You may be asking yourself, “What is Pilates and why is everyone in the world but me doing it?” If you find yourself struggling to get yourself off a low-sitting couch or sitting up in bed in the morning is an effort, the question “What is Pilates” becomes even more important.
The Pilates Method was developed by Joseph Pilates, a German prisoner during World War I who used his training as a nurse to help bedridden English patients increase their range of movement in a confined space and ultimately get out of bed. In fact, the first reformer, a machine used in Pilates, was most likely a mechanically-cranked hospital bed. Pilates moved to the U.S. in 1926 where he established his first studio with his wife, Clara, in New York City. The couple began teaching students there how to develop their core muscles to better support the spine and improve their posture and overall health.
