However, I thought you might like to hear about the teaching style of Joseph Pilates who developed the discipline in the mid-1900s.
 
Firstly, you would arrive at his New York studio where you would be greeted by his partner Clara, pay your fee and get changed ready to exercise.  There were no set class times, you just turned up when you wanted.
 
On entering the studio you would be faced with a collection of apparatus, like the tower and the chair, with a poster above each one showing you which exercises to do.  If all the equipment was being used you would find space to do some mat-based work, similar to what we do in class.
 
Joseph or one of his ‘elders’ would watch and correct you.  Joseph had an abrupt manner, pushing and pulling his clients into the right position.  He would only be wearing a pair of white pants and would often be seen smoking a cigar!  
 
When your workout was finished, you would be directed to have a cold shower before you were allowed to get changed and go home.
 
Joseph wasn’t the best of businessmen, so made no plans for his studio when he died.  It was eventually sold to someone who was only interested in using Pilates’ name as a trademark, so sadly, all the equipment, drawings, photos, letters and other documents were lost forever.
 
Luckily, the group of ‘elders’ who worked with Pilates passed his teaching down through the generations so that people like me can share his work with people like you!