Joseph
Humbertus Pilates lived to be a robust and vital 87 year old
icon. Had he not succumbed to the effects of smoke inhalation
during a fire, in the restaurant below his studio on 8th Avenue
in New York City, he potentially could have demonstrated an
incredible level of physical fitness for many years to come.
Looking at photographs of Joseph Pilates, even well into his
eighties, it may be hard to imagine that he did not always
enjoy such vitality.
Pilates was
born near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880. His unusual last name
is actually derived from his Greek heritage and would have
been Pilatos. Much controversy surrounds the correct pronunciation
of his name; however, nearly all publications show it as (Pi –LAH – teez).
All instructors crack an amused smile at the mispronunciation
of his name by those outside the Pilates loop. Living relatives
of Joseph Pilates say that the name was not pronounced as it
is popularly known today. Mary Pilates LaRiche, the niece of
Joseph Pilates, and a long time resident of South Florida,
says her family name, as best she can recall, was pronounced
(Pi – LOTTS).
Mary Pilates
LeRiche qualifies as an expert and probably was Joseph’s
earliest disciple as she had worked in her Uncle Joe’s
exercise studio as a young woman in her 20’s. A now famous
photograph of Pilates’ exercise studio at 939 Eighth
Ave., NY, NY displays a long rectangular room with at least
four Reformers (the original group sessions?) in a line. Joseph
stands between two, his wife, Clara, in her nurse’s uniform,
by another, and his niece Mary at yet another Reformer. Mary
relocated to South Florida in the 1960’s and continued
teaching fitness as her uncle had taught her. Even today, at
81 years young, she will demonstrate the “only way” the
exercises should ever be done. That would be just the same
way it was done in the 1940’s.
“People
won’t understand the brilliance of my work for 50 years.” That
is a quote from Joseph, himself, about 50 years ago. Mary LeRiche
says that her uncle would be quite happy and surprised at just
how much impact his work is having on the world. Today, healthcare
professionals are studying and implementing his work into their
healing therapies. Medical doctors are writing prescriptions
for their patients: Pilates. His clever exercise apparatus
designs are virtually the exact designs used by today’s
equipment manufacturers. How many of the exercise machines
found in today’s traditional gym setting can accommodate
hundreds of exercises on one single piece the size of a twin
bed? The Wunda Chair doubled as a small living room side chair
that when flipped upon its back becomes a gymnasium with two
bedsprings. Pilates felt that every home should have one.
As a child
he had suffered with asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever.
Even as a young adolescent he made a life-altering decision
that he would restore his own health. He studied the Eastern
disciplines of yoga and martial arts and blended them with
Western forms of physical activities such as bodybuilding,
gymnastics, boxing, and recreational sports. At the young age
of just fourteen years he had sculpted his physique so well
that he was posing for anatomical charts.
As a young
man he moved from Germany to England where he became a boxer,
circus performer, and self-defense instructor. When World War
One erupted he, and other German nationals, were incarcerated
in Lancaster as “enemy aliens.” Pilates influenced
the other detainees to follow his exercise regime which he
called, “Contrology.” His fitness program was so
beneficial that he and his fellow compatriots survived the
1918 influenza epidemic that took the lives of thousands of
people. He attributed their survival to their physically fit
lungs! Hence, the Pilates Principle of Diaphragmatic Breathing!
Pilates was
later sent to the Isle of Man to work as a nurse orderly caring
for the war wounded. One can imagine the condition of many
of these soldiers; some had probably grown weak from lingering
in hospital beds for months, their muscles atrophied, further
inhibiting their potential for recovery. Unable to participate
in Pilates’ floor exercises, these men benefited by Joseph’s
cleverly designed apparatus to rehabilitate them right from
their hospital beds and wheelchairs. Looking at the Cadillac
one can see the table as the hospital bed; plumbing pipes create
the canopy and borrowed bedsprings become first assistive and
then resistive exercise tools. Despite whatever injuries the
wounded may have had, Pilates was able to strengthen their
muscles and restore them to their potential good health.
After the
war Joseph returned to Germany but became disenfranchised with
the political direction his country was taking. He decided
to immigrate to the United States of America. He met his future
wife, Clara, on the ship. Clara was a nurse and they realized
that they shared the same interest of wanting to restore the
good health of others. When they arrived in New York they decided
to open up a physical fitness studio.
Joseph Pilates’ method
of physical and mental wellness has been a best-kept secret
of the dance and entertainment world since the 1920’s
when his studio was discovered by Martha Graham, the mother
of modern dance, George Balanchine, the artistic director for
the New York City Ballet, and Rudolf von Laban, founder of
Labanotation. Dancers such as Hanya Holm and Romana Kryzanowska,
along with prizefighters, actors, actresses, and traveling
circus performers embraced his methods both for the total body
conditioning needed for the rigors of their work and also for
rehabilitating the injuries that often plague dancers, performers,
and athletes.
Dance companies
all over the world use Pilates’ exercises to keep their
dancers in top form. Many dancers go on to become Hollywood
celebrities; Patrick Swayze and Madonna to name only two. Due
to the attention the mainstream public gives to Hollywood celebrities
the name Pilates is now a household word. If Madonna does it,
it must work.
Romana Kryzanowska
entered Pilates’ world as a young dancer in New York.
Pilates regarded her as his disciple; she had absorbed and
could express the essence of his work as if it were coming
from him. She continues his legacy today in New York and has
generously shared her knowledge with the world through her
students, books, videos, and lectures.
Joseph’s
obituary, appearing in the New York Times in 1967, reads like
an advertisement for his methods. He is described as a white-maned
lion with steel blue eyes (one was glass from a boxing mishap),
and mahagony skin, and as limber in his 80’s as a teenager.
Joseph and
Clara operated their exercise studio for over 40 years. He
had dedicated his life’s work to restoring the health
and vitality of others. Gone now for thirty-five years, the
essence of his work continues on into the 21st century. |
