| Who was Joseph Hubertus Pilates? While
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| | counsel. England lost tens of thousands
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| millions of people do Pilates exercises
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| | and while the camps were hit extremely
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| everyday, most do not even know that
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| | hard by the flu, only 200 men died at
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| Pilates was a person, let alone an
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| | Knockaloe, thus proving to Joe that he
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| extremely interesting and colorful
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| | was right.After the war Pilates was
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| personality who was at the leading edge
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| | deported back to Germany, where he
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| of exercise science. It is interesting
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| | continued to develop, practice, and teach
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| not only to hear about his life story,
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| | his exercises until 1925. He trained the
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| but also to explore his story in the
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| | Hamburg Military Police, took on some
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| context of the important social and
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| | private clients, and worked as an early
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| political events of his time, as they all
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| | Physical Therapist, exercising patients
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| impacted his life and work. Of course,
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| | who suffered from the same illnesses he
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| most of what we know came from Joseph
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| | had, including rheumatic fever. Joe met
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| Pilates himself, so the veracity of some
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| | and collaborated with movement analyst
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| of his claims is questionable.Joe Pilates
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| | Rudolf van Laban and famous German dancer
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| was born in 1880 in Moenchengladbach, a
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| | Mary Wigman, and began developing spring
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| town near Dusseldorf, Germany to a
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| | based exercise equipment. "I thought, why
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| gymnast father and a naturopathic
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| | use my strength [to exercise rheumatic
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| physician mother. Moenchengladbach,
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| | patients]? So I made a machine to do it
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| located in West-Central Germany, was a
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| | for me. Look, you see it resists your
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| center of industry and production,
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| | movements in just the right way so those
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| specifically cotton textiles. Pilates was
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| | inner muscles really have to work against
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| a frail and sickly child who suffered
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| | it. That way you can concentrate on
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| from rickets, rheumatic fever, and
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| | movement. You must always do it slowly
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| asthma. Other children constantly made
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| | and smoothly. Then your whole body is in
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| fun of both his name (they called him
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| | it."Post war Germany was not doing well
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| "Christ killer") and his frailty, and Joe
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| | either politically or economically. The
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| was too weak and skinny to ever fight
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| | Weimar Republic was not accepted by many
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| back. He resolved to get stronger in his
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| | Germans, inflation was up due to wartime
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| breathing and his movements so that he
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| | debts, and unemployment was at an all
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| could defend himself.One day Joe's doctor
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| | time high. By 1923 French and Belgium
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| gave him an anatomy book, and the seeds
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| | troops had moved in to Germany as she
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| of Contrology were sewn. Of this book
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| | defaulted on war reparations payments.
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| Pilates said, "I learned every page,
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| | The government began printing so much
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| every part of the body I would move each
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| | money that the mark became worthless in
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| part as I memorized it. As a child, I
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| | 1914 the US dollar was equivalent to 4
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| would lie in the woods for hours, hiding
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| | marks, in 1920 40 marks, in 1922 200
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| and watching the animals move, how the
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| | marks, in 1923 18,000 marks, and by 1924
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| mother taught the young." While attending
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| | 4.2 trillion marks. Things had literally
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| school and studying history, philosophy,
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| | gotten to the point where you needed a
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| and engineering, Pilates also studied
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| | wheelbarrow full of paper money just to
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| Eastern and Western forms of exercise.
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| | buy groceries.In 1925 Pilates was invited
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| The young Joe sent for more books and
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| | to train the New German Army. However,
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| haunted the University libraries in
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| | given the situation in Germany, he had
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| Dusseldorf. The more he learned the more
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| | already decided to leave. Boxing expert
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| questions he had. He tried yoga, Buddhist
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| | Nat Fleischer and Olympic boxer Max
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| meditation, and ancient Greek and Roman
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| | Schmelling convinced Joe to come to the
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| gymnastic exercises, and kept meticulous
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| | US, specifically to New York City. Here
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| written records of what the exercises did
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| | he could train boxers and continue to
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| for him and how he progressed. Pilates
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| | work on his equipment, inventing and
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| held fast to the ancient Roman credo
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| | patenting his new machines. He met his
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| "Mens sana in corpore sano (A sound mind
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| | future wife Clara, a kindergarten
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| in a sound body)." By the time he turned
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| | teacher, on the boat to Ellis Island. The
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| 14 he was not only strong enough to be
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| | story goes that Clara suffered from
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| considered an accomplished skin diver,
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| | arthritis and Joe worked with her to
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| gymnast, boxer, and skier, he also
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| | increase her mobility and relieve her
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| modeled for anatomy charts.We know that
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| | pain. Once in New York they opened their
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| Pilates traveled to England when he was
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| | gym at 939 Eighth Avenue, in the same
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| in his 30s, but there are at least two
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| | building that housed rehearsal studios
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| different equally plausible stories about
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| | for George Ballanchine's New York City
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| how and why he went. The first story
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| | Ballet.Joseph Pilates never received the
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| tells us that he went there to box,
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| | level of recognition that his brilliant
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| having exhausted most of the
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| | work clearly deserved, and even today it
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| prizefighting venues at home. The second
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| | is difficult to wade through the myth and
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| claims that Joe had begun successfully
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| | find the true story. This is partially
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| performing in the circus with his
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| | true because most of what we know about
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| brother, and they had a Greek statue act
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| | his life has come from students of
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| that was so popular they took it to
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| | students of his students.While many facts
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| England. Whichever is true, Pilates was
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| | about Joe's life are verifiable, sources
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| in England in 1914 when WW I broke out
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| | still disagree on the basics. In fact, I
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| and was interned by the British as an
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| | just reviewed several sites and each gave
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| enemy alien. He first went to a small
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| | a different year of death (1966, 1967,
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| camp near Lancaster, where he began
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| | 1968) as well as a different cause of
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| teaching self defense and wrestling to
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| | death (he died in a fire as a result of a
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| the other Germans, claiming that they
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| | fire as a result of smoke inhalation from
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| would be stronger when they left than
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| | a fire etc.). According to his New York
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| when they entered. It was here that Joe
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| | Times obituary Joseph Pilates died in
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| began to develop his system of
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| | 1967 at Lenox Hill Hospital, but the
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| Contrology. Then he was
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| | Times never mentions cause of death. And
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| transferred.During both World Wars, the
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| | there was indeed a fire on the same floor
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| British set up their Alien Civilian
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| | as his studio in 1965 where Joe suffered
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| Internment Camps on the Isle of Man.
