The History of Pilates
Pilates exercises are named after a German, Joseph Pilates. After creating his own personal exercise regime to overcome illness in his youth, he helped his own patients to a marked recovery by following routines of gentle exercises he had devised. Joseph believed that when a person had a weakness they overcompensated or overdeveloped another area to maintain movement. He believed by concentrating on precision of movement, awareness of breath control and a continued flowing movement, one could correct malalignment and imbalance and re-educate the body to prevent recurrence of the injury.
The Pilates method is essentially a mind-body centring technique that emphasises the importance of beginning movement from a central core of stability.