EXERCISE FOR A-LISTERS
A History of Pilates By Dr. Ju l i e Lord
With a strong Pilates practice, you recover faster and are more protected from injury and imbalances caused by long workdays and hard-core workouts.
balance, stability, core, full body strengthening and breath work. And similar to the dancers who frequented Joe’s original studio, my clients love the rehabilitative nature of Pilates and how it com- plements and supports their other workout practices. With a strong Pilates practice, you recover faster and are more protected from inju- ry and imbalances caused by long workdays and hard-core workouts. Also, one of my personal favorite things about Pilates is the footwork
Dr. Julie Lord
Photo by Hannah Antley with Flourish Photography
P ilates was started by Joseph Pilates. The prac- tice was originally called Controlology. Maybe not the most marketable name but Joe was ahead of his time in understanding creative movements and exercises. He loved box- ing and the circus. He studied how animals moved and ultimately named many of his ex- ercises after animals (e.g., Cat on the Chair, Eagle on the Trap Table, and Parakeet). Joe opened a studio in New York City, very close to the New York City Ballet, and established himself as the premier trainer for dancers who were rehabbing from injuries. Joe was a very serious trainer. He had a list of exercises on the wall for the Re- former. He expected you to learn his exercises and then you were on your own. And that practice became Pilates. WHEN DID PILATES TAKE OFF AND BECOME MAINSTREAM? Pilates did not really take off until after Joseph Pilates’s death. Joe wanted Pilates performed his way and allegedly his lack of openness and humility closed
Eliza Bacot, nurse practitioner and certified wellness practitioner. Pilates student of Studio13.
doors that would have propelled Pilates to an early success. Rumor is that Joe got very offended when the mainstream medical community did not embrace his work. However, after his death, Pilates spread across the United States and the world, not by the mainstream medical community, but through the work of Joe’s former students. One student, a dancer named Romana, took over Joe’s studio in New York, and Eve Gentry, Ron Fletcher, Kathleen Stanford Grant, and Carola Tier each started their own studios and began training their own protégés—multiplying teachers and students around the world. WHY DO CELEBRITIES LIKE PILATES? Celebrities like Pilates for the same reason you and I like Pilates. It is fun, creative, beautiful, and perfect for
on the Reformer and Chair. With 26 bones in each foot and a large part of the nervous system residing in your feet, the Pilates footwork provides health benefits that stabilize and strengthen your whole body from the feet up. WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT PILATES? Pilates is transformative in mind, body, and spirit. I honestly cannot explain it. You have to practice it to experience it. I just know that when I do Pilates, I feel connected in a dance with my body. It makes me feel bet- ter inside and out. Who wouldn’t want that? Sign me up!
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