Pilates
is the word commonly used to describe a method of exercise
created over 80 years ago by Joseph H. & Clara Pilates. Joe
Pilates was born in Germany in 1880 and as a young man,
he began a life-long study of health and physical fitness.
Over many years of experimentation and implementation,
Joe and Clara developed over 600 exercises that they
called the “Art of Contrology” and today
we call Pilates.
Joe immigrated to the United States in 1926, opened
a workshop and began training dancers, boxers and acrobats.
Back then, those were about the only folks who had
a serious interest in developing and maintaining their
physical health and fitness. Over time, Joe & Clara’s
work became well known and their business grew. Several
clients trained with Joe at the original studio for
many years and he certified several of them as teachers.
Today, those people are referred to as First Generation
Teachers. Clearly, they are our longest, strongest
link to Joe and Clara.
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Joe
did a fabulous job of documenting his work; there are
literally thousands of photographs and even film of
him teaching and performing his exercises and of his
many clients doing Pilates. Through his meticulous
documentation, we know the essence of the method, the
basic principles of movement and Pilates safety theories.
The body of work is vast and there are undoubtedly
many ways to properly teach an exercise but, in spite
of those nuances, the fundamentals are constant, non-negotiable
and form the foundation for the safe and gentle aspects
of this work. The words “historic” “classical” or “authentic” refer
to the Pilates exercises being taught and performed
just as Joe created and taught them.
Many people in the business of
teaching teachers have changed these exercises to
make them easier and to evolve them, wanting to imbue
the original work with their own theories and techniques.
Sadly, it’s possible to
attend a 90 minute Pilates class and not perform a single
exercise from Joe & Clara.
Yet, it’s all called Pilates and the consumer
is usually none the wiser. |
