TAKE CONTROL
German-born Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1883-1967) was way ahead of his time. Plagued through his childhood with asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, he dedicated the rest of his life to studying and finding wellness.
Pilates studied human anatomy, yoga and martial arts which, combined with his professions as a gymnast, bodybuilder, diver and boxer, led to his total-body transformation (he went on to pose for anatomical charts) and a system of exercise hailed for its wide range of benefits.
In the mid 1920s, Pilates emigrated to New York, where he opened an exercise studio and soon gained an enviable reputation among the dance and ballet world. Pilates originally called his system of exercise
