Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in Germany in 1883. His father was a high level gymnast and his mother was a naturopath. Throughout his childhood he suffered from various illnesses (asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever) and in an attempt to improve his health, he studied martial arts, yoga, Tai Chi as well as anatomy. He studied ancient Greek and Roman exercises and he became an accomplished athlete in boxing, gymnastics and skiing.
He realized that a poor posture and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health and that physical and mental health were closely linked. He first developed his method under the name of “Contrology” i.e. complete coordination between the mind, soul and body. In 1912 Joseph Pilates moved to England where he became a professional boxer and also a self defense trainer to the police. At the same time he worked as a circus performer playing the Greek Statue.
Two years later during the First World War, he was treated as a « foreign enemy » and was interned in a camp on the Isle of Man with other Germans. He maintained the health of his fellow prisoners by becoming their gym coach and put into place the fundamentals of Pilates as it is known today. He developed the concepts of the apparatus such as the Reformer, the Cadillac, etc and began to use them for physiotherapy purposes.
After the war Joseph Pilates returned to Germany but was disappointed by the evolution of his techniques and in 1926 he left the country and emigrated to the United States of America. On the ship to America, he met his future wife Clara. The couple founded a studio in New York which made a rapid success amongst the New York dance companies who sent their dancers to be trained in injury prevention and for rehabilitation. This success continued for 40 years and during that time, Joseph Pilates constantly perfected his work.
In 1967, after having dedicated his whole life to health and well being, Joseph Pilates died accidentally at the age of 84 in a fire.