What Is Classical Pilates?
Pilates, developed in the late 1800's by Joseph H. Pilates, is a method of total body conditioning that strengthens, stretches and heals the body through proper movement. Movement against, as well as with the assistance of, outside forces (spring tensions or simply forces of gravity), challenges the core of the participant first and foremost. It is the "powerhouse" (the abdominals, back, and buttocks) that is the center of stabilization for all movement. Flowing, precise movements working along with the stabilization of the spine, allow the body's musculature to become more balances, similar to a finely tuned automobile. Spinal articulation is also incorporated into the Pilates method. With the renewed support of the deep abdominal and back muscles, the vertebral column simultaneously finds increased length, increasing necessary space for discs. Students quickly find the benefits of proper movement patterns as they carry themselves into everyday life, from performing the most simplistic tasks such as picking up heavy groceries or climbing a flight of stairs to skiing, horseback riding, golfing or walking on an icy path. In addition, the body becomes long, lean and strong. The benefits are never-ending.
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Joseph Pilates, a brief history
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Born in Montengladbach, Germany in 1883, Joseph Pilates was born with asthma. He was one of 9 children. His father was a locksmith and his mother a housewife. With a family that moved almost every year of his life and very little extra money, Joseph was forced to heal himself. He spent a lot of time outside watching the way animals moved; the way they lengthened and contracted their bodies fascinated him. Joseph began experimenting with his own body movement using Greek training techniques, martial arts and gymnastics and formulated what he eventually called Contrology, a method of mindful movement. This method, the culmination of all of many disciplines, focuses on mindfully moving in a controlled pattern against the resistance of gravity and later against spring resistance. But at this time, the work he did was for himself and his brother. Joesph's firs job was a s a beer, which he did for 13 years. Still desiring to work with movement and make people stronger, Joseph applied for a visa, and went to England. While in England he worked as a laborer and as a strong man in a circus. He overstayed his visa and when WWI broke out, he was captured as a POW. By now Joseph was married to his second wife and was 31 years old. While living in a British internment camp during World War I (as a POW), Joseph Pilates spent his time learning more about strength and flexibility training and movement and continued to fine-tune his workout method and use it to strengthen fellow prisoners. As a result, Joseph Pilates acquired the job of "physical educator" in the camp. His ideas were ahead of their time and his new profession stayed with him after the war. At the end of the war, Joseph was sent back to Germany, Hamburg to be exact. It was here that Joseph developed his first and second apparatus - the foot corrector and then the Universal Gymnasium, the latter of which is now known as the Reformer.
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In 1929, Joseph boarded a boat to America where he met Clara, his third and final beloved and partner in his new fitness venture in America. Shortly after arriving in New York, Joseph set up an exercise studio at 939 Eighth Avenue. In the basement of his studio, he developed specialized spring-based equipment, which quickly became the essential component of the Pilates apparatus we utilize still to this day. While not much else is known about the earliest years of the Pilates practice, by the 1940s, Joseph had achieved notoriety in the dance community. "At some time or other," reported Dance magazine in its February 1956 issue, "virtually every dancer in New York, and certainly everyone who studied at Jacob's Pillow between 1939 and 1951, has meekly submitted to the spirited instruction of Joe Pilates."
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The Pilates Movement Gains In Popularity
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By the early 1960s, the Pilates could count among their clients many New York dancers. George Balanchine worked out "at Joe's," as he called it, and also invited Pilates to instructor his young ballerinas at the New York City Ballet. In fact, "Pilates" was becoming popular outside New York as well. As the New York Herald Tribune noted in 1964, "in dance classes around the United States, hundreds of young students limber up daily with an exercise they know as pilates, without knowing that the word has a capital P, and a living, right-breathing namesake." However in 1967, Joseph Pilates, just before his 84th birthday, was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital where after a few days, he passed away. Although we do not really know the cause of his death, many attribute it to smoke inhaled during a fire at his studio the year before. There is much debate about this though as some say he was not even there at that tine. For the next ten years, Clara, continued to keep the studio going, but Clara began to suffer from dementia and eventually passed on herself. It was the elders, particularly Romana Kryzanowska, who continued Joe's legacy.
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The Second Generation of "Pilates" Teachers
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During Joseph's life he touched many peoples lives and truly made an impact on them. Some even became teachers of the method. Some of them include: Romana Kryzanowska, Carola Trier, Kathy Grant, Eve Gentry, and Ron Fletcher, Mary Bowen, Lolita San Miguel, Bruce King, and Jay Grimes. Many of these elders taught from their own experiences, but most will agree that it was Romana who truly honored the method that Joe created. It was Romana who created the first Pilates Certification in the late 1980's/early 1990's.
The Method Today
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It is our responsibility now to carry on the brilliant work that Joe created. This is a big undertaking, as today the method is being practiced by the masses in gyms everywhere. There are many classical and non-classical certifications out there and many qualified and unqualified teachers. A good certification should include many hours of study (600 or more of apprenticeship time) with qualified teacher trainers. Romana, with Bob Liekens (my mentor) by her side, created the first real classical certification. This is my lineage. To learn the art of teaching the method requires true dedication and a full time commitment. As Romana instilled in Bob and Bob in me, we have a responsibility to teach as Joe did - to teach with Joe's intention, the correctness of his work. As an educator of Joe's work, I take this responsibility seriously and continue to work to perfect my skills and knowledge to this day.
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