I thought it might be nice to write about some of the information that is actually known about Joseph Pilates' life. He clearly developed an "ahead of it's time" exercise technique, but there was much more to this man than what we now know as Pilates.
All this information was gathered by Melinda Kausek, former Core Pilates on 17th's studio administrator from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pilates
Before he became famous for his unique exercise method, Pilates' earned his living as a boxer and a traveling circus performer, displaying his ideal form as a Greek statue come to life.
Ever notice how the springs on the Reformer and the Cadillac both assist your movements and add resistance? Pilates began developing his equipment while he interned at a "camp" on the Isle of Man during WWI. He helped many injured and bedridden fellow internees by rigging the hospital beds with springs to facilitate their rehabilitation. Pilates equipment was first patented in 1927.
Like most immigrants of the early part of the 20th century, Joseph Pilates came to the US via boat. While en route to New York, he met a lovely kindergarten teacher suffering from arthritis. He promptly taught her his method and effectively healed her. Her name was Clara and not long after she became his wife and teaching partner. They opened the first Pilates studio in New York in 1926.
Joseph Pilates developed his method in part by overcoming a sickly childhood. No doubt much of his inspiration and information must have come from his parent's. His father was a prize winning Greek gymnast and his German mother a naturopath. With its holistic combination of athleticism focused control and use of breath, Pilates' method shows great respect for both his parents expertise and knowledge.
Most people that knew Joseph Pilates while he was alive say that he had a strong, even forceful personality. He passionately believed in his method and apparently was very protective of it too. Only two of Pilates' students opened studios during his lifetime. Carola Trier, a fellow refugee of Germany, had Joe's blessing. The other Bob Seed, a hockey player turned Contrology enthusiast, did not. According to rumor, Bob tried to lure Pilates' clients by opening his studio even earlier in the morning. One of those mornings or so they say, Joe paid his former student a visit with a shot gun and told him to get out of town. Needless to say, we haven't heard much from Bob Seed since.
Eva Gentry was one of Pilates' most well known students and an important teacher of Pilates in her own right. She studied with Joe first as a dancer recovering from a back injury in the 1940's and continued working with him off and on through the 1960's. In 1956, one year after Eva went through a radical mastectomy, Joe helped her recover full range of motion in her arms using specific exercises on the Reformer. He went as far as filming their sessions so people would really understand the value of his method and how it worked. At one point, he even had an offer to develop a recovery program for patients who had undergone mastectomies, but it fell through, some say because of his lack of formal education.
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