Chapter 1What Is Pilates?The Pilates method of body conditioning—originally known by the name “Contrology”—is a unique system of strength and mobility exercises developed by Joseph H. Pilates in the early 1900s to promote “a healthy mind housed in a healthy body.” It strengthens and tones muscles, improves posture and balance, fosters resilience, unites body and mind, and revitalizes you through improved circulation and mental clarity. Pilates, with more than a century of success, stands out as a tried-and-true formula of wisdom and unwavering results.
Over the years we have come to understand the vital role movement plays in our well-being and are learning to embrace the idea of exercise being an enjoyable endeavor rather than a plodding pursuit. We have moved away from the concept of gyms as being the only path to physical fitness, and with Pilates, specifically the matwork, we can maximize the results achieved from a functional, full-body workout without needing machines or external equipment. The matwork teaches us that our minds and bodies are the finest and only tools necessary for achieving physical fitness and a sense of well-being.
Old exercise regimes, based on isolating areas of the body rather than working the body as the integrated whole it is, have proved ineffectual. If our goal in exercising is to balance our muscles, improve circulation, reduce stress, improve endurance, stand taller, and feel great, wouldn’t it then stand to reason we would utilize the method that for a century has proven its ability to achieve all these things?
The Pilates philosophy focuses on training the mind and body to work together toward the goal of overall fitness. Although he was born in a completely different era, Joseph Pilates understood the physical and mental pressures of life today. He sought to reeducate us to work our bodies with the efficiency of performing our daily tasks in mind. Pilates believed that his method would propel people to become more productive both mentally and physically. For this reason the Pilates matwork is designed to fit into the physical and time constraints of the individual without diminishing its comprehensive benefits.
Pilates began developing his movement system in Germany in the early 1900s from the tender age of eighteen. Bullied as a young child, Pilates created a method that sprang from his determination to strengthen his own body. He called it “Contrology,” and defined it as “the science and art of coordinated mind-body-spirit development through natural movement under strict control of the will.” The word Contrology is meant to highlight his approach of using our minds to master—or control—our muscles. Interned during the First World War, he taught his exercises to fellow internees and claimed to successfully maintain their health throughout their four-and-a-half-year relegation there.
Pilates set up the first official studio for his work in New York City after immigrating to the United States in 1926. Perhaps adopting an informal American style appealed to Pilates as he requested to be called only “Joe” by clients and friends, and not Joseph. Since its introduction to American culture, Pilates has maintained a steady and devout following. It has been the secret of every type of performer from actors to opera singers since the late 1920s. In more recent years it has been discovered by athletes, models, and movie stars who credit their strong, agile bodies to Pilates.
In his lifetime Joe Pilates authored two books. Your Health, published in 1934, served as a clarion call for “the betterment of mankind,” and Return to Life through Contrology, published in 1945, detailed the fundamentals of “Natural Physical Education” through the use of his Contrology mat exercises. The title Return to Life epitomizes the very nature of the Pilates method. Through concentrated and creative effort, you will reawaken your body through movement and your mind through conscious action. The combination results in a multitude of benefits that this unique methodology of movement has to offer, including the revitalization of your spirit!
“Ideally, our muscles should obey our will. Reasonably, our will should not be dominated by the reflex actions of our muscles,” wrote Joe. He believed in the power of our minds to control our bodies. He proved his theory time and again through years of research and training, and his legacy has been passed down through his students and now to you.
My path to joining this legacy started when I joined my first health club with my father at the age of fifteen and for decades afterward I enjoyed all that they had to offer. I spent years training clients using weights and machines and sincerely believed that I had put all the strength into my body that it might need. I was wrong. What I had done was create a bulky, stiff set of muscles in a young, active body. I spent hours in the gym daily trying to create a feeling of well-being that was eluding me at every turn. I continued to have aches and pains that no amount of training would alleviate, and worst of all . . . I was bored!
And then in 1994 I discovered Pilates. It was mentally and physically challenging from the get-go and altogether humbling for someone who was as strong as I thought I was, but as it is said, “A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul!” Within a matter of weeks, I began to feel the internal strength that I had craved. My movements became more controlled and responsive. I was standing straighter and feeling more energized than ever before. After a few short months my bulky muscles began lengthening and my flexibility increased tenfold. I felt graceful and connected from my mind through my body. Subsequently my aches and pains vanished, and I found myself enjoying my activities more. Most important, I felt empowered by my newfound knowledge. I was interested and engaged. I was in control. I was hooked. Two and a half months after discovering Pilates I enrolled in the certification course, and spent a decade studying under the master tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska, ascribed as “my most conscientious student” by Joe Pilates and said to be chosen by his wife, Clara, to carry on the work. Then, and in the years since, I have enveloped myself in the world of Pilates as both student and teacher. I have trained for thousands of hours and have watched the magic of this method unfold before my eyes both in my own work and in the work of countless students and clients.
While Pilates is often associated with complicated-looking machines—or “apparatus,” as they are known in the Pilates world—because they don’t use any electricity other than your own energy—the matwork is the original movement system that Joe created and is arguably the most challenging and rewarding part of his system. This book gives you the entire matwork sequence and has the advantage of being completely portable. The movements of Pilates matwork need no accoutrements and can be performed anywhere a normal human body can fit comfortably when stretched out at full length.
The beauty of Pilates is that once you understand the core of its philosophy, you can apply its principles to the movements you perform throughout the course of your day, protecting you from injury by connecting you to an area of muscles around your middle referred to in the Pilates industry as “the powerhouse.” Many people use the corrective effect that Pilates has within the body to enhance all the other activities in their lives; athletes, for example, employ the movements and philosophy of Pilates in their sports. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a couch potato, young or old, limber or inflexible, Pilates can and will change how you relate to your own body and carry it in the world.
The power each of us holds to take control over our own well-being is startling. It begins by becoming aware of our bodies as an integrated part of our creative minds. We were all born with that power. We were all children with active imaginations that continue to live inside us. Sometimes we only need reminding. This book is that reminder. Instead of giving your power away, you will learn to harness it and use it for your very own. This book will teach you to creatively blend the power of your mind with the movement of your body in a way that is both efficient and extremely enjoyable. It is important that you understand the role you play in all of this. It’s all about you! What you put in is what you’ll receive, no more and no less.
Remember that with the power of your mind you can bring anything to light, so see your goal and then work to achieve it. This book will serve as a tool to help you along the path, but remember that it is your dedication to yourself that ultimately makes it all possible.
Good luck, and remember to enjoy the journey!
Copyright © 2025 by Brooke Siler. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
