I want to tell you who invented this method, when Pilates first appeared, and what it was (and still is) all about.
So, Pilates is actually the name of a person! Before these exercises were called “Contrology,” and their creator was named Joseph Pilates. Over time, the workouts took on his name.
Joseph Pilates was born on December 9, 1883, in the town of Mönchengladbach, West Germany. His family was of Greek origin; his father was involved in weightlifting, and his mother was a homemaker. Joseph was a sickly child—he suffered from asthma, rickets, and was very frail. Other kids made fun of him. He spent much of his time reading (old anatomy textbooks), observing animals and their habits, and later said that he incorporated much of what he learned from them into his exercises.
By his teenage years, when a child’s ego starts to emerge, he decided to put an end to the teasing and began to train actively. He started going to the gym with his father, taking up wrestling, boxing, and bodybuilding. At the age of 14, he became a model for anatomical muscle illustrations! He and his brother started working in the circus, performing acrobatic acts.
During World War I, Pilates ended up in a military internment camp, which is where the “birth” of his Contrology began. Witnessing much suffering, he invented “equipment” to help mobilize the injured and sick. Using hospital beds and springs from them (remember what hospital beds used to look like?), he created fitness machines, attaching springs to people’s limbs and designing exercises for them. (These machines are now staples in every Pilates studio!) From that time onward, he never stopped developing his method and thinking about people’s health.
After the war, he trained police officers and continued refining his technique. In 1926, he emigrated to the United States (like many Europeans who felt Europe was falling apart). On the ship to America, Joseph met Clara, who became his life partner and main assistant until the end of his life. In the U.S., he opened his own studio on 8th Avenue in New York City, where he worked until his last breath.
Word of the miraculous Contrology method quickly spread among the dance, ballet, and sports communities in the city (we all know that New York was the mecca of dance art in the early 20th century). Famous dancers and athletes with numerous aches and problems due to their professional activities started coming to Joe’s studio.
Pilates was very strict. He was obsessed with precision and execution! (The following quotes are from two of his books and interviews with him):
“You should be like a round tire, but you’re a square tire!”
“Tighten your core muscles; use your whole body! This isn’t a vacation!”
“Breathe! In this country, no one breathes properly! Use your stomach; that’s where most of the junk gathers—clear it out!”
“We do 1,000 movements daily, 990 of which are pointless! Then we wonder why we’re always tired.”
“Oh, this America—always with aspirin and pills. Weak backs, dark circles under the eyes, non-moving ribcages. You care more for your cars than for your bodies.”
(These words are from nearly 100 years ago! Has anything really changed for the better?)
Joseph demanded maximum control over the body and mind. In this way, his method resembles yoga (though there are many differences, particularly in the spiritual aspect and the meaning behind the exercises). He never stated whether he practiced yoga, but he often referred to ideas from Ancient Greece about the ideal human body.
Dancers who came to his studio improved their technique. Athletes healed old pains. Office workers stretched their bodies during lunch breaks. Among his biggest fans were students who wanted to carry on his Contrology method.
After his death on October 9, 1967, disputes arose over who would inherit his work. Joseph had never created instructor courses; he was above such matters.
His Pilates method was carried on by his most diligent students: Romana Kryzanowska, Lolita San Miguel, Eve Gentry, Ron Fletcher. They continued to develop his exercises, adding new elements and knowledge, and created instructor training courses. Their students continued the legacy, eventually establishing some of the largest Pilates schools today: BASI Pilates, Lolita’s Legacy, Romana’s Pilates, Polestar, Stott Pilates, and others.
So, what exactly did Joseph invent? In essence, there’s nothing supernatural or entirely new. BUT he infused every movement with great meaning (and as specialists now say, he was 50 years ahead of his time, explaining things that we’re only now discovering with modern equipment!).
For example, he referred to the arms and legs as “just four rooms in a 20-room house,” an idea that aligns with the concept of muscle chains, anatomical trains, and fascia that we are only beginning to understand today.
He paid a lot of attention to mobilizing the spine and vertebrae, with little concern for overprotecting his clients. Regarding doctors who restricted people’s movements at the slightest pain, he would say: “How can they provide health? Look at them! They’re sick themselves! They wouldn’t even be able to complete the first five of my exercises.” (The “first five” were a test for everyone entering his studio: The Hundred, Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, Roll Up, Roll Over).
In the classical repertoire of Joseph Pilates, there were only 34 exercises. But they worked the entire body from head to toe! He often wondered why people wanted variety when they couldn’t even do these 34 properly.
Pilates developed specialized equipment to enhance muscle training, which remains a crucial part of Pilates workouts today. The main ones are the Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, and Barrel. But all these machines only complemented his exercise concepts, sometimes helping and sometimes increasing the challenge. Thoughtful mat work was always paramount!
His famous saying, “After 10 sessions, you’ll feel the difference; after 20, you’ll see the difference; after 30, others will notice,” has a continuation: “if you train at least four times a week.” He would even refuse clients who complained about boredom or slow progress, or who only showed up once or twice a month!
Through his own example and the examples of those who trained with him, Joseph proved that with precise work, full attention to every part of the body, proper breathing, engagement of deep muscles, spinal mobilization, and elongation, a person could achieve an athletic and healthy body.
This is a brief history of the Pilates method through Daria’s perspective (with most details coming from conversations between Pilates and his students, as there is no official biography!).
Now you know that Pilates is a person’s name and not something invented 10 years ago on YouTube! Perhaps you’ll regard what you see as Pilates training with more care and understand that there are official schools continuing Joseph Pilates’ legacy.
