(i) What is Pilates?
Pilates is a specific type of exercise method originally developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. He designed his practice to restore his own health from chronic conditions including rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever. Joseph Pilates firmly believed that many of today’s health issues related to the modern lifestyle, bad posture and sub-optimal breathing.
From this, he developed a number of physical exercises designed to improved designed to improve posture, balance, strength and flexibility as well correcting muscular imbalances and poor breathing habits. He also developed a number of apparatuses, one of them, which is famously known as the ‘reformer’.