Joseph Pilates

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Joseph Pilates

Who was this guy Joseph Pilates and why has he had such a profound affect on exercise in the 21st century when he died in 1967?

Joseph was a German who emigrated to the United States in 1926. His method of exercise was revolutionary in his time but he firmly believed in his method and himself and had no doubt that it would become universal.

In his book “ Your Health” written in 1934 he says:

“ All new ideas are revolutionary. When their underlying theory is proven through practical application it becomes only a matter of time to develop and to flourish. Such revolutionary ideas simply cannot be ignored. They cannot be kept in the background. Time and progress are synonymous terms, nothing can stop either. Truth will prevail. That is why I know my teachings will reach the masses and finally be adopted as universal.”

He was right. And it is just that truth in his work that makes Pilates spread and stay when it is delivered as it was intended. Joseph didn’t call it Pilates , he called it Controlology.

His goal in the individual was a perfect balance of body and mind and he stressed that a man or woman must understand their body . “ What is balance of body and mind?” It is the conscious control of all muscular movements of the body. It is the correct utilization and application of the leverage principles afforded by the bones comprising the skeletal framework of the body. It is a complete knowledge of the mechanism of the body and a full understanding of the principles of equilibrium and gravity as applied to movements of the body in motion, at rest and in sleep”

He calls this the very essence of Controlology. It is these principles your Pilates instructor should know and be able to impart to you over time .

Joseph Pilates’ success lies in the truth of this and in his completely undoubting belief in his work and that it would prevail.

In 1934 he spoke in strong terms about existing physical training methods and attacking the medical profession for lack of health education. He was scathing of existing physical training equipment and physical trainers calling “ health specialists” “ common quacks”. He was appalled because people were tricked into thinking these methods worked by glowing promises through advertisements. The same situation still exists today.

Joseph Pilates wanted the physical development of the body to move away from the mindless performed exercise that existed then and still exists today. To develop the body to its fullest potential requires a mind and body coordination.

Unfortunately the type of exercise he so opposed in those days still exists today. It seems to me that it lies in the method that says you have to punish the body , you have to go through pain, you have to do as many repetitions as you can, you have to sweat buckets. I can make a person sweat on 4 repetitions of a Pilates exercise done correctly and feel like they have never worked so hard before. And that includes hardened gymn goers. It makes sense to me – why do 50 and be exhausted when you can get the same effect on the body with 4-6 and deeper too. I get the same degree of workout in half an hour doing Pilates that I used to in 1 ½ hrs. Seems much more sensible and I feel more alive after it not exhausted. Those 50 repetitions are superficial they don’t work out that body down deep so you are not getting a whole body work out, just an outer one. So you only get half the strength available to you.

It saddens me to find so called Pilates instructors falling into the same trap that Joseph warned of back in 1934 in seeing how many repetitions you can do , how hard you can make it, how much pain can you produce, how many groans can you get from your client. Beware the advertised fast and furious Pilates. It doesn’t exist. It’s not Pilates.

The last word from Joseph Pilates in 1934. “ It is really a rank falsity to believe that one cannot be both strong and healthy without having to indulge in violent training stunts,but unfortunately this erroneous concept is so firmly entrenched in the minds of the general public that it would probably require the omnipotent power of a deity to dispel this universally accepted nonsense from their minds.”

This website contains other information about Pilates exercise and Pilates equipment. Look out for more data from Joseph Pilates in the near future and how his methods relate to health and fitness .

You can contact Louise Forscher at LouiseForscher@sbcglobal.net or phone 818 775 9548 or cell 818 599 0901 or address 8601 International Ave, #273, Canoga Park Ca 91304

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