A Short History Of Pilates

Pilates has come a long way over the past 99 years. When the first Pilates studio opened in 1926, who could have predicted that Joseph Pilates’ form of exercise would soon be found worldwide? He certainly hoped it would! And now, a century later, his dream has come true. So, how did we get here and where will Pilates go next? This short history of Pilates will fill you in. 

In The Beginning

It all started with a man named Joseph Pilates. He slowly developed his method of movement for years in Europe before moving to New York, where he opened the first ever Pilates studio in 1926. This is where he incorporated his many inventions to help his students improve their Pilates practice. These inventions, known as the apparatuses, included the reformer, wunda chair, foot corrector, ladder barrel, cadillac, and many more. 

The studio was in the same building as the New York Ballet, and he became known for helping rehabilitate dancers. Through word of mouth, his business began to grow. Students would come to the studio to do their practice, with Joseph, his wife Clara, and their assistants on hand to provide guidance. Eventually, some of those students went on to open their own studios – with Joseph’s blessing, of course! Though there is a good story about how one opened without his approval, and how Joseph ensured it was shut down.

Pilates After Joe

After Joseph Pilates passed away, Clara, the assistants, and his clients kept the studio going.  Eventually, with much persuasion, his former student Romana Kryzanowska took over running the original studio. She also started training more teachers but the method had not made its way out of New York. It took a few more decades, but that would change, too. 

In the 1970’s, another student of Joe’s wanted to open a studio in Beverly Hills. Clara gave him the okay and even travelled to California to work with him. It was here that many Hollywood stars started to find Pilates.  Ron had his own style and was creative with the method, eventually creating his own teacher training program. “Fletcher Pilates” was born and is still one of the more famous contemporary Pilates teacher training programs. 

In the late 80’s, the media introduced Pilates to more people and the public started to take notice. Studios began to open in more parts of the world but they were still few and far between. The history of Pilates now takes a sharp turn, thanks to the massive reach of television advertising and then the internet. 

Pilates Gets Popular

There was a surge in the popularity of Pilates in the 90s and early 2000s. This happens to be when I discovered Pilates, too. I started my fitness career teaching aerobics in the 90’s and recall that it was in the later 90’s that I started hearing about Pilates. People were comparing it to yoga, and from what I could see, it certainly looked similar. Then, when I had my first daughter in 1999, I got a few Pilates DVDs with the baby formula I bought. I didn’t even have a DVD player to try them out at first! 

It was soon after that Pilates was all over the place. Specifically, “Winsor Pilates”. Mari Winsor had opened her first Pilates studio in West Hollywood in 1990 and then started doing infomercials in 2003. Remember those? This exposed people all over North America to mat Pilates, and made it accessible to them in their own homes. 

In my world, I was seeing more gyms and recreation centres adding Pilates classes to their schedules. Our gym manager and my mentor even quit the gym to open her own Pilates studio. This is one of the first times I had heard of a Pilates studio or the equipment. Soon enough, I was training to teach Pilates at the gym, and now I have my own course to train the next Pilates teachers. 

Pilates Is Everywhere Today

Today, with TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms, Pilates is becoming very popular. Reformer Pilates, Lagree (which is not Pilates), and wall Pilates show up all the time in my social media feeds. Studios of all kinds are popping up everywhere, with many reformer-only studios. I regularly get calls asking specifically for reformer-Pilates.

As a studio owner, I’m grateful to social media for the gained exposure. There are so many posts that showcase beautifully executed Pilates exercises, and it’s so satisfying to see. But it’s also frustrating to see a lot of NON-Pilates exercises being shared that are actually unsafe. 

A Bit More On Safety

You don’t know what you don’t know… So before you jump into the first Pilates studio you see or try to replicate something you saw on Instagram, please do your research to ensure you are moving safely and, if you want to learn Pilates, that your instructor is appropriately trained. 

If you’re new to Pilates or haven’t researched it, you obviously won’t know that there is a system and method to it. There is an order to the exercises and control plays a big part. If you’re doing high repetitions of an exercise and/or to the point of exhaustion, then you’re not doing Pilates. You may be using a reformer, but it’s not Pilates. As long as you’re enjoying it, feel good in your body, and are staying safe, that’s okay! 

What does concern me is that Pilates is well known as a form of corrective exercise, one that is often recommended to people by other health professionals. So, if you’re searching for Pilates to correct an imbalance (which we all have), or help with an injury, recover from surgery, etc., you’ll want to find a well-equipped studio with fully trained instructors. 

Where Will Pilates Go Next?

Joseph Pilates had the dream of his method being practiced by everyone and all over the world, and now it’s happening. Where will we go next? Like other fitness modalities like dance and martial arts, I’m sure Pilates will keep evolving. There will be people, like me, who stay close to the classical method, and others who will see opportunities to try new things.