Joseph Pilates
As a child Joseph Pilates suffered with asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. This left him with poor bone structure and twisted limbs. He developed an interest in physical fitness to improve his body image and correct misalignment and improve strength. He drew his ideas from a variety of disciplines including boxing, gymnastics, body building and diving. He created matwork exercises named "The Art of Contrology."
Joseph set up his fitness studio in New York in the 1920's. It attracted the elite of New York with leading ballet dancers and screen legends.He also lived in an internment camp during WW1 where he developed the equipment now used in Pilates.
He wrote several books but never set up an official training programme which resulted in many of his students developing their own individual versions of his method.
Modern pilates technique is rooted in Joseph Pilates' original teachings. Scientific understanding of human anatomy and the input of medical professionals has further developed the technique. Pilates uses the mind body connection to encourage people to take time to listen to the body, realign and strengthen.
