Pilates is a dynamic, low impact but high intensity exercise system used to strengthen the core and peripheral muscle groups to restore the natural shock absorbing properties of the spine.  

Pilates takes its name from Joseph Pilates, a German guy who lived in Britain and later in America.  He developed the Pilates method as a new approach to exercise and body-conditioning near the beginning of the last century.  His method included the use of equipment referred to by him as ‘apparatus’. Probably the best known piece of equipment, is the Pilates reformer.

Joseph Pilates was born near Dusseldorf in 1880.  He was ill for a lot of his childhood, and as a consequence, he grew up determined to make himself strong and healthy.  He took up bodybuilding as a teenager and before he knew it he was getting work as a model for anatomical drawings.

Pilates was probably one of the first influential figures to combine Western and Eastern concepts on health and fitness.  He studied and practised every kind of exercise he could find; ranging from ancient Roman and Greek exercise modalities to body-building and gymnastics.  He also studied the Eastern disciplines of tai chi, martial arts, yoga and Zen meditation.  On top of all this he researched and studied human anatomy and also the movement of animals.  Totally focused on his goals, Joseph sampled every kind of exercise that he could, meticulously recording his findings.

He left Germany in 1912, aged 32, moving to the UK where he became a professional boxer.  Never idle, he was a diver, an expert skier, taught self-defence to Scotland Yard police detectives, and also found work as a circus acrobat.

Development of Pilates and the Pilates Reformer

When the first World War broke out, the British arrested and locked him in an internment on the Isle of Mann as a German enemy alien.  With not much else to do he used his time to begin developing a new approach to exercise and full body conditioning, the start of what is known today as Pilates.  During his internment he also got the chance to work as a nurse.  This allowed him the opportunity to experiment on his patients (different times) by attaching springs to hospital beds, so that patients could start toning their muscles even while they were still stuck in their beds.

This was the origin of the first Pilates machine now known as the Pilates Reformer.  Initially the Reformer was shaped like a sliding bed using springs as resistance.

After the war he returned to Germany briefly before moving to the USA in 1923

The First Pilates Studio

He opened his first studio in SoHo, New York along with Clara his assistant, and later his wife, who he’d met on the Atlantic crossing.

His new method was an instant hit, particularly amongst the ballet community.  They found the Pilates method the best way both to recover from injuries and to prevent their recurrence.  Gradually, a more people got to hear of it the method.

Pilates initially called his technique ‘Controlology’ – but later did it become known by his own surname. He conceived it as mental conditioning as well as a physical in which people could work their mind and bodies to their full potential.

When explaining the guiding principle of Controlology, he liked to quote Schiller, a famous German playwright: ‘lt is the mind itself which builds the body’.

Joseph Pilates said:

‘In ten sessions you will feel the difference; in 20 you will see the difference; and in 30 you will have a whole new body’.

Most people do start to feel a difference after 10 sessions, getting the sense that they are walking taller and moving in a looser, more supple way.

The longer you continue with Pilates, the more you’ll see and feel the shape of your body changing.

Wear comfortable clothing that you can move in.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be form fitting, but tighter clothing allows the instructor to see that the exercises are being done correctly.

Please don’t wear clothes that have metal zips or buckles as they can damage the Reformers.

Wear socks or go barefoot in the studio, shoes are are a no go.

It’s really easy, just click on the ‘Book Now’ button.  Choose the activity you’d like to do along with the session date and time.  You’ll need to sign the declaration and complete a  screening form.  Then you’re all set.

This form is a liability insurance prerequisite, but it’s also to let me know what your fitness goals are, whether you have had any old injuries or operations that might have a bearing on the kind of exercises that I’ll programme for you, your fitness history etc.

Sessions can be booked individually as it suits, but if you have a preferred time slot I’d recommend block booking.