HISTORY OF PILATES

Pilates is a non impact exercise method which has the potential to achieve fabulous results by:

• Creating a more poised and positive posture.
• Re-balancing the muscle groups in the right and left sides of your body.
• Healing long and short term injuries.
• Increased Flexibility.
• Stronger deep muscles that support and stabilise the spine (Known as your core.)
• Heightened physical and mental awareness and wellbeing.

Pilates was originally called 'Contrology'.
It was developed by a man named Joseph Pilates over 100 years ago.

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in 1880 and died in 1967 at the grand old age of eighty-seven. Joseph was born in Dusseldorf, Germany as a frail, sickly child who suffered from conditions such as rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever.
Joseph wished to overcome these conditions and become strong, but rather than following an established fitness regime, he experimented with many different forms of exercises. These included yoga, skiing, gymnastics, self defence, weight training and dance. Joseph was influenced by parts of each of these exercises and from these Joseph devised his own system wanting to achieve perfect balance of both strength and flexibility with in his body.
Once he had proved his form of exercises worked, he then began to teach his techniques to others.

He was training detectives at Scotland Yard when world war one broke out. At this point he was interned in Lancashire, and then in the Isle of Man. It was here that he helped out in the camp infirmary and further developed his techniques, training his fellow internees with amazing success.
At the end of the war he returned to Germany and trained self defence to the Hamburg police and the German army.

In 1926 he decided to emigrate to America. On the boat to America he met his future wife Clara and realising they had the same views on Fitness; they decided to open a studio in New York.
Joseph's studio attracted many top ballet dancers, actresses and actors, gymnastics and athletes, all anxious to learn from him.

Joseph wrote several books on Pilates and probably his most famous one is "Return to Life through Contrology". Over the past 80 years Pilates has been taught by many different people. Most of them were trained by Joseph and they went on to train others who also went onto to train. Pilates then became a recognised and respected form of exercise all over the world.
Joseph had his own repertoire of 34 exercises that were carefully designed over many years to be the original exercises that in Josephs eyes "balance body and mind.

SIMPLY PILATES teaches only Joseph's Pilates original exercises but will modify and adapt the exercises as required to meet the needs of clients

The exercises are as follows:

• THE 100
• THE ROLL UP
• THE ROLL OVER
• THE ONE LEG CIRCLE
• ROLLING BACK
• THE ONE LEG STRETCH
• THE DOUBLE LEG STRETCH
• THE SPINE STRETCH
• ROCKER WITH OPEN LEGS
• THE CORK-SCREW
• THE SAW
• THE SWAN DIVE
• THE ONE LEG KICK
• THE DOUBLE LEG KICK
• THE NECK PULL
• THE SCISSORS
• THE BYCYCLE
• THE SHOULDER BRIDGE
• THE SPINE TWIST
• THE JACK KNIFE
• THE SPINE TWIST
• THE TEASER
• THE HIP TWIST
• SWIMMING
• THE LEG PULL-FRONT
• THE LEG PULL
• THE SIDE KICK KNEELING
• THE SIDE BEND
• THE BOOMERANG
• THE SEAL
• THE ROCKING
• THE CONTROL BALANCE
• THE PUSH UP

 

 

 

 

 

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REPS - R00329767 Register Of Exercise Professionals
Level 3 Pilates Teacher - L3 Tutor / Lecturer  Advanced instructor
The Studio is now a Registered Pilates Level 3 training provider with Active IQ.

 

 

 

 

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