Where do we Begin?

Somebody told me once that in the Vedic tradition of astrology beginnings are very important. I think about the Pilates origin story a lot as I teach. Here is a bit on how the exercises and equipment in the Pilates studio came to be:

Pilates was born Dec 9, 1883 in Germany and, as a child suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. In spite of this (or maybe because of it?) he dedicated himself to exercise and became proficient in acrobatics, boxing and self defense. In 1914 he was touring England as part of a strong man statue act in the circus. The day after England declared war on Germany, a law was passed and all foreign nationals were swept up and taken to the Knockaloe Camp on the Isle of Man. He spent the next 3 1/2 years as a prisoner there.

Mr. Pilates had very little space to move in and food rations were scarce at the camp. Fellow prisoners physical and mental health declined. They even had a name for it, “barbed wire disease”. In contrast, he watched how the cats around the camp moved, that they were supple and strong, alive. After studying the cats for hours, he began doing a series of excesses, and sharing these excersices with fellow prisoners. He was astounded by the amount of improvement in both mental and physical well being followed. These excercises became “Contrology” which is now called “Pilates”

If you see pictures of the camp the beds you will recognize the elevated mats we use in the studio. And, fun fact, they taught the prisoners to make furniture in the camp. Mr. Pilates used that furniture making knowledge to build the Reformers, Cadilacs and other equipment we use. Prisoners were required to stand at attention for roll call many times a day. We see this in the standing exercises, such as standing footwork.

When Joseph Pilates created his series of exercises, he saw how important it was to unite the mind and the body for overall well-being. He was confined to a small space, and needed to make the most of the conditions that he was in. He needed to stay healthy in mind and in body because, as a prisoner in an unpredictable war, that was all he had control over.

I love this aspect of Pilates and continuously see it reflected in the people I get to work with.

I do hold a question about how much we need to emphasize the economy of space, or the guarded, braced front of the body, all that flexion(!) that is present in so much of the Pilates rep. Above all, now, in a time when most people spend hours forward facing relating with screens? To keep the Pilates I am teaching alive, I try to pan back and forth from its beginning in the war camp to the moment we are all in. With deep respect for the classical traditions, I ask myself moment to moment, how much is this movement helping the body in front of me?