Joseph Pilates

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Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1880 – 1967) was the inventor of the Pilates physical fitness method.

Joseph Pilates
Joseph Pilates

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[edit] Biography

Born in Düsseldorf, to parents of Greek and German ancestry, he came to believe that our modern life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing were the roots of poor health. His father was a prize-winning gymnast of Greek origin and his mother a naturopath of German origin.[1] His name was originally spelled by its Greek derivation "Pilatu" but was changed to Pilates. This caused him much grief because, as a child, older boys taunted him calling him "Pontius Pilate, killer of Christ". Joseph suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever as a youth. [2] To overcome the effects of poor health, as well as the taunting of other kids, he studied body building, diving, skiing, and gymnastics and developed a series of exercises.

Pilates moved to England in 1912 and worked as a boxer, circus performer, and a self defense trainer of English detectives. When he was interned at a camp in Lancaster with other Germans as 'enemy aliens' during World War I, Pilates spent the time to further develop his exercise techniques.

In 1926, he emigrated to New York and established a studio with his wife Clara teaching his exercises to dancers, including Martha Graham and George Balanchine, as well as actors and athletes. He also invented an exercise apparatus by attaching springs to hospital beds for immobilized patients.


He wrote several books and had a number of disciples who continued to teach variations of his method.

[edit] See also

[edit] Books

  • Your Health by Joseph H. Pilates (1934)
  • Return to Life Through Contrology by Joseph H. Pilates and William J. Miller (1945)

[edit] Disciples

The original direct disciples of Joseph "Joe" Pilates include:

  • Eve Gentry
  • Romana Kryzanowska
  • Ron Fletcher
  • Corola Trier
  • Mary Bowen
  • Kathy Grant
  • Lolita San Miguel

[edit] External links

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