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| | a bad leg scrape while inspecting the
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| Interestingly, they only interned males
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| | studio. But, according to Pilates Elder
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| women were not interned. For WW1
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| | Mary Bowen, "To set the record straight -
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| (1914-1918) a very large camp was
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| | no, Joe did not die in a fire. He died
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| established on the west coast of the
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| | two years later...of advanced emphysema
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| island at Knockaloe. The Knockaloe camp,
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| | from smoking cigars for too many
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| intended to house 5000 men, ended up
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| | years...." Apparently all the good
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| expanding to hold about 24,000. It was 22
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| | breathing in the world could not keep his
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| acres large, divided into 23 compounds
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| | scarred lungs (recall that he was
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| split into 4 separate camps. Each camp
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| | rheumatic and asthmatic as a child) from
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| had its own hospital, theater, cafeteria,
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| | feeling the effects of smoking. As Joe
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| printing presses, etc. and the hospitals
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| | left no will, Clara took over and ran the
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| were used to treat soldiers injured on
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| | studio until she retired in the mid-70s.
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| the front lines of battle. The Knockaloe
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| | This is where the story gets
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| camps were built from wooden huts, and
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| | interesting...The Question of LineageMost
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| became extremely depressing after several
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| | Pilates teachers out there today can
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| years. To make things worse, the camps
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| | trace his or her lineage back to Joe and
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| did not close right at the end of the
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| | Clara, and this includes such
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| war, since there was a long period of
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| | heavyweights as Winsor and Stott. I, for
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| postwar hostilities. The camps finally
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| | example, originally was a client at SUNY
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| closed in late 1919, and most of the
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| | Purchase where I learned under Steve
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| internees were deported back to
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| | Giordano who studied with Joe's student
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| Germany.It was while interned at
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| | Romana Kryzanowska. Then I worked with
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| Knockaloe camp that Joe Pilates began to
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| | Karen Carlson in Philadelphia who studied
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| really experiment with his exercises and
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| | with Mary Bowen and Kathy Grant who both
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| theories. It was obviously his priority
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| | studied with Joe. And I received my
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| to maintain his own strength and
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| | certification from both Michelle Larson
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| conditioning, which was not easy given
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| | and her teacher Eve Gentry who studied
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| the basic lack of hygienic conditions and
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| | with Joe. Since then I have worked
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| the presence of injured and sick
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| | directly with Romana, with Eve before she
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| internees and soldiers, but Pilates also
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| | died, and with Kathy. So even though my
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| had to deal with the great influenza
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| | studio training affiliation is with the
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| epidemic of 1918. In a time when there
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| | PhysicalMind Institute I trace my lineage
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| was no physical or exercise therapy and
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| | as a student and teacher back to Pilates
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| medicine was relatively archaic, Joe
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| | himself and when people ask me what style
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| began to work with the sick and injured
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| | of Pilates I teach I can honestly say
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| men. He taught them to breathe and
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| | that it is my own, but informed by all of
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| attached bedsprings with straps to the
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| | my teachers.Of the 10 students of Joe's
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| walls by their hospital beds so they
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| | who taught Pilates either at his studio
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| could begin to stretch and exercise by
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| | or opened their own (yes, there were
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| pushing or pulling on the springs before
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| | other New York Pilates studios open in
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| they could even get out of bed. His
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| | the 50s!), only 6 are still alive and 5
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| patients got out of bed much faster, and
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| | are still actively teaching in their 70s
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| Joe's experiments were encouraged.
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| | and 80s! Each individual took what he or
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| Outside of the hospital he took large
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| | she learned from Joe and Clara and
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| groups of internees through his exercise
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| | expanded the work with their own
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| regimen every day believing
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| | knowledge and expertise. Additionally,
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| wholeheartedly that the more everyone
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| | many of the Elders worked with one
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| breathed and moved the better off they
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| | another. Hence, the different styles of
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| would be. "Out with the bad germs and in
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| | Pilates, all of which can ultimately be
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| with the fresh new oxygen," he would
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| | traced back to Joseph Pilates himself.
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