A brief History of Pilates.

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, whe 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
aroung 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

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