The Origins of Pilates
Joseph Pilates, the founder of the method was born in Germany in 1883. With a fragile constitution, he never stopped observing the animal world, analytically studying the mechanics of the body, the architecture of movement and posture, intensely practicing yoga, martial arts, boxing, bodybuilding and gymnastics to build a strong body and mind.
Prisoner in England in a camp during the 1st World War, he undertakes to help the wounded to recover their health via a physical activity program that he perfected with strap systems and bed springs.
This is the birth of the reformer, the emblematic device of the method. In any case, it is observed that the sick practicing recover more quickly, and that the able-bodied practicing are less subject to the diseases then plethora in these conditions of war. Back in Germany, the government of the time asked him to train the enlisted youth, which he refused.
He therefore migrates to the United States of America, and it is during the boat crossing of the Atlantic Ocean that he meets his wife Clara, who will work alongside him and perpetuate the technique.
Boxers and circus artists practiced from the very beginning of the studio opened on 8th Avenue in NY by Joseph and Clara at the end of the 1920s. The dancers were also among the first followers of the method: Georges Balanchine like Marta Graham sent their students to Joseph Pilates for training or functional rehabilitation. When the whole of New York learns that ballerinas are doing Pilates, the craze is not long in coming and the practice begins to become popular.
Several of Joseph Pilates' students have made significant contributions to disseminate its teachings, and participated in making it today a technique recognized throughout the world.
It was Romana Kryzanowska, dancer in Balanchine's company, student and protege of "Uncle Joe" as those who knew him called her, who was the designated heiress to continue the work of Joseph Pilates.
She was supported in this immense task by Clara, by her peers, then by the second generation of students who are committed to maintaining the integrity and standards of a method whose acuity is always verified.
" Breathing, Concentration,
Control, Precision, Fluidity,
Center"
"A good physical form is a prerequisite for happiness" Joseph Pilates, Return to life through contrology
Classic Pilates
Thought as a combo between functional rehabilitation and physical preparation, classic Pilates - through the exploration and mastery of movement - offers a different experience of your body and allows you to harmoniously develop all its skills:
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Practiced in a logic of health and well-being, beyond the gradual transformation of posture and silhouette, regained energy, or the improvement of physical qualities (mobility, balance, strength, endurance... ) it is the relief and prevention of various bodily ailments - including the management of chronic pain - that are directly targeted.
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The precision and intelligence of movement in pilates serve to build a strong and flexible body at the same time.
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At each session, the gentle mobilization of your joints and the strengthening of your deep muscles are associated with the training of your qualities of concentration and imagination.
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The search for a level of constantly renewed reading of the exercises allows you to refine your feelings, to inhabit your body and to experience the movement with more awareness and joy.
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