Be More Like Joe

Innovator: a person who introduces new methods, ideas, or products. 

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was an innovator.  What if you were too?

Joseph Pilates drew inspiration not only from his knowledge of the body (he was said to have been a boxer, circus performer, and self-defense instructor) but also from his intuition.

  If you’ve never seen anyone help rehabilitate a person with bed springs or create a tool for the body with a ring from a beer keg, where else would you get the idea? If you’ve never seen an Exo Chair, how do you connect the dots not only for the design but the usage?  Joseph Pilates trusted himself.  What if you did too?

According to the Pilates Foundation, Joe and his wife Clara started teaching Pilates in their body conditioning gym in 1926.  That was 95 years ago.  Skeletons and muscles are still the same as they were back then but how we move about the world is not.  In 1926, most people were not spending all day watching Netflix and mindlessly scrolling through social media.  In 1926, parents were not shuffling kids back and forth between soccer practice and piano lessons while trying to figure out how to get to Trader Joe’s during rush hour traffic and then, out of exhaustion, deciding to order Domino’s because you forgot you had a late meeting at the office. In 1926, there was no stay-at-home order, no kids in virtual school, no all-day “Zoomathons” and people probably weren’t drinking their weight in wine to cope.

So now what?

We can all agree that the method is solid. We can also all agree that how we use our bodies is different than it used to be.  We can also all agree that we never work with two bodies that are exactly the same. The question then becomes how do we trust ourselves to shift and adjust to serve the bodies that are in front of us? When do we begin to believe that we too are knowledgeable and that the gift of innovation and intuition did not just belong to Joseph Pilates?  When do we do “something crazy” (because I’m pretty sure if I saw someone tying up some bedsheets to a bed frame and telling me it was going to help my herniated disc in some way I’d think they had lost their mind) and find a new space of healing for not only our clients but for ourselves?  When do we come out of pure “certification knowledge” and move into a space of gathering our experiences (dance, gymnastics, martial arts, personal injury, personal training, yoga, an observant eye, a “hunch”) and using that to move forward with our work?

Trusting ourselves, honoring the evolution of the times, showing gratitude for more ways to acquire resources (I mean, what if there was Google, Zoom and Amazon prime back in the day?) and realizing that beyond our fear of not knowing enough as a new teacher, we really know enough to lead people towards a better quality of life is the key to offering the best of the foundation that Pilates offers.

Are you ready to craft a career through movement and passion? Perhaps you’re looking to balance creating your own Pilates brand while still employed elsewhere? Or maybe you’re considering Pilates as a career and investment in yourself?

Whether you’re an accidental Pilates enthusiast or someone seeking tips on being a good Pilates instructor, remember that Joseph Pilates blazed his own trail. You can too.

For those entrepreneurial spirits, explore how Pilates as a business is empowering women entrepreneurs worldwide, or learn from those who’ve shared lessons from their first year as a studio owner.

Be more like Joe. The world is waiting for you.

To learn more about the fascinating origins of Pilates, visit pilates.com.

Be more like Joe. The world is waiting for you.