“Many years ago, I injured myself in dance and my teachers sent me to Pilates. I went to a studio where I found great instructors who were also dancers. I connected right away with them, felt unconditional support, and an internal peace through movement. First, I found stability, then strength, mobility and finally was pain free and able to return to my first love: dance.” – Leslie Frank, Owner
The best thing about Bodyscape Pilates is that anyone can do it! Physical therapy patients, mature seniors, weekend warriors, and professional athletes.
You’ll work with professional Pilates teachers who’ve been certified by the most rigorous, and comprehensive, training programs to take you on the journey Joseph Pilates intended!
Our instructors will build the “Pilates body within you” using classic matwork exercises as well as challenging movements on all kinds of pilates apparatus including the Universal Reformer, Wunda Chair and the Cadillac.
Your Pilates session is tailored to your needs every time you come in! Any special concerns or goals will be discussed each session, to make sure you have the best movement experience possible.
The Pilates exercise method was originally developed by Joseph H. Pilates in the 1920s. Born in 1880 in Germany, Joe suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever as a child. His interest in physical fitness stemmed from a determination to seek a remedy for these ailments, strengthen his body and improve his health. By age 14, he had overcome his physical limitations with exercise and bodybuilding, and became accomplished in many sports including skiing, diving and gymnastics.
From 1912 until the beginning of World War I, Joe lived and worked in England as a boxer, circus performer, and self defense instructor at Scotland Yard. When the war broke out, Joe was incarcerated as an ‘enemy alien’ with other Germans at a camp in Lancaster.
During his internment, Joe trained fellow captives with his physical fitness exercises. Joe also designed exercise apparatus for immobilized patients. This system formed the foundation for his later Pilates equipment design.
Despite harsh living conditions and an influenza epidemic that killed thousands that year, none of Joe’s trainees died. This testifies to the effectiveness of his exercise program.
Returning to Germany after the war, Joe continued his fitness training programs. The German government requested that he apply his training to the German Army but because he was not happy with the political direction of Germany he decided to leave.
In 1926 Joe immigrated to the United States and met his future wife, Clara, en-route. Upon arriving in New York, they established a studio in a building that they shared with the New York City Ballet. His fitness program attracted the attention of major dancers who found his emphasis on graceful movement and posture an excellent complement to their own profession. Legends Martha Graham and George Balanchine were among his clientele.
Joe died in 1967 at the age of 87, a fitting tribute to the value of his training methods and fitness exercises. Clara taught and ran the studio until 1970. She passed away in 1977. Today Joe’s work has continued to grow and evolve throughout the world.
Hours
Monday-Friday 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM
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