A History of Pilates
Pilates takes its name from Joseph Pilates. A German-born gymnast and boxer, he devised the Pilates method as a new approach to exercise and body-conditioning in the early decades of the twentieth century. His method included the use of equipment referred to by him as: apparatus. Perhaps the best known piece of equipment, is the Pilates reformer, which is in use in the Bodyfirst Pilates studio today.
The story of how, in the first half of the 20th century, Joseph Pilates developed his method, which he fittingly called “Contrology”, is the stuff of fitness legend. Pilates’ series of rehabilitative exercises, designed to create total balance of the body and mind, was revolutionary and Pilates, a true believer in his own method, knew it. “All new ideas are revolutionary,” he wrote in a promotional pamphlet in 1934. “When the theory responsible for them is proved through practical application, it requires only time for them to develop and to flourish.”
Pilates and his German circus troupe were touring England when the First World War broke out. He was interned in a camp on the Isle of Man – and it was there that his famous workout was born. To pass the time, Pilates would watch the island’s cats chase mice and birds, marvelling at their agility – a contrast to the physical and emotional state of his follow internees. He studied the cats’ movements and concluded that frequent stretching gave them their vim. Pilates then began devising exercises to stretch human muscles. Happy with the results in his own body, he taught the regimen to the camps’ prisoners. When the Great Influenza reached the island, supposedly none of Pilates’ trainees got sick.
During the latter part of the War, he served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he worked with patients unable to walk. He attached bed springs to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs, leading to the development of his famous piece of equipment known as the Reformer. Much of his equipment, although slightly adapted, is still in use today.
Pilates emigrated to the USA in the early 1920s with his wife Clara, and together they developed and taught the method in their 'body-conditioning gym' in New York in 1926. The studio featured much of the Apparatus designed to enhance his rehabilitation work. It soon became very popular, particularly with the dance community, as it offered a chance to improve technique or recover from injury. Word spread quickly and many celebrities of the day visited his studio. These included dance legends such as Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham and Hollywood celebrities, including Katharine Hepburn and Sir Laurence Olivier. Originally, 60% of the clientele were men.
When Pilates died in 1967, the 86-year-old and his wife had trained a handful of protégés, who opened studios and trained more teachers. The workout continued in a handful of gyms across the US, mostly followed by dancers who relied on it to stay limber and strong.
It wasn’t until the 1990s, when consumers were burned out on aerobics and weightlifting, that Pilates exploded from niche to mainstream. Everything about Pilates disagreed with conventional exercise at the time. “It wasn't more weight, it was less weight. It wasn't faster, it was slower.” Throughout the decade, a growing roster of professionally beautiful people, from Uma Thurman to Shalom Harlow and Elle McPherson, began talking up the workout and demand soared.
Through the years the Pilates Method has gradually evolved and integrated current bio-mechanical Knowledge, including utilising modern pieces of equipment. However, the roots of the technique are steeped in the philosophy and movement patterns designed by Joseph Pilates over 100 years ago.
Pilates core belief - "Above all, learn how to breathe correctly." is central to all Pilates workouts to this day.
If you are curious, and would like to give Reformer Pilates a try, reach out to us - your first class is always free!