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PILATES
WHY PILATES? Some of the benefits you can expect from a regular Pilates practice include...
- Stronger core
- Increased flexibility
- Improved balance
- Increased coordination
- Decreased stress
WHAT IS PILATES?
Pilates is an exercise system developed by Joseph Pilates to strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, and improve overall health. It is a mind-body practice whose focus is on creating increased stability through the core while at the same time improving mobility throughout the entire body.
Exercises are designed for every part of the body and performed with attention to breath, proper form, and efficient movement patterns. The exercises are performed on a mat or on specially designed equipment and are safe, low impact and appropriate for any age, from 10 to 100.
Created in the early part of the 20th century, Pilates has exploded in popularity in the last 20 years with over 10 million practitioners in the US and millions more worldwide.
HISTORY OF PILATES
Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1883. As a child he suffered from asthma, rickets and a weak respiratory system. He began exploring ways to strengthen his body and mind and participated in boxing, fencing, wrestling and gymnastics with his father and brother.
Joe was in England touring with a boxer when WWI broke out. Held as a resident alien in an internment camp, he began leading fellow detainees in a daily exercise program. He was soon given the job of caring for wounded soldiers at a hospital, helping them exercise whatever they could move. This is where he developed his first piece of exercise equipment, which eventually became the Cadillac we know today.
In 1926, Joe and his wife, Clara, moved to NYC. They rented a small studio in the same building as the New York City Ballet and started teaching what Joe named "Contrology". Joe worked with clients from all walks of life but made an especially strong impression on the dance community whose leaders began sending their dancers to him for rehabilitation following injuries.
During his lifetime, Joe never stopped developing new exercise equipment. After his death, a group of devoted teachers and students went on to continue his work. Some of them became the first teacher trainers, passing on his ideas and methods. As we have learned more about the body and about exercise science, Pilates has continued to evolve into the system we know today.