spend hours at the gym. They spend less time to achieve better results. No wonder it has become one of the hottest fitness trends to come along in years.

Now that you know the background of Pilates and why it was developed, you can realize how this powerful form of exercise can help you gain strength, flexibility, endurance, and the body of that youve always wanted.

About the Author

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Her website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life. Visit the site and get your free meditation e-book.

Written By: Della Menechella

The History of Pilates

admin — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:45:56 +0000

In order to understand the basics of Pilates and why it can work for you, you first need to understand where Pilates came from. Pilates was originally formed in Germany by a man of the same name, Joseph Pilates.

Joseph Pilates had many health afflictions as a child. The boy wanted to overcome the hardships he faced. He hoped exercise would not only boost his morale, but also his bodys defense against his illnesses.

The year was 1880 when Joseph Pilates was born. During his youthful years, he tried a number of things to try to strengthen his body. After several failed attempts to create the perfect program for his frail form he came up with the series of movements we now know as Pilates. However, it wasnt until the 1920s that the movements Joseph Pilates created were truly perfected.

One of the things that make Pilates so great is that the movements and exercises you do seek to give you strength and flexibility, but not to build any serious amount of bulk to your frame. Pilates is not about building muscle, it is about working with your body and not against it. You need to be able to take what you have been given and make that work for you before attempting anything else and that is the philosophy that Pilates was founded on.

As you learn more about Pilates you will find that it is designed for each persons body. Pilates will align your bones through a series of movements and this will allow your body to work with less strain thanks to the activity of exercise you are achieving.

Pilates appeals to a number of people. It doesnt matter what type of person you are or what level of training your body is at. Pilates can help you improve your bodys natural functioning as well as help boost confidence and your mental wellness.

The most wonderful thing you will discover about Pilates is that you dont have to suffer through the movements to feel better. You are training your body with intelligent design and therefore you will not need to work twice as hard, as you may have to do with other work out programs.

Pilates was set up to create balance within your body. This will help you to realign your bones and can also help to improve your posture. Another positive feature is the lean muscles that you will form thanks to your workouts.

Pilates is excellent exercise for everyone no matter their shape or size. In fact, many videos and exercise clubs have created classes for people with disabilities, arthritis, general strength or weight loss issues, different strength issues, and even for pregnant or birthing mothers.

About the Author

Shannon Beaty has been practicing Pilates for over 10 years, and has been a Pilates instructor for over 6 years. She teaches at the Johnthan Club in Loas Angeles and oversees their entire Pilates Program.

PilatesPowerSystem.com All rights reserved. You may fr*eely distribute this article. The copyright and this resource box must be included. http://PilatesPowerSystem.com

Written By: PilatesPowerSystem.com

Joseph Pilates: The Man Behind the Movement

admin — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:20:40 +0000

Joseph Pilates was born in Dsseldorf, Germany in 1880. He was a frail young boy, who suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. In order to overcome his weakened state, he studied body building, skiing, diving, and gymnastics. In time, he developed his own series of exercises. He moved to England in 1912, and spent much of his time working as a circus performer and a boxer. Eventually, he started teaching self defense methods to a group of police detectives from Scotland Yard. In 1914, at the outset of World War I, he was interned at a camp in Lancaster as an “enemy alien”. While in the camp, he spent a great deal of his time developing his exercise techniques.

After his release, Joseph returned to Germany and began teaching his method to dancers. He decided to leave Germany when he was asked to teach his exercise methods to the German Army. In 1926, he emigrated to America and took up residence in New York. He met his wife, Clara, on the voyage. Joseph and Clara opened a fitness studio in New York City, and shared an address with the New York City Ballet.

Joseph spent the remaining years of his life operating his studio. The nature of his work in those years was more akin to a physiotherapist for dancers than an exercise instructor for the masses. He also spent a considerable amount of time designing and constructing exercise equipment for use in his programs.

Joseph Pilates was one of the first fitness instructors to advocate the mind-body connection, which consisted of both physical and mental training to achieve the desired results. His method consists of slow, deliberate movements combined with breathing and a focus on the abdomen, lower back, and buttocks.

As quoted from his 1945 book, Return to Life with Contrology, he states that “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”

Joseph Pilates passed away in 1967. The studio is still in operation today.

About the Author

Harriet Spinzer is a history student and Pilates enthusiast. When she is not consumed with her studies, she likes to stretch and stuff. When she is not tangled up in her “Reformer”, she like to write freelance articles for websites such as http://www.pilatesinsight.com – a site that offers information about pilates.

Written By: Harriet Spinzer

History of Pilates

admin — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 12:19:13 +0000

In order to understand the basics of Pilates and why it can work for you, you first need to understand where Pilates came from. Pilates was originally formed in Germany by a man of the same name, Joseph Pilates.

Joseph Pilates had many health afflictions as a child. The boy wanted to overcome the hardships he faced. He hoped exercise would not only boost his morale, but also his bodys defense against his illnesses.

The year was 1880 when Joseph Pilates was born. During his youthful years, he tried a number of things to try to strengthen his body. After several failed attempts to create the perfect program for his frail form he came up with the series of movements we now know as Pilates. However, it wasnt until the 1920s that the movements Joseph Pilates created were truly perfected.

One of the things that make Pilates so great is that the movements and exercises you do seek to give you strength and flexibility, but not to build any serious amount of bulk to your frame. Pilates is not about building muscle, it is about working with your body and not against it. You need to be able to take what you have been given and make that work for you before attempting anything else and that is the philosophy that Pilates was founded on.

As you learn more about Pilates you will find that it is designed for each persons body. Pilates will align your bones through a series of movements and this will allow your body to work with less strain thanks to the activity of exercise you are achieving.

Pilates appeals to a number of people. It doesnt matter what type of person you are or what level of training your body is at. Pilates can help you improve your bodys natural functioning as well as help boost confidence and your mental wellness.

The most wonderful thing you will discover about Pilates is that you dont have to suffer through the movements to feel better. You are training your body with intelligent design and therefore you will not need to work twice as hard, as you may have to do with other work out programs.

Pilates was set up to create balance within your body. This will help you to realign your bones and can also help to improve your posture. Another positive feature is the lean muscles that you will form thanks to your workouts.

Pilates is excellent exercise for everyone no matter their shape or size. In fact, many videos and exercise clubs have created classes for people with disabilities, arthritis, general strength or weight loss issues, different strength issues, and even for pregnant or birthing mothers.

About the author:

Shannon Beaty has been practicing Pilates for over 10 years, and has been a Pilates instructor for over 6 years. She teaches at the Johnthan Club in Los Angeles and oversees their entire Pilates Program.

PilatesPowerSystem.com All rights reserved. You may fr*eely distribute this article. The copyright and this resource box must be included. http://PilatesPowerSystem.com

Written By: Michael Price