The Pilates method is a physical fitness system that was developed by Joseph Pilates,  a visionary with overarching ideas about how to be a healthy and happy human being.  Born in Germany in 1880, Mr. Pilates developed a sequence of movements that worked the mind and muscles in harmony when he was determined to strenghen his body and improve his health after a sickly childhood.  Over his lifetime, he overcame his frailties and became an accomplished athlete, an avid skier, diver, gymnast, yogi and puglist.  The story goes that during World War I while working as an orderly in the infirmary, Mr. Pilates rigged hospital beds with springs and light resistance which allowed patients to rehabilitate their injuries and to exercise while lying on their backs.  This planted the seed for the invention of pieces of equipment to enhance the results of his expanding repetoire of exercises.  Around 1925, Joseph Pilates moved to New York City with his wife Clara and opened a studio to teach his method which he first called the Art of Contrology^* referring to the way the method uses the mind to control the muscles.  In 1945 he published a book called Return To Life Through Contrology^** which describes his philisophical approach to exercie.   
 
Although Pilates has been around for 80 years, it has dramatically increased in popularity during the mind-body movement over the past decade.  Currently, Pilates is available in many locations including fitness facilities, private studios,  physical therapy offices, rehabilitation centers, professional sports centers and neighborhood gyms.  The benefits and results from Pilates affirm that Joseph was an innovator of his time and his legacy lives on in the practice of his revolutionary work. 

^*Contrology is the complete coordination of the body, mind and spirit.
^**Contrology is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in the way you walk, play and work.  You will develop muscular power with corresponding endurance, ability to perform arduous duties, to play strenuous games, to walk, run or travel for long distances without undue body fatigue or mental strain.

(extracted from the book "Return to Life Through Contrology" by Joseph Pilates)