Pilates as it was intended
While taking an early morning walk in a suburban L.A. neighborhood, I was suddenly stopped when I heard a female voice emanating through a 1-story building. She said, "lift your legs and lower and lift them." Several cars were parked along the building’s parking lot, and my curiosity led me closer to look through an open door into a room filled with Pilates reformers stacked across a room in parallel rows. In the din, was the constant hum of music reverberating throughout the room while the voice –the individual Pilates instructor complete with a head microphone - cued the next Pilates exercise for a 6:30 am group reformer Pilates class. This was a striking image to my recollection of what the original Pilates studio looked like. Continuing my walk, I noticed the sign on the building had the word ‘Pilates’. The scene to me looked more to me like a group reformer gym class. Students were packed in one room with one instructor teaching, and because there were reformers stacked along the room, the business decided to tack the word “Pilates” onto its business name. Is this a true Pilates studio or in fact merely a group gym class choosing the Pilates reformer as its preferred gym equipment?
To understand the distinction of what typically characterizes a Pilates studio, we need to go back to New York, the location of the original Pilates studio. Established in the 1930s by Joseph and Clara Pilates, the founders of this method of exercise, the original Pilates studio was a space filled with Joe’s original, hand-built pieces of exercise equipment known as apparatuses. The studio comprised of the Universal Reformer, the Wunda Chair, the Cadillac, and the Ped-o-Pull. And, as Joe invented and patented more Pilates equipment, the pieces just occupied a space in his studio. In fact, in Joe’s lifetime, he created well over 20 Pilates apparatuses.
Why did Joseph Pilates continually invent more Pilates equipment? Because each apparatus was designed to prepare the student to work out on the mat. The mat apparatus was the foundation for Joseph Pilates’ exercise method. So, the Reformer, the Chair, and the Cadillac (also known as the Tower) – were intended as stepping stones to get the body ready for the mat repertoire, the apparatus that is the least inexpensive and the hardest place to practice Pilates exercises.
Joe’s studio was set up for the students to come in without any membership dues and to pay as you go. Students came to work out, to practice their Contrology exercises. Contrology is what Joseph Pilates called his exercise system, and this name encompassed the principles of this exercise method now known as Pilates. The principles are awareness, alignment, breath, balance, coordination, core, and control. For each student in the Pilates studio, Joe, Clara, or one of his trained teachers gave an individualized, personalized workout. There were no group reformer or group chair classes. Instead, for each student at the Pilates studio, there was an instructor instructing the student. In other words, the original Pilates studio had a 1:1 student-teacher ratio. The students did not outnumber the instructor.
Why were there no group reformer classes at the Joe Pilates New York studio? The Pilates principles were all about controlling your alignment, awareness of posture, controlling breath pattern, core focused, coordination, and controlling the body’s micro-movements to yield optimal form throughout the exercise. And Joe was particularly focused on form, saying, “A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence are worth hours of doing sloppy calisthenics or forced contortion.” To add, the apparatuses such as the Reformer, the Chair, or the Cadillac were pieces of equipment to assist the student to attain the ability to practice Contrology exercises ultimately on the mat apparatus. If a student could not execute the Contrology exercises on the mat, then the student met with their instructor and was assigned to work out on one or more of the apparatuses in Joe’s studio.
The purpose of the original Pilates studio was to provide a student with a full body-controlled workout on the mat. The 1:1 personalized reformer or chair workout was designed to help the student move from Joe’s hand-built apparatuses to then graduate the student to work out on the mat. It is only on the mat that we see Joe Pilates teaching a group class. There was no group reformer or group chair classes, only group mat Pilates classes. So, how did the Pilates exercise move from 1:1 personalized reformer work out to group reformer gym classes?
First, we need to recognize that Pilates is not a regulated industry. This means, anyone can open up a business and call it a “Pilates Studio” and refer to themselves as a “Pilates Instructor”. To add, there are no federal or state licensing agencies requiring credentials to prove competency in becoming a Pilates practitioner. So, a crash course on YouTube or a weekend Pilates workshop may be all that an instructor may know about Pilates and certify themselves as a “Pilates Instructor”. Third is the public’s lack of awareness of what exactly Pilates is all about. Unlike yoga, an exercise system that has been around thousands of years, Pilates is a hundred-year-old exercise system. In fact, most individuals, when asked “what is Pilates?”, will often confuse Pilates with yoga and think they are one and the same. They are not, and the origins of Pilates and yoga are very different. Added, the public’s lack of understanding of Pilates principles of alignment, awareness, breath, balance, core, and so on is also another reason why the Pilates studio has morphed into a reformer group gym class. These are just some of the reasons why the Pilates studio of the 1930s has moved so far away from its original intent and why the inception and emergence of the reformer gym can exist and call itself a “Pilates Studio”.
Without regulation, requirement of credentialization, and the public’s lack of knowledge of the Pilates principles, the Pilates industry was ripe for an opportunist to capitalize on the benefits of Pilates and to move away from the goals of the original Pilates studio, the goal being a full body-controlled workout focused on the Pilates principles. Because there were no universal exercise guidelines, no oversight from any federal, state, or national Pilates organization to determine if a Pilates studio was truly observing the tenets of what Joseph Pilates defined as a Pilates studio, the opportunity was met with the rise of the 1960s health club gym movement and the passing of Joseph Pilates in 1967.
What could be done? Like honoring the deceased and their work, out of respect to the creator and founder of this precise exercise method, Joseph Pilates, the consumer should intentionally be seeking Pilates instructors that authentically interpret the exercise. Seeking Pilates instructors with an intimate studio, offering 1:1 private apparatus Pilates. If any group classes are offered, seek a Pilates instructor that offers small group mat classes as it is the safest and most accessible apparatus to practice Pilates. By intentionally doing so, the consumer is receiving the most optimal Pilates experience, safely, and effectively. For the Pilates instructor, they are honoring Joseph Pilates and providing an uncompromised Pilates experience for the consumer and crafting the distinction between a true Pilates studio versus a Reformer Gym. Added, the public will be accurately informed about receiving an authentic interpretation of this exercise method in a private 1:1 apparatus Pilates session or in a small group mat Pilates session and thus minimizing any misunderstandings about Pilates.
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Jan McGrath, certified through Pilates Instructor Academy, has over 20 years of experience in athletic disciplines like Muay Thai kickboxing, long distance running, and CrossFit. After overcoming chronic pain with Pilates, she now helps clients build strength, prevent injuries, and manage pain through her boutique studio, Pilates Whole Body (www.PilatesWholeBody.com). Passionate and positive, Jan is dedicated to educating and inspiring her clients to achieve their optimal fitness and wellness goals.