Joseph Hubertus Pilates, for whom the method is named, was born in Germany in 1883. Joseph was a weak and sickly child with joint issues and asthma–though his condition as a child was infirm, the belief system that he could change himself was there. By the age of 16, he had conditioned himself and his body to such classic proportions that he was modeling for anatomical charts.

There are many different accounts of his life, but direct quotes from him are few. He writes nothing of himself in his two books, but only of Contrology (what he called Pilates) and the weakening of the human body due to “modern life” or in other words, living a sedentary life with bad posture and inefficient breathing. Sound familiar? This was nearly 90 years ago…it has only gotten worse.

His methodology was so unique and ahead of its time that it really only started to gain popularity in mainstream America in the 80’s, previously being practiced mainly by dancers, actors, and athletes. He designed an exercise system that could help the body heal, grow strength from within to a point of optimum health, and then maintain that state for an entire life time.

Pilates is all about movement, specifically movement that channels the brain to a better place from which to move as well as think. When your brain is engaged in the function of the movement, the body responds with better performance and focus. A better way to understand it is this: if you walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and watch TV or read, your mind is engaged in that activity—your muscles will work automatically, but with less efficiency (and much less effort!)

Because Pilates forces the body to work from smaller muscle groups, you need to use your brain to operate them. Your brain responds positively to this; becoming more mindful and engaged in the movement makes the activity itself more enjoyable and also increases Serotonin levels.

The situation with exercise in this country is complicated: We don’t do it enough, and many of us do it wrong; put the body under duress, or force muscle groups to work against load/weight in order to make muscle groups stronger. Many aspects of human mechanics were overlooked when these systems were established; no one seemed to include the mind (the central nervous system) in any form of physical activity with the exception of Yoga. I think that’s why Yoga has become so popular over the last several decades, and why people love it.

Many people believe that exercise is boring, hard, and no fun…Pilates will change how you think and feel about exercise!