Practiced faithfully, Pilates yields numerous benefits. Increased lung capacity and circulation through deep, healthy breathing is a primary focus. Strength and flexibility, particularly of the abdomen and back muscles, coordination-both muscular and mental, are key components in an effective Pilates program.

Posture, balance, and core strength are all heartily increased. Bone density and joint health improve, and many experience positive body awareness for the first time.

Pilates teaches balance and control of the body, and that capacity spills over into other areas of one's life. 

Around 1914, Joseph Pilates was a performer and a boxer living in England and, at the outbreak of WWI, was placed under forced internment along with other German nationals in Lancaster, England.

There he taught fellow camp members the concepts and exercises developed over 20 years of self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and Roman physical regimens. It was at this time that he began devising the system of original exercises known today as "matwork", or exercises done on the floor. He called this regimen "Contrology."

A few years later, he was transferred to another camp, where he became a nurse/caretaker to the many internees struck with wartime disease and physical injury. Here, he began devising equipment to rehabilitate his "patients," taking springs from the beds and rigging them to create spring resistance and "movement" for the bedridden.

In a way, Pilates equipment today is not much different than that of yesteryear. Spring tension, straps to hold feet or hands, supports for back, neck and shoulder are as important now as they were then. Because of the remarkable nature of the equipment to both challenge and support the body as it learns to move more efficiently, the inimitably designed pieces truly act as a complement to the more challenging "matwork" exercises.  

Joseph Pilates, on Pilates

While Joe was the outspoken force behind his method, his wife Clara, a trained nurse, quietly incorporated his concepts and exercises in ways that benefited more seriously ill or injured clients. Her approachable style and special techniques spawned a dedicated lineage of teachers whose work flows through and uniquely colors the landscape of the Pilates method today. It is perhaps because of Clara that Pilates is clearly recognized as a positive form of movement-based exercise that truly can be tailored to any level of not just fitness, but also of health.

First Generation Instructors, who knew Joe, maintain that he and Clara would be very happy and proud of the popularity and growth of Pilates.

Prices for classes range from $10-$20 for group mat sessions, to upwards of $50-$100 for one hour of one-on-one instruction utilizing the full repertoire of Pilates equipment.

Comprehensively, competently trained and knowledgeable instructors are the essential element in realizing one's potential, and enjoying the process of learning Pilates.

To define, maintain, and support the commitment to training and education of Pilates instructors, the Pilates Method Alliance® was formed in 2000 as the international professional organization for the Pilates method of exercise. Members are required to participate in ongoing training, and must provide documentation to remain in good standing. The *PMA® has set guidelines and recommendations for teacher training programs, and has established the first National Certification Exam for the Pilates method.
(Text Courtesy of PMA)