Joseph H. Pilates was the inventor, founder, and developer of specific exercise equipment and exercises based upon core motor control and dynamic movement. Born in Germany in 1883, Pilates moved to England prior to World War I. During the War he was interned at Lancaster Castle with the German population present in England. His prior training in circus performance, boxing, yoga, and potential exposure to many of the gymnastic equipment utilized in rehabilitation in the 19th century, combined with natural acumen, provided a foundation for him to embrace physical fitness and rehabilitation for internees of the camp.
Pilates became interested in rehabilitation exercises while working as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man. Exercise equipment was difficult to find so he cannibalised hospital beds and their springs to develop his famous piece of equipment known as the ‘Cadillac’. This was an ongoing integration of his work based upon his study of yoga and animal movements (cats) which he called ‘Contrology’. Further development led to the creation of the ‘Reformer’.
After the war, Pilates migrated to the USA and set up a studio in New York City, where the dance community embraced his techniques. Physiotherapists providing rehabilitation to dancers saw merit in the Pilates method and began to use the reformer and his other equipment in their treatments. In the 1980’s physiotherapy research into trunk (core) motor control training matched some of Pilates ideas and mainstream physiotherapy quickly adopted the equipment. The flat bed of the reformer with resistance springs offers a large range of exercise options with minute gradations of resistance that make it very flexible for a wide range of people and conditions.
Description provided by Cameron MacDonald of the USA
