The History of Pilates

If you didn’t already know, the Pilates we do at Shine Pilates was invented by a man named Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s. Joseph was born in Germany but moved to England in 1912 and after previously working as a circus performer, boxer, and self-defense instructor. During the First World War, he served as an orderly in a hospital and worked with patients who were unable to walk. It was here where ‘Pilates’ as we know it was born. Joseph attached bed springs to the patient’s beds to help support their limbs, which led to the development of the Cadillac, his famous piece of equipment.

In the early 1920s, Joseph and his wife Clara emigrated to the U.S. and continued to teach and develop this method (Pilates) at their ‘body-conditioning gym’ in New York. It became very popular with the dance community because it offered a chance to improve technique or recover from an injury. Word spread quickly about their studio and many celebrities of that time came to try it out. It may surprise you to know originally 60% of their clientele were men!

Joseph was the man behind the creation of Pilates, but his wife Clara became the face of it since she was the one primarily teaching it in the studio, which allowed it to be passed on to others. Since neither Joseph nor Clara spoke English as their first language, not much was spoken in the studio. Instead of talking, they relied heavily on hands-on corrections to teach Pilates.

Joseph based his work on three principles: breath, whole-body health, and whole-body commitment; with the whole-body encompassing mind, body, and spirit. The depth of work that you achieve during Pilates has to do with honoring the Pilates Principles. These principles include breath, concentration, centering, control, precision, and flow.

Joseph’s work was passed on after his death by his two books “Your Health” and “Return to Life Through Contrology.” At first, Pilates was not really called Pilates, it was referred to as Contrology. It was not until after his death that it became known as the Pilates Method.

“Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.” - Joseph Pilates.