Joseph Pilates
was born in Germany in 1880. In 1912 he
moved to England and worked as a boxer, a circus performer
and a detective and self-defence trainer. During World Was I he was
sent to a camp in Lancaster were he trained inmates in health and fitness and
this was the begin of the Pilates exercise.the movements can be small and
therapeutic and are designed to help people to recover from injuries or
they can be challenging ,even for athletes.
1925 Joseph Pilates migrated to the U.S. On the ship he met his future
wife, Clara. In New York City, they began a studio and taught students ,
most of his students were dancers and movie stars.
Pilates exercise uses the mind to control the muscles of the body.
It focuses on the core muscles of the stomach to keep the body balanced.
If the body is balanced it supports the spine.
Awareness of breathing ,alignment of the spine for stronger torso muscles ,
is what he was teaching. Strong core muscle can help to relieve back
and neck pain.
As a child Joseph Pilates was sick and he was suffering from asthma,
rickets and rheumatic fever. In this time he learned from the nature by
studying the movements of animals and birds.
“As a child, I would lie in the woods for hours,
hiding and watching the animals move,
how the mother taught the young.”he said.
After this he began to dedicate his life to well being and becoming
physically stronger.
By the age of 14, he was fit enough be a model for anatomical
charts because of his training of gymnastics and bodybuilding.
He also studied Yoga , Zen and other exercises.
Joseph believed the roots of poor health comes from poor breathing and bad posture.
The practice of Pilates is undoubtedly one of the most popular exercises today.
