Pilates is a training method concieved by Joseph Hubertus Pilates  to develop strength, elasticity and flexibility of the muscle, to help maintain the equilibrium between mind and body, and to ensure the correct and precise execution of movements.

The development of "Authentic Pilates Method" came into fruition as a necessity. As a Child, Joseph Hubertus Pilates, born in Germany in 1880, suffered of different conditions and diseases, such as asthma and rachitism, which he had to fight against his whole life. As an adolescent, he wanted to understand the human body and researched different activities that could help him achieve complete health. With his studies on anatomy and phisiology he paired his observance of certain movements of different animals. He dedicated himself to the study of different existing training and exercise methods, from eastern to western civilizations, studying greek and roman cultures and trying to join mental relaxation tecniques, breathing and loosening methods together with strength training.

During the First World War he was imprisoned in a prison camp in Lancaster, United Kingdom, where he started, after dedicating himself to wrestling and self-defence, to develop his own exercising system, that afterwards was called "Contrology”:

It is the control of all movements of the body, it promotes the correct usage and application of the principles of strength, equilibrium and coordination. It is the complete coordination between mind, body and spirit. The method is composed of more than five hundred exercises executed with and without the usage of specialized machinery.

Contrology "Pilates" is based around 6 key principle:

. Concentration

. Centralization

. Precision

. Respiration

. Control

. Fluidity

Promoting the correct execution of every movement, focalizing attention on the positioning and alignment of every body segment and the coordination of movements with a correct and deep respiration. The result is a strong, balanced and flexible body, a clear mind and an harmonious and happy spirit.

Thanks to his observations and studies He outlined his principles on health and muscular tonification. 

When in 1918 the infamous Spanish Flu killed thousands of people, J. Pilates noticed that none of those who underwent his training method contracted the disease.

He then moved to the Isle of Man where he worked as a nurse focusing on rehabilitation of war veterans, where he had the idea of using wheelchairs and bed frames to construct devices and machines that could aid in this process.

At the end of the war He moved back to Germany, where He dedicated himself to the construction of machines that could help patients with rehabilitation, creating a correct resistance to active movement in a way that He could force muscles to work. Thanks to this process, it is possible to focus on the movement and its fluent execution, involving the whole body in the process. 

The great leap in the expansion of Contrology came with the emigration of Joseph to the United States in 1925. The next year, with his wife Clara, He opened a Studio in 939 Eight Ave, NY, in a palace that was house to many different dance schools. There He met Romana Kryzanowska , who became his student and "heir". Initially practiced by boxers, fighters and dancers, the method was rapidly adopted by athletes, artists and businessmen, and recognised as a beneficial method that could improve one phisically, mentally and emotionally.

After 40 years, in 1967 a fire broke out and destroyed the whole palace and with it the Studio. In an attempt to save his machinery, research and documentation of his method, Joseph inhaled a lot of toxic smoke which is said to have concurred to his death several months later at 87 years of age. Clara, together with Romana, kept his legacy alive by teaching the method until 1976, a year before her death.

Joseph had officially left his devices and his legacy to Romana, who had the responsibility to maintain the originality and authenticity of the method, without being influenced by other aspects of the method which were emerging at the time. It was then when Romana took The Pilates Studio and started certifying students in Contrology.

The "Pilates Studio" became more and more popular, and, little by little, the original name was left behind in favour of the one of his founder: Pilates. With all the concepts and basis of the original Contrology.

At the beginning of the 90s the physical educator Inelia Garcia discovered Contrology and travelled to the US to get Certified. Romana, seeing the potential of Inelia, decided to start a certification process in Brasil. And so The Pilates Studio Brasil was born, maintaining the authenticity and originality of the method and the teachings of Joseph Pilates.

With 10 sessions you will notice the difference.

With 20 sessions others will notice the difference.

With 30 sessions you'll have a new body.

The great dream of Joseph Pilates was to bring everyone to strive for a normal body without defects or excesses. From people with special needs to high level athletes that aim to improve their performances, the Authentic Pilates method offers countless benefits to the body, mind and spirit. In a few weeks of practice you will be able to feel the difference. Benefits include:

 Improvement of cardio-respiratory and vascular capacity;

 Relief to stress-induced problems, decrease of tension and fatigue;

 Strengthening of abdominal muscles;

  Improvements in strength, flexibility, resistance, motor control, lightness and body awareness;

  Slowing of degenerative processes and ageing;

  Improvements of sexual and athletic performances, quality of life and of different dimensions of health: physical, mental and emotional;

  Postural re-education, which improves esthetics, correct alignment and body simmetry, which concours in the control of bodyweight;

  Maintaining a ready mind and revitalizing the body;

  Strenghtening of the vertebral muscles, eliminating chronic pain;

  Assisting in rehabilitation from injuries.