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MONCHIQUE PILATES STUDIO
Last Updated: 12 January 2025
PILATES
Joseph Pilates and Romana Kryzanowska
Joseph Pilates
Born in Germany, Joseph H. Pilates (1883-1967) had a lifelong interest in body conditioning. As a frail child dedicated to becoming stronger, he later grew to become an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast, boxer and martial artist. Components of these disciplines can be seen in different Pilates exercises.
While interned in England during World War I, Joseph became a nurse and designed exercise apparatus for immobilized patients by attaching springs to hospital beds. This system formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning and specialized exercise apparatus, which he brought to New York City when he opened the first Pilates Studio with his wife, Clara Pilates in 1926.
Romana Kryzanowska
Romana Kryzanowska (1923-2013), Master Teacher of the method, first met Joseph Pilates in 1941. She was a ballet dancer and had developed an ankle injury. To help her avoid surgery, George Balanchine, a legendary choreographer, took her to Joseph Pilates.
She quickly found the amazing benefit, noticing not only the improvement in her ankle, but the overall improvement on her dancing. Romana continued to work closely and extensively with Joseph Pilates learning the method until his death. She continued working with Clara Pilates for another 11 years until Clara's death in 1979.
Romana made a commitment to Joseph and Clara Pilates to continue their life's work. She continued to deliver on that promise by traveling the world and teaching the next generation of True Pilates instructors.
Monchique Pilates Studio
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