Movement System Descriptions

Pilates

Joseph Pilates originally developed his exercise system as a means for rehabilitation in the early 20th century.  As a child and young man, he studied anatomy and pursued as many of the physical arts as were available to him at the time: gymnastics, wrestling, body building, boxing, skiing and diving, and eventually yoga and the martial arts.

He immigrated to the US in 1927 from Britain and continued developing the system of physical and mental finesse that he named Contrology, which after his death in 1976 became known eponymously as “Pilates”.

Joseph Pilates believed that the Greek ideal of “a sound mind in a sound body” was the ideal to pursue, and his exercise system was -- and is -- administered and taught in such a way that it engages the mind as well as the body.

His stated principles include emphasis on the breath, on focus, on quality of movement and fluidity, and concentration.  These are principles shared by the Eastern mind-body traditions (Yoga), as well, and at the time he was working was a novel approach to physical fitness.  He devised a whole body approach to physical fitness, and it is often said that Pilates works “from the inside out”. I.e. the focus being on developing “core” strength to support and promote postural alignment and then working to strengthen and lengthen the skeletal muscles in a balanced manner.

Shortly after he moved to New York City in 1925 his first studio was opened in the same building that housed George Balanchine’s new ballet company.  Hence, because of this proximity to the major dancers of the time, the Pilates system became fairly exclusively the province of dancers.  It wasn’t until the 1980’s, well after Joseph’s death in 1967 (age 83, from smoke inhalation)  that the interest in many formerly obscure forms of fitness exploded in the US in particular, and Pilates became better known and practiced outside the dance world.

Now the Pilates system is ubiquitously found in gyms and fitness centers as well as studios dedicated to teaching the method.  The Pilates Method Alliance was formed in 2001 to provide coherence among the many Pilates practitioners, and to promulgate professionalism and educational standards, as well as research platforms.

Joseph Pilates was well ahead of his time, and many of his principles and operational guidelines have proven to be quite valid over time.  We are now, to put it bluntly, a lot smarter about the way the body works, and the Pilates system has evolved over the years to match the progress of our knowledge about the body. Rather than being an "old" system, Pilates has kept pace with the times and can be said to be as “new” as current research.

Today, Pilates is going back to its roots in the sense that it is used more widely for  rehabilitation and in working with neurological afflictions such as Parkinson’s and Muscular Dystrophy  as well as a means to achieve lifelong fitness.  The importance of  neurological conditioning as a necessary component of physical conditioning is becoming more and more recognized, and this is one area where the Pilates system shines. As well, the amount of scientific validation is mushrooming, and there are extensive educational opportunities available for Pilates teachers in the many fields related to movement science.