PILATES is a system of body conditioning developed by Joseph H Pilates (1880-1967).
Introduced to America in 1926 by Joseph Pilates, it was originally referred to as the art and science of "Contrology". "Contrology" was defined by Joseph Pilates as the complete coordination of Body Mind and Spirit.
Joseph Pilates was born near Dusseldorf Germany in 1880 and suffered from asthma,rickets and rheumatic fever as a child. As an adolescent he studied bodybuilding, diving, skiing, and gymnastics and in his youth he loved to observe animals in their natural surroundings.
In 1912 Joseph Pilates moved to England where he earned a living as a boxer, circus performer and self-defense trainer. He was interned during World War One at an English prison camp where he combined Yoga, Zen, ancient Greek and Roman exercise regimens to create his own unique exercise system which he taught to fellow internees. Pilates later worked as an orderly on the Isle Of Man in a hospital where he attached springs to hospital beds and wheelchairs to support the limbs of non-ambulatory patients while he worked with them to regain mobility.
In 1926 he migrated to the United States Of America and settled in New York marrying Clara, a nurse he met on his boat ride to America. Joseph Pilates and his wife opened a gym in a building that housed the New York City Ballet, teaching Contrology exercises to the performing arts community and later on to athletes.
Joseph Pilates authored Return To Life Through Contrology in 1934 in his attempt to bring his method to the masses. He died in 1967 at the age of 87 shortly after his original studio was destroyed by fire. Pilates' work was carried on by his wife Clara, and is embraced by the general population almost a century after his arrival to the United States.
