Clara Pilates: the true teacher behind the method
Joseph Pilates invented the method and the apparatus; his wife Clara is remembered as the one who adapted it to each body, and who kept the New York studio going after 1967.
Clara Pilates, born Clara Zeuner, was the wife and life partner of Joseph Pilates, and a co-founder of the method he called Contrology, known today as Pilates. She was central to passing it on.
"The true teacher"
In the history of teaching Contrology, Clara is honoured as "the true teacher", and as the heart of using the method to rehabilitate the body.
Joseph was the thinker and the inventor of the apparatus, with a forceful, energetic teaching style. Clara was the one who refined how the method was taught: more precise and more gentle, adapting each exercise to the body and the injuries of each student.
Keeping the studio going
Clara looked after the studio at 939 Eighth Avenue in New York, and kept it running after Joseph's death in 1967.
The Hundred, one of the classical mat exercises from Joseph Pilates' original repertoire. Photo: Helisusa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
From a post by Kitti Cheevasittiyanon in the Pilates Lovers Community group. English translation by PILA. Read the original post on Facebook.
- history
- Clara Pilates
- Joseph Pilates