Happy Birthday Joseph Pilates!
What could be a better way to celebrate the birthday of the genius of the Pilates Method (or Contrology, as he himself called it) then taking a class from him? Unfortunately, Youtube didn’t exist in Joe’s times otherwise he probably would have had a billion views on his videos! Any videos of Joseph Pilates are very difficult to find and I personally believe that the best way to get as close to his original teaching and method as possible is by reading his book Return to Life through Contrology.
Are you ready to see what a Pilates workout taught and performed by Joseph Pilates looked like? Spend the next 16 minutes watching this video, the video quality is nothing to brag about but we are watching videos that were made as early as in 1930s. Dive into the history of Pilates! Some of the footage in this video is not traditional Pilates matwork but it’s interesting to see the exercises that he used before he developed Contrology. You will notice a nice warmup before the group jumps into the mat session as well as a lot more standing work with the focus on opening the chest and upper body. This footage is fascinating!
This video is part of the Do Pilates – Help Kids campaign. Today we are featuring a new giveaway – the Holiday Kind Cube. You can win one for yourself or for someone who’s been particularly kind to you for no reason. The cube is filled with 20 delicious and 100% natural snack bars covered in scrumptious chocolate. The rules are simple:
- Purchase 1 or several raffle tickets (just $5 each) to participate in the giveaway (you must live in the continental USA to be eligible for the giveaway.)
Are you thinking about joining PilatesBridge? If you sign up for the Pilates Guru membership then you will automatically be entered in the Giveaway twice. Your first month payment will go to support Kids Alive International.
- Share the giveaway. Even if you can’t participate in the giveaway you can help us by simply sharing this event.
- Come back to PilatesBridge every day for the next 6 days for some free Pilates and to see what we are giving away.
- The winners will be announced on December 16th. Put it on your calendar!
“we are watching videos that were made as early as in 1930s. Dive into the history of Pilates! Some of the footage in this video is not traditional Pilates matwork but it’s interesting to see the exercises that he used before he developed Contrology
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How do you know it is not the traditional matwork he taught until his death?
The traditional mat work that Joseph Pilates taught after he opened his studio is documented in his book Return to Life through Contrology. Classical Pilates training programs also teach the work that Joe’s students have picked up from him.
If the exercises in the video are not Contrology as you suggest what are they then. How do you know they are not Joseph Pilates Contrology.