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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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.

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Written By: Michael Price

Learn about Pilates » Los Angeles

A Brief History of Pilates.

History of Pilates