Pilates

»A man is only as old as his spine is inflexible.«

Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1945)

Pilates The Man and the Method

The Pilates Method developed by Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1880-1967) followed his exercise regime which he called "Contrology". It represents a unique approach to exercise which develops body awareness and posture alignment, together with increased flexibility and ease of movement. The Pilates machines, mainly developed during the First World War to rehabilitate the wounded, were constructed from hospital beds and bedsprings to offer assistive and then resistive exercise tools.

Before Joseph Pilates' death in 1967, he had developed more than 600 exercises for the various pieces of apparatus he invented. Today there are many individual interpretations of the original method and a considerable divergence in the practice of Pilates and in the understanding of the underlying biomechanics. After his death at the age of 86, a legal decision removed the ability to trademark the name Pilates and consequently the sole right of certification of Pilates instructors.