There is always more to learn about Pilates.
What’s Pilates?
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in Western countries such as Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Pilates developed in the aftermath of the late 19th century physical culture of exercising in order to alleviate ill health.
Who was Joseph Pilates?
Joseph H. Pilates was born 9 December 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. His father, Heinrich Friedrich Pilates, who was born in Greece, was a metal worker and enthusiastic gymnast, and his German-born mother was a housewife. Pilates was a sickly child. He suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever, and he dedicated his entire life to improving his physical strength. Pilates came to believe that the "modern" life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health. He ultimately devised a series of exercises and training techniques, and engineered all the equipment, specifications, and tuning required to teach his methods properly.[
What is Stott Pilates?
Stott Pilates is a branded version of the Pilates method of physical exercise that was developed by Moira Merrithew (née Stott) and commercialized by Moira with her husband, Lindsay Merrithew, starting in 1988. The most significant difference between Stott Pilates and Joseph Pilates's original method of the early 1900s is that Stott focused on having a neutral spine posture and generated a different sequence of exercises.