Meet Rochenda Howard

‘Pilates’ refers to an exercise technique first established by Joseph H. Pilates in the early 1900’s. Mr. Pilates studied both Eastern and Western exercise training disciplines and conceptualised his approach to exercise while being held in a British internment camp during WW1. Pilates believed in the promotion of both physical and mental harmony through exercise. This concept was first incorporated into a series of mat exercises and later adapted for wartime bedridden patients by utilising a simple sling and spring system. His philosophy stressed “mind-body” awareness and the development of a girdle of strength in the body’s ‘centre’. Dancers and elite athletes in their quest to perfect posture, technique, and movement, first embraced such a focus.

History of Mr. Joseph. H. Pilates

Joseph Pilates was born in 1880 near Dusseldorf, Germany, and died in 1967 at 87 years of age. He was a frail and sickly child who became an all-round athlete excelling in body building, diving, skiing, and gymnastics. In 1912, he went to England to become a professional boxer and circus performer and taught self-defence courses to the police force.

During WW1, Pilates was interned with other German nationals in the United Kingdom. During this time, Pilates developed a series of floor exercises that he taught to fellow internees. He was proud to note that none of these inmates developed the influenza that was endemic in the country in 1918. Pilates later moved to the Isle of Man, where he worked as an orderly in the hospital for the wounded. Pilates started experimenting with his concepts by attaching springs to hospital bed frames. This rudimentary equipment formed the base design for the Pilates reformer and the Trapeze table that he later refined and which continues to be used in much the same way today. It is important to note that exercising when injured or bedridden was not conventional at the time, and the benefits of movement when injured were not understood.

During his career, Pilates had the opportunity to work with and incorporate ideas from F.M. Alexander, the founder of the Alexander Technique, and from leading dance teachers George Balanchine (classical dance) and Martha Graham (modern dance). He is also thought to have studied yoga and Chinese exercise methods.

After the war, Pilates emigrated to New York, USA. In 1926, Pilates founded a studio with his wife, Clara, and established a loyal following in the professional dance community there. His work subsequently spread to dance communities throughout America and later England and Europe. More recently, the ‘Pilates Method’ has been discovered by a wider audience, including elite athletes, performing artists, fitness professionals, and general fitness enthusiasts, and most recently by physiotherapists and other medical professionals. Today, Pilates exercise is offered worldwide in some form, more commonly in the format of floor exercise classes. Training on the Pilates apparatus in a dedicated Pilates studio is available but not as widely.