The History of Pilates

Pilates was designed by Joseph Pilates, a gymnast born in Germany of partly Greek ancestry. He designed a system of exercises during the First World War with the proposal to improve the rehabilitation program for the many returning veterans. Joseph Pilates believed that mental and physical health were inter-related. He recommended a few precise movements emphasizing control and form to aid injured soldiers in regaining their health by strengthening, stretching, and stabilizing key muscles.

Pilates created "The Pilates Principles" to condition the entire body: proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement.

Pilates claimed that his method contains both philosophical and theoretical foundations. He claimed that his system is not merely a collection of exercises, but a method developed and refined over more than eighty-five years of use and observation.

According to practitioners, the central aim of Pilates is to attempt to create a fusion of mind and body, so that without even engaging the mind, the body will move with economy, grace, and balance.